2008 MINI Cooper S: engine overheating

Filed Oct 17, 2017 · Steering · 115,000 miles · GA

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper s. While driving various speeds, specifically when attempting to turn the vehicle, the power steering suddenly failed and caused steering control to become difficult. The contact stated that the power steering pump would overheat, which caused the contact to park the vehicle until it cooled in order for the power steering to function correctly. The contact called mini of kennesaw (2275 barrett lakes blvd, kennesaw, ga 30144; 678‑496‑9565) who advised the contact to bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not covered under the extended warranty or a recall. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.

Filed Mar 18, 2014 · Engine · 27,500 miles · VA

Found large oily mark under parked car. Turns out to be the thermostat hose leaking due to cracks because of being made of plastic. This is a known design issue by mini/bmw that could cause an engine to overheat producing a file or blowing the engine. This should come under a recall. Checking online, you can see that it was such an issue last year, that dealers were not even able to get parts for weeks due to the number of failures. Calling the dealer, they readily admit it is a huge problem and they have to replace lots of them. Of course, it is $600 a pop for the fix. Due to the large cost and admitted design flaw, these should all be placed under a recall before someone is badly hurt. Also anyone that has had to have this fixed should be reimbursed for that expense.

Filed Dec 28, 2012 · Engine · 7,400 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper s. The contact stated that smoke was seen coming from the engine. The vehicle was unable to cool down so the contact had the vehicle towed to a dealer for diagnosis but they were unable to duplicate or diagnose the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact stated that the failure recurred and he was unable to drive the vehicle for more than a few miles without it overheating. The manufacturer was contacted and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 7,400. The current mileage was approximately 8,234. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Feb 22, 2012 · Engine · 49,492 miles · CA

Water pump melted - thermostat housing replaced at 49,492 miles. My engine light lit up yellow and by the time I arrived at work it was red. I tried pouring coolant and it just spilled out onto the ground. I took it to mini to get it serviced and they said the heat from my engine caused the thermostat housing to melt and was replaced under warranty. They replaced it with a new pump but not with the one that is now the february 2012 recall that mini is doing on all 2007 - 2011 s models for (the electric auxiliary water pump that cools the turbocharger has an electronic circuit board that can malfunction and overheat). See next complaint from 01/27/12, as the cause of the old faulty water pump this has now caused my turbocharger to go out and mini tried to charge me $3,700 to replace it. But I reminded them that my water pump was previously defective and that has caused the current problem with the turbocharger and now they are replacing it under warranty along with replacing the recalled electric auxiliary water pump.

Filed Feb 22, 2012 · Engine · 61,838 miles · CA

Turbocharger needs to be replaced and the dealer wanted to charge me $3,700. But the cause of my turbocharger needing to be replaced was the cause of my auxiliary water pump - thermostat housing going out in 04/12/11 which caused the turbocharger to overheat and become damaged. I reminded the dealer about the water pump being replaced so they contacted mini USA and it took them 2 weeks for the dealer and mini USA to cover the replacing of the turbocharger under warranty. Even though they replaced the water pump back in april 2011, the current feb 2012 recall for the auxiliary water pump is being replaced concurrently with the turbocharger. These are the 3 complaints on my car in less than a year: 04/12/11 - water pump replaced under warranty. 10/20/11 timing chain replaced and cost me $2,239. And now 01/27/12 they wanted to charge me another $3,700 for the turbocharger. Who pays almost $6,000 in repairs on a car that is 3 years old?

Filed Oct 19, 2011 · Engine · 28,000 miles · NJ · fire

I bought car new in nov 2007. Car was used as transportation every day to and from work (~100 mi total). Car was well cared for, service was performed as required, etc. In sept 2008 after sitting undriven for 10 days while I was away on vacation, I drove 50 mi to work and there were no signs of trouble except that an indicator for a blown headlamp came on when I initially started up. When I arrived at work and pulled into a parking space I noticed wisps of smoke coming from the grill and intake and suspected overheating. I peered into the intake and saw glowing orange, and smelled the smoke and realized this was a fire not an overheating. I had a colleague call 911 and grabbed a fire extinguisher. When I got back to the car smoke was pouring out of the hood. Not wanting to open the hood I aimed the fire extinguisher into the grill, intake, and gaps but it didn't do much. At that point I grabbed valuables from car and walked away. Flames began coming out of the hood over the windshield. Car was completely engulfed within 10 minutes. There were no injuries or property damage except for the car itself. Insurance declared it a total loss. Mini was notified. I have photos of in-progress and aftermath. Having seen the recent publicity about the investigation into the engine fires I thought I should log my very relevant experience.

Filed Jul 10, 2010 · Engine · 28,268 miles · VA · fire

Leaving from work around 5:00 pm (car had been in the parking lot since 7:20 am), I drove for a mile or less when at a red light the car by my side told me about smoke coming from the under the hood. I drove to the closet parking lot, opened the hood (there was a lot of smoke) and I could see 2 wires red hot. I went to try to get a fire extinguisher and luckily and ambulance on duty (could not help me because he had a patient) gave me a small bottle of water. When I returned to the car with the water there were flames about 10" tall on a small area, already touching the pipes the come out of the turbo (pipes that bring air into turbo and out to the intercooler) and with the 500ml bottle of water I was able to put it off. Daler (mini of sterling) repaired the vehicle for free (car is under warranty). Dealer found that the auxiliary water pump shorted, and this must have cause the wires to overheat. Dealer replaced auxiliary water pump and wires and parts that burned. I spoke with the dealer and then with mini USA, both refused to change engineering to prevent a future fire in case auxiliary water pump has a short-circuit again. *tr updated 1/27/2012 *ln