Greetings-

This is my 3rd Mini, I had a F56 S and a F56 JCW.

This is basically my daily driver, it replaced a 2021 Volvo V60 Polestar which I loved but it had a year of warranty left and I sold it for about 6k less then I paid for it 4 years and 30k miles later. I did not want to own the car without warranty and with a year remaining the value was peaked.

I looked at a lot of different cars for a daily, I am fortunate as I have a G80 M3 and a Porsche GT3 as well as a 968. I have always liked my Mini ownership and the ability to mod it to the point it's unrecognizable and no one expects anything left. I ordered the U25, got it in mid-sept after watching the ship transverse
the oceans and arriving in Oxnard. I got 1500 off and it has every option including spare tire.

I actually liked the way it looked better in person than reading and watching reviews. The interior was funky and cool. The software is, well, challenging. My G80 M3 is the year before they went all screen, more importantly I can code it with Bimmercode. BC told me that OS9 in this mini is locked and getting rid of the 1) Auto Start function and 2) the nanny screen is not happening yet if ever. I did sign up for the module you plug into the OBD port which will do Number 1 and hoping far more.

Just completed a 1400 mile vacation to Carmel, Napa and SF from Newport Beach and now have a good feel what I like and hate. I got 34 MPG on the way up and 27 home ( 95mph) It carried almost as much stuff and wine as the V60 did and that is saying something. The materials of course are not a 70k car it replaced but pretty darn good. The biggest issue I was worried about was losing the bowers and Wilkins stereo with this HK system, of course it's not as good but not bad at all. I have been tempted to upgrade my M3's and I know there will be the same offered eventually for the U25 but we shall see.

I hate the HVAC system and I have a call with a Mini factory rep next week and I have some suggestions, they reached out to me to talk about the car so I let them know I have 2k miles on it now and have some " suggestions"

My SA told me the Personal mode is now on all new cars they have and the new version of the software we are all awaiting. Why they are slowing that rollout is annoying. I might go by the dealer and just see if any of the UI issues I dont like got addressed, including how slow it is at times.

I have added wheel spacers, tinted the windows and have ordered the JCW mats from the boards sponsor. There is a dearth of mods which is rather shocking from Mini. I will add more to this thread as time goes on.

 

I also had a Mini rep reach out. I think it is standard practice for loyal customers (this is our 5th Countryman). I detailed myriad issues, including the awful HVAC (fan speeds are absurd), and while they listened, there was no follow up or further action. Their response was basically taken it to the dealer (joke) and to reset the system (jokier).

I've about had it with this U25. Drives beautifully, but the controls are hard to live with.

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I'm sorry you are having so many issues.

Technically I have zero issues only a handful of software complaints. My SA says for some reason the S models are suffering the most problems like black screens etc. Mine has exhibited none of these. Frankly if I could eliminate Auto Start which I know a 3rd party is working on and the nanny screen I would be happy.

 

Great write up! I wish the climate controls were easier to reach, and could disable some features that keep auto-resetting every time the car is started (like auto start/stop)...
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​I picked up my U25 JCW in June of this year.
It's my 5th Mini, second Countryman (last was an F60).

I'm curious if you have experienced this as I have about 2600miles on my car now and the dealership said it was normal, but the loaner they provided, another U25 but an S all4 didn't have this issue.

When letting off the brake at a red light and pushing the gas pedal, the car doesn't even roll for about a second, by this time the cars around you have already started to accelerate and have about a car length distance from me. Then the car will start to roll. Another second and the engine will respond and start to see the rpm line move from idle. By this time a second set of cars is next to me and accelerating at a faster rate.

I make sure the auto start/stop is off because that just adds a longer delay.

​​​​​​The scariest times, is navigating intersections when I have a stop sign and cross traffic doesn't. This is when I first learned of the acceleration delay when pulling out of a shopping complex and nothing happened and the cross traffic was getting closer and closer, when eventually I just floored it and clenches the cheeks hoping the dang thing would finally rev and outpace them all.

Putting it in different modes doesn't seem to change this issue. The park brake and hill assist are off, etc.

But this is dangerous.

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In our U25 S All4, I have not experienced any acceleration lag whatsoever regardless of driving mode (typically drive in Go Kart).

 

I think a brake is sticking on mine, but the hill stuff is off. I'm not sure that wouldn't explain why it takes so long from pressing the gas pedal to when the rpm starts increasing. When the dealership said it was "normal" and I went to drive away, the parking brake did stick even though it was off and it made a really loud bang noise in the back driver side tire then finally lurched forward.
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Surely sounds like a mechanical issue.

 

I had my call with Mini this afternoon.

The representative was very receptive, highlighted the lack of communication from Mini to the customer and admitted there are several key flaws in the software that has received MUCH feedback from Mini and BMW owners of the X1/X2.

She said they have weekly meetings with both plants, UK and Germany and provide unvarnished feedback from customers.

My top compliant was Auto Start Stop. I told her that the bread and breakfast we stay at in Napa enters and exits the main road that connects downtown and the rural wineries. There is a blind spot at our place Miliken Creek and there is a blind curve that approaches the exit of the place, a 2 second delay caused by A/S/S ( yes I know what that looks like) is dangerous and is libelous for BMW/Mini. As an attorney I see great exposure in this system as it currently sits. It was bad enough I placed a post it on the screen to remind me to disable it. She actually had me write a statement to this fact and email her as she was going to read it aloud at the next meeting Thursday to both Plant managers.
I harbor no hope anyone listens but they do understand legal exposure.

I added that the software while 75% done is not completed and not sure how much of this passed testing unless we are Beta subjects. I told her whenever I go surfing and fold down the seats to slide my board in I get a warning that does not go away my backseat passengers are at risk. I said this needs to be able to be turned off!
Of course the HVAC controls, Infotainment and shortcuts needs to be easier and quicker to use.

I said there is either too much bloat in the OS or they cheated out on the GPU/RAM which makes the software sluggish at times which compounds eyes off the road waiting for a function to appear.

On the plus side I said the car is very efficient, quick and smooth on most California roads.

Dream changes were a different voice than the poor English/German male who cannot pronounce the Queens English. Shortcuts that stay on the Home Screen and for future owners ventilated seats instead of what they try and pass off as massaging seats.

Lastly as we have seen on this forum and I have been aggravated by it, the owners manual references an Infotainment manual. Where is it? We dont know what the limits are other than USB drives, which ports are hot and files supported. There is a glitch with Apple CarPlay that will sometimes drop a USB source when conflicted.

She said she would call me after she calls the person in charge of the owners manual content and get a PDF ot me when available which I will post here.

PS she was shocked I didnt have Personal mode active, all new cars shipped with it I asked was my car that I got in the middle of Sept not considered new? The response was embarrassment and a promise ot try and get a release date of the update. I dont care about that mode but hoping fixes are what is delaying this as OTA's are a major undertaking and probably hoping to have as much as they can ( again, I hope) if its just what is out there not it would be a bummer. If you look at the BMW forums X2 M135 owners ( our cousins) are furious, they have way more issues than we do. This was a very non-BMW launch based on my exp of owning lots of new BMWs. My G80 has been flawless and I am glad I got the model before they completely eliminated buttons and Bimmer Code support.

 

This was one of the first things I noticed when I was out on my test drive with the new 2025 Cooper S. The auto start/stop system is super aggressive. It shuts off the engine while the car is still coming to a complete stop. It's at least a second or two premature. Every other car I've driven with auto start/stop doesn't kill the engine until the vehicle completely stops moving. I didn't find the engine restart to be much different than other cars I've driven; it's too slow, just like on all the others. I've read very similar complaints on the X1 / X2 forums, and also from outfits like Consumer Reports. I plan to disable it for each drive, which is a hassle, but not much different than the other pre-drive stuff I do in my other vehicles.

I'm anticipating some amount of growing pains in my 2025 Cooper S when it arrives. That's just how things go with new systems like this. The key is going to be how fast MINI/BMW respond to complaints. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

I've seen several reports about updates not making it to vehicles. Some people seem to have them, some people not. I'm sure they will get this sorted out, preferably before my Cooper S arrives. Hopefully it isn't like what happened in my 2023 Accord where it couldn't update OTA...because it needed an update to be able to update. Yah, ok. I drove the car around for over a year with a "Update failed, see dealer" message every time I turned it on. When I finally brought it in, the dealer tried to tell me it was normal and that there were no updates available. They only took a harder look at the problem once I told them I wasn't picking up the car until that message was gone. They did finally figure it out and the car downloaded at least 5 updates over 12 hours.