2002 MINI Cooper: fire, smoke or burning smell

5 of the 187 complaints about the 2002 MINI Cooper describe fire, smoke or burning smell.

owner complaints: 5
of this car's complaints: 3%
typical mileage: 60,500
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 6 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Fire, smoke or burning smell by model year

2014
2
2012
6
2011
2
2010
8
2009
12
2008
2
2007
6
2006
6
2005
10
2004
7
2003
24
2002
5

What owners say

Filed Mar 12, 2012 · Steering · 60,500 miles · WA · fire

I was driving the car in lacey wa. Smoke started issuing from the car. I immediately pulled into a parking lot. I opened the hood and smoke was issuing forth. After 5 minutes, I spotted flames. I had a small fire extinguisher but it was insufficient to put out the flames. A passing motorist arrived with a larger extinguisher and put out the flames. An insurance adjuster informed me that the fire was due to a faulty power steering pump.

Filed Jan 18, 2008 · Electrical · 42,000 miles · GA · fire

I was driving my 2002 mini cooper. I had driven 1/4 mile and thought I heard something crack or spark under the dashboard on the passenger side of the vehicle. Then I saw smoke, pulled over, got out, and the whole car went up in flames.

Filed Aug 17, 2007 · Steering · 86,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 bmw mini cooper. While driving 35 MPH he noticed smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle, as well as pieces of burning plastic falling from the vehicle. He attempted to apply the brakes however, the vehicle would not stop. He then noticed flames coming from the engine. He was able to pull over and tried to contain the fire however, the fire continued to spread into the interior of the vehicle. The fire department extinguished the fire. The fire destroyed the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 86,000.

Filed Jul 8, 2007 · Engine · 70,000 miles · MA · fire

While driving home from work in the 2002 mini cooper the car had about 70,000 milles on it and I noticed the temperature gauge going up, and assumed my car was just overheating. I pulled into a service station and put some water in the coolant reservoirand the temperature gauge returned to normal, so I continued to drive. After about 10 minutes I noticed the temperature gauge increased again. I pulled off the highway and into a parking lot. When I opened the hood, I saw flames. By the time the fire department arrived at the scene th e car was too far gone to save. I contacted mini regarding this issue. They asked for my VIN, approximate mileage, and contact information. I sent them this information, but have not heard back from them.

Filed Dec 4, 2006 · Steering · 60,000 miles · PA

Power steering motor failure on mini cooper. 1 - while driving, the steering became very difficult, at times almost impossible. 2 - once home while parking the car, smoke started to billow our from under the hood. Turned off the ignition, smoke continued to billow and get thicker, opened the hood, heard a sizzling sound and noticed that some of the wires were melting. Immediately disconnected the battery, the smoke started to dissapate, the noise stopped etc. 3 - the car had to be towed to the dealer for repair. According to the tow operator, based upon the condidtion of the wiring harness, if the battery had not be disconnected quickly, the car would have caught on fire. The dealer informed us that the power steering pump motor had failed and that mini would replace the parts at no charge, but labor would be at our cost. Total parts were approximatley $1,000.00 with labor totaling about $400.00. The car is now fixed and operating properly.