2003 Mini COOPER problems and owner complaints

OWNER NOTICED CHANGE IN STEERING RESULTING IN HARD TURNING AND NO RETURN OF STEERING WHEEL WITHOUT ASSISTANCE AFTER TURNING VEHICLE. DEALER FOUND FAILURE OF LOWER STEERING SHAFT UNIVERSAL JOINT AND REPLACED LOWER STEERING SHAFT ASSEMBLY AND RETAINED OLD PART. VEHICLE WAS MANF. 2/2003 AND HAS 64482 MILES ON IT TO DATE.

Owner-reported narrative. 64,482 miles reported. Look up ODI 10141761 at NHTSA ↗

FAILURE OF STEERING GEAR ASSEMBLY RESULTING IN REPLACEMENT OF ASSEMBLY 3X. FAILURE RESULTED IN MORE DIFFICULTY TURNING STEERING WHEEL AND CREAKING NOISE EMITTING FROM UNDERSIDE OF CAR. DEALER STATED THERE WAS A TSB ON THIS ISSUE. 1ST INSTANCE 7/8/04 @32,297 MILES, 2ND INSTANCE 3/2/05 @48,551 MILES, 3RD INSTANCE 7/25/05 @59,112 MILES. ALL FAILURES OCCURRED BETWEEN JULY 2004 AND JULY 2005. OLD PART KEPT BY DEALERSHIP.*JB

Owner-reported narrative. 59,112 miles reported. Look up ODI 10142184 at NHTSA ↗

ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASIONS, THE VEHICLE LOST POWER WHEN DRIVING, WHICH RESULTED IN AN INSTANT DECELERATION BELOW 1500 RPMS. THE DEALER WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE OR DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM. VEHICLE IS A 2003 MINI-COOPER CVT.*AK *TS *JB

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10024132 at NHTSA ↗

MINI COOPER 2003 CVT STALLS IN SLOW TRAFFIC OR STARTING FROM STOP LIGHT. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT GOES ON; HOWEVER, THE ENGINE SHUTS OFF. IN ADDITION, IT HAS HAPPENED TWICE IN A MONTH CONSIDERING THAT THE VEHICLE IS ONLY A MONTH OLD. ALSO, THE CVT TRANSMISSION IS VERY JERKY AND COULD SURGE ON AN OCCASIONAL BASIS. INFORMED THAT IT'S A SOFTWARE PROBLEM AND NO REPAIR IS NEEDED AT THIS POINT. I THINK IT IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. *LA

Owner-reported narrative. 4,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10041330 at NHTSA ↗

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 WINDO…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10167739 at NHTSA ↗

I HAD ~40,000 MILES ON MY MINI COOPER LAST SUMMER. THE POWER STEERING JUST STOPPED WORKING WHILE I WAS MOTORING. I WENT TO TURN AND WHOA, NO POWER ASSIST. I'M ESTIMATING THE DATE THE PROBLEM OCCURRED. I CAN LOOK UP THE REPAIR ORDER IF THE CORRECT DATE IS IMPORTANT. I THINK THAT BECAUSE OF THE MANY PROBLEMS SOME OF US HAVE HAD, THERE IS A REASON WHY I HAVE READ THAT THE 2007 MINI IS GOING TO HAVE A DIFFERENT STEERING SYSTEM FROM THE ELECTRICAL-HYDRAULIC ONES WE NOW HAVE. I GUESS I WAS LUCKY BECAUSE WHEN IT FAILED ON MY 2003 MC, THERE W…

Owner-reported narrative. 41,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10171036 at NHTSA ↗

WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH OR LESS THE VEHICLE STALLED. *NLM

Owner-reported narrative. 550 miles reported. Look up ODI 10020286 at NHTSA ↗

THE CAR HAS MULTIPLE DAILY ENGINE STUMBLES AND HAS STALLED 3 TIMES SINCE OWNING THE NEW CAR FOR THE PAST 7 MONTHS. THE STALLS HAVE BEEN WHILE DRIVING AT LOW SPEEDS. *NLM

Owner-reported narrative. 4,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10025140 at NHTSA ↗

WHEN THE VEHICLE TOOK OFF FROM A STOP, AT TIMES THE VEHICLE LOST POWER. *JB. LOST OF THROTTLE CONTROL, ENGINE BRAKING EFFECT IN FIRST GEAR SLOWS CAR RAPIDLY WHILE TRAFFIC IS BEARING DOWN*TS *JB

Owner-reported narrative. 1,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10022419 at NHTSA ↗

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 DEPARTM…

Owner-reported narrative. 65,525 miles reported. Look up ODI 10195023 at NHTSA ↗

AFTER THE 10,000 MILE OIL CHANGE WAS PERFORMED, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO START ON THE FIRST ATTEMPT, IT IDLED ROUGH AND SOMETIMES STALLED WHEN STOPPED AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT WITHOUT WARNING. THE DEALERSHIP HAS REPROGRAMMED THE COMPUTER, DRAINED THE FUEL AND PUT IN OTHER GRADE OF FUEL. *JB AFTER NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS, THE FUEL PUMP AND INJECTORS WERE REPLACED BUT REMAINED TO LOSE FUEL PRESSURE OVERNIGHT. *SC

Owner-reported narrative. 10,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10092399 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FUEL CAP WOULD NOT PROPERLY SEAL AND WAS CAUSING THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY THE DEALER AND THEY ADVISED HER THAT THE FUEL CAP, FUEL TANK NOZZLE, HOSE AND CONNECTOR WOULD NEED REPLACING. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND THEY OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 270,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. UPDATED 08/08/11*LJ UPDATED 3/02/2012 *LN

Owner-reported narrative. 270,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10407748 at NHTSA ↗