im 17 years old and the first car i bought was a chili red 2003 hardtop automatic mini cooper. ive had way more problem than i would have expected. first we had problems with waht we thouhgt was the transmision but was the shift sensor and indicater, my back tail light cover popped off in winter, i had battery problems and went through two batteries because it wasnt getting the energy from them, and the most recent problem that has yet to be fixed is that things in are losing power. when i start my mini and drive it, it will run the way it always has. however after about 20 minutes the radio will go out, the power steering goes out, and when i drive it feels like the minis trying to pull alot of weight and it has alot of drag, it also has a slow acceleration responce, almost none. my dad and i have checked all fluids and everything there is to check. we have yet to take it to the dealer because we really dont like dealing with our closest one. i would prefer to know whats wrong before we take it to them and they fix the wrong thing again. if anyone has any ideas of what could be wrong with my mini, please let me know what you think! im going to college in a year and my mom thinks it has too many problems and isnt reliable and she wants me to sell it and i cant sell my mini! so your help would be much appreciated.

 

You checked all of the fuses and relays? The brakes ok? Maybe a rear caliper is stuck and is causing the drag, but that might also make the car pull to one side.

 

Unfortunately it is very difficult to diagnose an electrical issue over the internet. It sounds like it may be a charging system issue. Check to see if the alternator is putting out 14V. Then drive it, get it nice and warm, and check again for 14V.

Are there any lights that come on in the dash?

 

Yeah, two batteries! sounds like an alternator issue. Hard to really tell, but sounds like your car is running on batteries... literary! If your alternator is not charging, then your spark plugs are drawing current from your battery to run the car. After a while, the battery can not provide the current needed to properly spark and keep the engine running. Dragging the car down. Get your alternator checked. Any parts store can check that for you for free!! Just remove it from the car and take it Autozone for a free check up.