2003 mini cooper transmission failed while driving on highway. Car just stopped while going 60 MPH. Manufacturer/dealer would not cover repairs (85,000 miles out of warranty). Estimate to replace: $9,000. Sold car as is at auction.
2003 MINI Cooper transmission complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 89, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper. While driving approximately 25 MPH the transmission began to slip gears. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The failure was related to the transmission which required replacement. The transmission can only be replaced by an authorized dealer, but there are no authorized dealerships in the state. The mechanic estimated the replacement cost of the transmission between $8,000-$9,000. The vehicle has not been repaired for the malfunction. The failure and current mileages were 76,500. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 01/12/10 *bf uddated 01/14/10.
Transmission failed on 2003 mini cooper while driving on highway.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper. The contact stated that the transmission will shift into the drive gear. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility, and a technician concluded that he needed to replace the CVT transmission, at an expense of $ 8,300.00. No repairs were made. The manufacturer was notified, but no assistance was provided. The failure and current mileages were 88,000. Updated 10/21/09. *lj the repair shop discovered the CVT drive belt had shredded which sent metal through the transmission. There were no parts available, the only option was full transmission replacement. Updated 10/20/09
My car will suddenly only go about 5 MPH. This has happened several times. We have taken it to the mechanic and he thinks he has it fixed and then it happens again. Now they are saying it needs a new transmission for $8,400. They can't rebuild one, they can't buy a rebuilt one. The car has low miles and the transmission shouldn't be going out. I believe mini coopers have a flawed transmission and the company continues to put more flawed transmissions into cars and we the customers are getting '!@#$%.
Our mini cooper repeatedly stalled while in heavy traffic resulting in several near death experiences. No fault code or check-engine light ever appeared. Upon taking the car into the dealership, while under warranty, the problem and our concerns were dismissed without remedy. Finally, after being in the mountains on windy roads a clicking noise began. Since no fault or check-engine light appeared, we assumed the cause of the noise to be from something minor and opted to drive the car to the nearest mechanic, a five mile drive. Shortly before arriving to the mechanic, the mini unexpectedly became quite difficult to control. Luckily we were able to get off the freeway, upon which the transmission completely stopped working ' requiring the car to be pushed to the mechanic. Again, no check-engine light came on as a warning and no fault codes were stored. Bmw's mini cooper CVT transmission poses a significant safety hazard to drivers. Research indicates bmw is aware of the defective transmission, which explains why bmw opted to no longer use the CVT transmission in later models. Thank you for taking the time to rectify the situation to keep mini owners & other drivers safe. Ours is just one of many similar experiences we've recently learned of while researching the dismal track record of bmw's CVT transmissions in early mini coopers.
I have a 2003 mini cooper with automatic CVT transmission and have had recurring problems with the CVT since I purchased the vehicle. Below is a summary of service visits, replacement of the CVT in 2007, and the current status of the CVT as inoperable. I have all invoices detailing work done. 10/9/02 - I purchased a new 2003 mini cooper with automatic CVT transmission from baron bmw in merriam, ks. 12/02 - mini USA sent me letter re: chassis #te13495 that some automatic CVT transmissions had been filled with the incorrect transmission oil and to schedule an appointment to have it flushed and replaced asap. 12/27/02 - baron flushed and replaced fluid. I also complained that the car had died two times and ran rough. Mileage 1,760. 7/2/03-I took mini in complaining "when going from reverse to drive car has a hard lurch" and baron's invoice states "test drove car and found it was very harsh going into gear and lurched when it was cold". 2nd auto trans concern was "car has almost died at low idles a few times". Baron reprogrammed the car under warranty. Mileage 6,465. 7/23/07-customer goodwill provided by baron mini and replaced the transmission at no cost although warranty was up. Mileage 49,512. 9/11/07-I took mini in again complaining of rough idle and car wants to die at stops. Mileage 51,167. 8/13/09- mini was having a hard time shifting out of 1st gear. It would only drive 15-20 MPH at up to 3,000 rpms. I called baron and was told the current transmission had a two year warranty (which made this complaint 2 years and a few weeks past warranty) but it was possible mini would cover repair/replacement. They did not. Baron flushed and filled the transmission fluid and said it runs better but it is not fixed. They recommend replacing the CVT again. I have not had the CVT replaced (for the 2nd time). Mileage 75,558.
Transmission failed with no warning or symptoms.
Cvt transmission failure.
I bought a 2003 mini cooper and about a week and a half ago, the clutch hydraulic system has sprung a leak. Upon inspection of the hydraulics, the mechanic noticed that the clutch control rod was moving in a funny way. He says that they will have to drop the transmission to see the actual problem and that removing the transmission alone will cost me 1000.00 dollars which I do not have at the moment. The car only has 67,000 miles on it and the clutch went without any warning. Also, I am told that if the clutch does need to be replaced, it will cost me 1800.00 dollars, which again, I do not have.
Automatic transmission on my 2003 mini cooper blew out without any warning. The car would not move. The car had just about 37,000 miles on it and was regularly maintained at the dealers shop.
2003 mini cooper transmission failure. Replacement cost approx 7500.00 this is a known defect and there is a multitude of problems associated with this. I bought mine used. No disclosure of it during the sale. It should be at least be flagged for the consumers protection. Dealers, manufactures will not even discuss it. It is a horrible situation to be in.
My 2003 mini cooper has transmission failure it fell to pieces at 61,000 miles after impeccable engine maintenance for no apparent reason then I found online that many mini owners had similar problems at the same time approximately 4 yrs after buying the mini scam that they sell this faulty car just glad it didn't cause an accident.
I have a 2003 mini cooper. The transmission (CVT transmission) first failed at around 40,000 miles and the dealer was able to replace it under the warranty. Since then every few months the transmission will fail and so far it's been the 4th time that the dealer tried to replace the transmission and still fails. It seems like the problem cannot be fixed once and for all, now my car has 81,000 miles on it and I feel bad to sell the car knowing I am just passing the problem on to someone else. I can have it fixed at no charge as I am covered by warranty however if I sell it, the next buyer will not be protected and will face endless fix and money to waste, not to mention that it's $8000 each time to replace a transmission.
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.
My automatic transmission (CVT) broke while pulling away from a stop sign. Car was well maintained, dealer service only. Mileage was only 54k.
I own a 2003 mini cooper with a CVT automatic transmission. The car has 80000 miles on it and the CVT failed completely. There is no alternative but to get a new replacement with an "updated" 2005 model which I have been quoted from 2 places $8000 for parts and labor. This is my complaint. If they know there is a problem with the CVT why have they not contacted me? Please contact if you need further details.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper. The contact had the transmission replaced three times. In addition, the brackets that support the muffler have rotted. Underneath the hood, the brackets that support the horn have also rotted. The contact will take the vehicle to the dealer again for another repair. The failure and current mileages were 68,600.
The CVT failed in my 2003 mini cooper at 67,000 miles. The repair cost offered by dealer started at 7400 then when told I had read about numerous others having the same problem the cost became 5900. Also found out the company stopped using this transmission in 07 models due to problems. Need re-call and or reimbursements.
Failed CVT transmission in the middle of an intersection. Car had to be pushed to the side of the road as entire system was locked and engine died; could not manually move shift out of drive. Mileage was around 12,000 above warranty. Dealership quoted $7200 to replace transmission - no coverage under warranty. I could not afford the repair, so turned the car back to manufacturer as a voluntary repo. This was devastating. Car was in excellent condition otherwise.
Cvt transmission on 2003 mini copper failed at 87,000 miles. The cost to replace is quoted by the dealer at $7400. Come to find out that this is a recurring issue with this transmission to the point that it should be considered a recall issue.
2003 mini cooper, 66,000 miles and the transmission needs replaced. The cost is going to be 8,500.00.
Bought the car in 2003 brand new and had complained to the service dept when in for repairs that the transmission felt odd. It would jerk at low speeds, between 5 and 10. They said this was normal for the CVT and it should go away once the transmission was accustomed to the way I drive. In 2006 my husband was giving blood in manchester, nh and while he was doing that I went to the mall for a few hours. As I was returning to pick him up I came to a yellow light that I could not make it through. I stopped the car, like normal not a hard stop, and heard a clank noise almost as if I had hit something in the road. The light turned green and I pressed on the accelerator to go and nothing would happen except my rpms would go up. I was on a slight hill and began to coast but I wasn't sure if I was coasting or if the car was just going really slow, until I started in an uphill and the car stopped. I tried to turn of the car and turn it back on, crazy logic that sometimes does the trick, and there was no change. I pushed the car into a driveway as I was on a 2 lane road and blocking traffic and called aaa to have the car towed. The car was towed to mini of peabody. When they called on monday they said that the CVT had failed, they found the chain and links in the oil pan and that it would have to be replaced. I asked how much the replacement would be and they told me parts and labor would be $7700. When I was told that I talked to the sa about the other people that had problems with they're CVT's at 60k miles. He said he would talk to the manager and call back. He called back and said that he talked to the manager and spoke with mini USA and they would come half the cost of the replacement bringing it to $3850. I went to pick it up and it felt like a completely different car. There is no jerkiness at slow speeds so I'm convinced that I had a dud transmission all along.
My transmission failed on my mini-cooper once when it was in warranty and I had to pay to have it fixed, once again, and it was just out of warranty and I paid 3000$ to have it fixed and once again when the 2nd transmission was in warranty and minicooper fixed it. This car was a lemon and mini never accepted responsibility for the defective transmission problems.
On 9/2/08 I brought my 2003 mini cooper to the dealer for service. I was hearing a noise from the front that clocked at low speed. I thought it was a bad cv joint and asked the service writer to verify and give me a estimate. When they were done it was determined the noise was coming from the transmission and it would need to be replaced. The estimate was $7613.00 plus tax. I drove home and spent some time researching the CVT transmission in the mini coopers and found what appears to be a high failure rate. A look at several forums for mini's shows postings of problems similar to mine in cooper models with mileages from 34,000 to 113,000 all with CVT transmissions. The replacement costs were similar too. There were many comments from forum users to avoid buying a used mini cooper with a CVT, "avoid it like the plague" was one comment. Mini no longer uses this transmission. Maybe the failures made them look to another source, I do not know. I also contacted a person who is gathering names, 50 so far, to file a class action lawsuit against mini to try and recoup the money spent repairing a faulty transmission. That is just 50 people who knew how to contact her to be added to the list. As of right now these people are still looking for an attorney to represent them. There must be more, and 50 transmissions is alot of money. If a investigation is done by the federal safety agency and a recall is initiated then maybe these people can be reimbursed by mini. I find it unusual that a transmission should fail in a vehicle with 81,500 miles and most complaints I have read have a average failure mileage at 60,000. Minis warranty expires at 50,000 miles. This is unacceptable. The mini dealer has made a effort to share the expense with me and in good faith will replace the transmission for 1/2 price. As of this writing I have not made a decision yet. The vehicle has a trade-in value of $10,000, so spending almost $4000.00 to repair a obviously defective part is crazy.
Automatic transmission (CVT) failed. It will cost $8000 (mini/bmw dealer quote) to replace. I noticed there were many complaints of this problem on the internet many recommended to file a complaint on the federal safety agency website.
I own a 2003 mini cooper with 67k miles ( out of warranty). Two weeks ago while driving up a hill to my home, the transmission would not go into gear. I could barely make it up the hill and had to change to the slow lane and pull off the road. After doing much searching on the internet, I found that many were having this problem. This is a major drive chain component that shouldn't go out at 67k. The CVT transmission seems to be flawed and acknowledged by the manufacturer as they do not put these transmissions into the newer models. Also it seems, even out of warranty mini's get transmissions replaced; with the owner only having to pay for labor if the owner causes a "stink" or alludes to making problems for mini. If the manufacturer really believed the CVT transmission were not faulty, I believe they would stick to their position with all customers, instead of making exceptions. Mini should be ordered to recall cars with the CVT transmission.
Purchased 2003 mini cooper in 3/03 at mini sterling in va. Moved to pa, servicing car under warranty at the nearest dealership, otto's mini in west chester (50 mi away). Minor issues corrected under warranty, which expired in late 2005. In july 2007, at 78,000 miles, while driving on local expressway car suddenly lost ability to drive in gear and I pulled over (luckily safe - traffic was moving at 60-70 MPH). Engine ran but car would not go into gear. All signs pointed to major transmission problem. Car towed to transmission shop in york (nearest recommended shop) who confirmed transmission issue. Called mini of towson (nearest dealer) for quote on replacing transmission - it was $7800! Car was only worth $12,000-$13,000 at that time - repair was over 50% of car value. Local shop tried fix it with rebuilt transmission. Turned into 7 month nightmare as multiple rebuilt transmissions didn't work due to computer code issues, so car towed to mini of towson twice to see if they could correct issues, but each time dealer only offered to fix with new transmission from them at $7800. Tried trading car to them for new mini, but they only offered me $4000 for the car, saying their cost to fix was still $6000. Local shop finally gave up, refunding my deposit and returning car with rebuilt transmission that will only drives in low gear at 20 MPH. Now have mini in my garage (with balance on car loan) that should be worth $10,000 but is unusable. Mini is refusing to do anything about this design flaw (new cars have different transmission), which is unsafe at any speed, as they say. Netscape should order recall of these cars and repair at mine's cost. I have informed my congressman brother about this issue (he sits on house transportation committee) - he is awaiting word on how netscape and mini respond to my complaint (obviously shared my many others). Thank you.
Purchased 2002 mini cooper in 3/03 at mini sterling in va. Moved to pa, servicing car under warranty at the nearest dealership, otto's mini in west chester (50 mi away). Minor issues corrected under warranty, which expired in late 2005. In july 2007, at 78,000 miles, while driving on local expressway car suddenly lost ability to drive in gear and I pulled over (luckily safe - traffic was moving at 60-70 MPH). Engine ran but car would not go into gear. All signs pointed to major transmission problem. Car towed to transmission shop in york (nearest recommended shop) who confirmed transmission issue. Called mini of towson (nearest dealer) for quote on replacing transmission - it was $7800! Car was only worth $12,000-$13,000 at that time - repair was over 50% of car value. Local shop tried fix it with rebuilt transmission. Turned into 7 month nightmare as multiple rebuilt transmissions didn't work due to computer code issues, so car towed to mini of towson twice to see if they could correct issues, but each time dealer only offered to fix with new transmission from them at $7800. Tried trading car to them for new mini, but they only offered me $4000 for the car, saying their cost to fix was still $6000. Local shop finally gave up, refunding my deposit and returning car with rebuilt transmission that will only drives in low gear at 20 MPH. Now have mini in my garage (with balance on car loan) that should be worth $10,000 but is unusable. Mini is refusing to do anything about this design flaw (new cars have different transmission), which is unsafe at any speed, as they say. Ntsb should order recall of these cars and repair at mini's cost. I have informed my congressman brother about this issue (he sits on house transpiration committee) - he is awaiting word on how ntsb and mini respond to my complaint (obviously shared my many others). Thank you.
2003 mini cooper, transmission problems. Dealers states it would cost seven thousand dollars to replace and fix. With the car only worth double than that it is an shameful act on mini for doing this to customers. Sounds of rattling and transmission slipping, dealer states it is a regular problem with the cooper but there is no recall of any sort.
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