I parked my car in a parking garage after driving approximately 20 miles. I walked to a dentist down the street for an appointment. While at the dentist I get a call that went to my voicemail that my car (while parked with the engine off) was on fire and was filling the parking garage with smoke. Upon receiving the message I rushed home to find that the fire was already out, but the smell of smoke was still very strong. I noticed that the inside indicating lights of the car were on as if the key was in the ignition of the car. I immediately disconnected the battery and inspected the car to find the source of the fire. Upon inspection I found that the flames had come from behind and slightly below the motor. There was a metal shield that was blackened by the flames that I could not see around so I jacked up the car and removed the driver side wheel to further inspect the source of the fire. After doing so I could then clearly see that the source of the fire was the power steering pump due to the surrounding burn marks. The total amount of damage has yet to be assessed by my insurance company. They towed the car and are inspecting the car on dec 13, 2012.
2003 MINI Cooper electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 26 of 26, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While I was driving mini 2003 (odo: 74k) on I-90 highway at 70mph, suddenly the power steering wheel stopped working on june 28, 2012. I barely made to exit from the highway, and got home. Next day, the car was sent to the bmw-mini dealership, and assessed the failure of power steering pump. They know this happens frequently with mini, but it was not covered by manufacturers. The only option was to replace the part. The part was replaced and the cost was $1,200.
My 2003 mini cooper (r50), with manual shift and 83,567 miles, was parked on a city street when a passerby noticed smoke and fire coming out of the engine area. The fire department was called to put the fire out. The time from the car being parked until the flames were extinguished is estimated at 10 to 20 minutes. The car was towed the following morning to a mini dealer service center for diagnosis. The diagnosis was that the auxiliary power steering cooling fan had failed. The other items that are estimated to need replacement are the power steering pump, engine wiring harness, auxiliary wiring harness, power steering pump reservoir hose and power steering return hose. At the time I was on a trip out-of-town 600 miles away from home and the car is still at the out-of-town dealer. Prior to the incident no signs of anything suspect with the car were noticed. Approximately 1 hour prior to the incident the bonnet of the car was opened at a military entrance gate vehicle inspection and no signs of any issues were noticed at that time. To my knowledge there is no aftermarket equipment in the affected area. I am the 2nd owner of the car having purchased it at 35,086 miles mid-2007 from a long-time friend who was the first owner. I maintain the car and keep all maintenance records. I believe the manufacturer should be responsible for all repairs and the return of the car to my home. I have read about recalls by transport canada for 2002-2005 mini steering pumps which would indicate this issue is worthy of investigation for recall. This is a dangerous vehicle defect. Please formally investigate this incident.
Car impacted the rear end of a jeep at low rate of speed (was braking to avoid crash in the front). Upon impact the car burst into flames. The air bag deployed. Luckily the occupant of the vehicle was able to get out of car. Within minutes the car was totally in flames. No one was killed or seriously injured but if the occupant did not get out when they did the occupant would have died due to smoke or flame injury.my complaint is that this low front end impact should not have resulted in immediate fire and large flames. I have photos of the car just after the occupant got out of the vehicle and also photos of the car after it was towed back to wrecker yard.
Beginning in approximately april of 2009, the airbag warning light has been on constantly. Anyone who is intelligent enough to use any internet search engine can find hundreds of accounts of the same issue. Due to what has been independently verified as a wiring problem in the seat sensors, the airbag warning light is always on and can cause the car to deploy with improper force. This is a widely known issue with mini owners, and several independent mechanics have all attributed the problem to a wiring harness underneath the seat that breaks due to moving the seat back and forth. Unless I'm missing pages from the manual, moving the seat back and forth is a normal function, and it should not be considered normal wear and tear if simply moving the seat back and forth can render the airbag sensor useless. Mini acknowledged this issue in 2006, and stated 'in the interest of customer satisfaction, we are extending the warranty coverage of the vehicle for defects that may occur, for this specific air bag warning lamp issue, on your vehicle for 10 years / 150,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Under terms of this warranty coverage, mini will cover all necessary repair costs related to this action.' I have been told three times by mini that this does not apply to my car. They cannot provide any information as to why it does not apply. They just tell me that my car is not eligible for this repair despite the fact that it clearly fits the bill. This is a major safety issue. The wiring is clearly defective, and nobody should have to pay out of pocket to have a defect corrected. Mini won't even pay to have a technician diagnose the issue.
Upon turning on my driver's side heated seat, one part of my back seemed to be getting extremely hot. Upon turning around, I saw a small hole had been burned in the seat cover and was smoldering and smoking. I immediately turned off the seat warmer. It took many minutes to cool down and stop smoking. Thankfully the vehicle was stationary when this happened. If it had been in motion, my safety would certainly have been comprised, as I could have sustained burns before pulling the car to the side of the road. The distraction of a burning seat is also not an insignificant safety hazard as well.
My 2003 mini cooper has almost caught on fire several times, replaced transmission, electrical harness, power steering pump, A/C hoses and A/C service, wheel bearings, injection plugs etc....... I still cannot find the real problem why is causing a short, it has almost caught on fire several times, this car has been the most dangerous car I have ever own, I have never spend so much money on trying to fix any vehicle, right now I'm about $11,500 in costs of repairs, this is a crime to the consumer, I have been reading about a class action lawsuit that is in progress, I hope and pray that we get justice from the maker of mini.
Spontaneous engine bay fire in 2003 mini cooper with 60,000 miles. Vehicle was driven normally to work, turned off, parked, locked and left. Unattended car caught fire several minutes later. Seattle city fire department responded to emergency call, but fire self-extinguished within 10 minutes. Soot covered engine bay and acrid smoke permeated vehicle. Inspection revealed melted connection between wiring harness and power steering pump, requiring replacement of pump, cooling fan, wiring and other parts. Internet communities of mini owners contain numerous reports of sudden engine bay fires in 2002 and 2003 mini coopers caused by electrical shorts linked to faulty power steering pumps or fans. Frequently these fires occur after the car has been switched off. They always result in moderate vehicle damage and major repair costs (mine is estimated @ $1,600). Occasionally they result in total vehicle loss and / or additional property damage. Had this fire occurred in my home garage at night the results could have been catastrophic; if this kind of incident (sudden power steering pump failure + electric fire) were to occur on a freeway at speed it could easily result in fatalities. Bmw / mini USA has reportedly quietly reimbursed individual owners who have suffered spontaneous fires, but has not acknowledged the widespread nature of the problem -- which is ridiculous. As I discovered while researching my incident, if you google "mini cooper fire" or "mini power steering pump failure" you get a rash of these reports. Apparently the federal safety agency investigated mini engine bay fires in 2006-2008 and dismissed the problem, alluding only to the chance of some "localized smoldering." this is irresponsible -- my mini was billowing acrid black smoke and could easily have burned out, taking other cars on the parking deck with it. Shocking that this major, dangerous vehicle defect has been ignored. I am one of many victims. Please reopen this investigation into mini fires. Thank you.
Battery failure. Battery has failed for the third time since car brand new in feb, 2003. On each occasion the vehicle would not start after having given no warning. The first failure was in 2005 at 26,000 mi., the second in 2007 at 51,000 mi., the third in 2008 at 68,000 mi. Each failed battery was a manufacturer's brand (mini).
I was driving home one day when several lights lit up in my car. I was scared because these lights were: low tire pressure, low brake pads, traction control light, & ABS break light. I pulled over and shut off the car, and when I turned it back on, they still were lit up. I am not sure what caused this as I wasn't driving erratically, just normal. I still do not know why exactly they are on, however I figure it is something to do with the computer.
My car was brought into the dealership for an oil change and rear brake repair on tuesday (june 26, 2007). Wednesday evening (june 27, 2007) the car was driven 15 minutes, parked for almost an hour, then driven a mere 30 seconds to change to a different parking spot. Walked away for a minute and noticed smoke coming from the front of the car. Upon opening the bonnet, there was flames coming from the underside of the engine. The first attempt at using a fire extinguisher temporarily put out the fire, then it re-ignited which the fire department was then called to put it out safely. The car was brought the next morning (june 28, 2007) to the dealership and was not looked at until the next day (june 29, 2009). The diagnosis was the steering pump failed, upon which it overheats causing the fire. The fire then damaged the loom (harness, or main wiring for the vehicle), which also ruined the battery. Prior to the fire, there were no signs that the steering was failing, nor any indication that there was any other possible electrical problems. Car mileage was at 65,500 at the time it was brought to the dealer, and about 65,525 miles at the time of the incident. Nothing will be done until the insurance agents from both the consumer and dealership assess the damages.
While driving at a three way intersection my mini suddenly cut out and blocked traffic in all directions; so much so that people had to stop traffic and cars needed to be backed up to get my car in a secure place. This was due to a defective wiring harness. Initial estimate for repair was $1200 parts and labor, but upon my complaint just labor was charged me - I feel neither is appropriate as this is a product issue, in my case a safety issue, and I should be reinstated to my pre-harness incidence at the product owner's expense. I further notice that there is a t.o. For this item and part of it states only replace at owner's complaint - in my case this was almost too late as I was in a very busy area when my car died and shut down three lanes of traffic.
While driving 10 MPH a fire started in the dashboard. Consumer managed to pull over, and put out the fire out. Then had the vehicle towed. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
Computer(s) failure resulting in a lost of ability to move forward or rearward. The engine computer(s) have been replaced as well as the transmission.
The computer system doesn't seem to be working properly. My car just stopped running while driving in rush hour traffic (this happened twice.) my key-less entry doesn't work. Finally, the tire failure light comes on when the tire pressure changes but it doesn't light up when I had a flat.
Mini cooper 2003 stop dead at the the intersection for the third time.the car was towed to the dealer.
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