2003 MINI Cooper: doors won't lock, open or latch

Filed Nov 17, 2022 · Brakes, Electrical · PA

i Purchased the car in Dover Pa . INspection sticker had same milage as on car so i shoulda knew he slapped a sticker on . drove 150 miles dash lit ip like chrismas tree. 1st thing left window wont work , then left lock wont work had to lock from passenfger dide. then door wont open at all . have to get ou t passenger door . know that wont open have to put down passenger window pull handel to get out . car is possessed light work whren they want does all kinda crazt stuff . batter has problems . charge and still cant start it . and hatch locks so i cant get to battery. power steering leaking going bad . timing belt making noise . no power on hills .cracking noise in right front pulls to right had . hazard to me ive been locked inside three times could get out of car i coulda sat in heat and died or cold and froze . cant get out of car when it ts electric doors dont work . car sucks . this has been gradual thing these events from feb to may . now i just hate the car

Filed Oct 18, 2011 · Locks · 50,000 miles · MA

The driver's side door latch does not open the door. I am unable to exit my car without unlocking the doors from the central panel, rolling down the driver's side window and opening the door from the outside. This is clearly not a best practice in an emergency situation. I have seen multiple complaints about this issue which I would like mini to recognize as dangerous. If it is just a cable inside the door that is needed, the total cost for repair will be $233.00 (the part is $17.00 the rest is for labor).

Filed Jan 3, 2009 · Suspension, Transmission · 69,000 miles · TX

I bought a new 2003 mini cooper with a 3 year 36k warranty 6/26/03. While under warranty and receiving recommended maintenance through the dealer, the car required repair of the driver's seat which was frozen in the reclined position. Shortly after the warranty expired, and 10,481 miles after a dealer maintenance check, the brake light indicator began flashing. I took it immediately to the dealer. I was told the entire brake system needed replacement for $886.60. At the same service visit, I was told the front struts needed replacement to the tune of $1600. My male friends who are mechanically inclined and/or engineers said that one would need to be doing stunts in a car to need that kind of repair at 50,293 miles. It was not clear why the indicator only tells when brakes are totally shot, or why the most recent service check had not shown worn pads and disks. Later, at 53,007 miles, the driver's side window failed and that cost $497.51 to replace. At 62,516 miles the air conditioning system died which cost $1173.58 to replace. The automatic door lock on the driver?s side does not work and lord knows how much that repair will cost. Now at 69k, the manual transmission needs replacement. My present mechanic (cheaper and more reliable than dealership) says the replacement of the transmission and clutch with a remanufactured system will be >$4000. This is an outlandish amount of repair and repair cost for a $19,000 car with 70k mileage. I have had 2 previous hondas that were cheaper than the mini and never needed a clutch or transmission. My son drove my $14,000 '95 honda civic until last month and it had 200k miles. I will never buy another mini, or bmw for that matter, based on this experience. I will be sure to discourage others from buying one. I hope a class action suit is formed.

Filed Oct 31, 2008 · Visibility · 68,000 miles · CO

Both passenger and drivers side windows are stuttering when I try to roll them up or down. This is when I am even able to get them to work. Found that when the weather is hot, they won't work at all!! Meaning I am having to wait for it to cool down to roll the windows down if I am lucky and have on one occasion got stuck in my vehicle because the car door handle also would open the door from the inside and I couldn't open the window to open the door, which was very dangerous since I had a child with me. This has been occurring more and more frequently and just got my door repaired and still having issues with the windows making it impossible to do anything that requires a drive through, or at my previous apt you had to enter a code to get into the gated community and I had to get out of my car to do this, and I live in colorado, and it gets very cold. This should be a recall, due to many forums and other mini owners experiencing the same issues! From forums shows that even replacing the motor won't fix the issue, what a waste of money!! This needs to a recall once again, can't afford to keep getting this fixed and dishing out money, especially when I have a kid with me from time to time. Unacceptable.

Filed Nov 13, 2007 · Steering · 55,000 miles · NJ

First power steering problem occurred around 31,000 miles, in the form of a slight vibration. Since the 50,000 miles mark, power steering has failed on innumerable occasions, frequently 5 or 6 times within a few minutes, and while driving and taking sharp turns, potentially causing loss of control of the vehicle. At first, turning ignition on and off temporarily resolved the issue. However, this is no longer effective. Other power functions have been disrupted as well, such as power locks and power windows, sometimes locking you in the car (door latch mechanism is also unpredictably faulty at the same time, resulting in being potentially locked in without any means to exit the car-this has happened on a couple of occasions). The power steering is now staying on even after the engine is turned off and the ignition key removed, and as a result, the battery is being discharged. Based on available information, this is the final stage before the car spontaneously catches on fire. I am now in a situation where my car is at risk of spontaneously catching on fire, and my locks and windows frequently unexpectedly malfunction, particularly when the steering pump malfunctions, potentially locking me into my car, with a steering pump that will not shut off and threatens to catch on fire. Catch on fire while I'm locked into my car...

Filed Sep 9, 2006 · Visibility · NC

Driver's side power window does not open when toggle is depressed, due to motor failure inside the door. This eliminates a means of emergency in situations where doors will not open. It also reduces means of communication with persons outside the car unless door is opened --again a concern in emergency situations, particularly in heavy traffic, or in a moving vehicle as the driver would have to remove their hands from the steering wheel and open the door. Window power failures have happened only in summer so far. Other symptoms include window "stuttering" as it is opened/closed; window sticking briefly before it opens and window top edge catching edge of car as it closes so that the window doesn't close all the way. --all electrical issues. Actions taken: this seems to be a problem many mini owners have, and replacement motors appear to work temporarily then develop the same symptoms. Hopefully, we will not be in a situation where we need to use the window as an emergency exit before a dependable motor is produced! Question: does the power window system meet the federal safety agency standards in title 49, part 571.118?