It is with a heavy heart that I bid farewell to the Mini community. After much love in motoring, my Mini’s engine overheated to the point where it needed to be replaced.

As the story goes, last week I started my 2010 Mini Cooper S with no problems when suddenly a flickering and jamming noise sounded off. Startled, I shut my car off immediately and waited a few moments before restarting the engine. Unfortunately, the car wouldn’t turn over and I was stuck.

After the car was towed to the dealership, I was told that the battery had died, but that their best mechanic had looked over the entire car in great detail to make sure everything was in tip top condition. Less than 24 hours later, the engine light turned on. Finding a safe shoulder on the highway, I pulled over and had the car towed back to the dealership. The final verdict was simple: the Mini now needed a new engine. A new engine! A crack in the thermostat (which had been replaced only a few months ago) caused the engine to overheat; blowing the gasket and melting much of the internals to the point where the engine was irreparable and a new engine was the only cure. It blows my mind to fathom that the car could go from excellent condition to a worthless heap in less than a day.

With an expired warranty and a car with no working engine, I had absolutely no negotiating room and was forced to accept a ridiculously lowball offer to sell the Mini back to the dealership, leaving me severely under water on my car loan, which had to be paid immediately since the car would no longer be in my possession.

Things happen, I get it. However, the real kicker here is that Mini wouldn’t budge the slightest in their negotiating; even if just to appear slightly more humanizing. The offer was extremely insulting; not accommodating even to partially compensate for the previous day’s purchase of the battery or their faulty diagnosis that the car was fine. They wouldn’t even allow me to put a small portion of the remaining loan balance on a credit card since I just didn’t have the cash. Long story short, I had to borrow the money from a family member to pay the balance.

Suffice to say, I will not be purchasing another Mini, and neither will any of my family, friends, or colleagues. Nor will I be quiet about my terrible experiences or angry feelings. I had originally been looking forward to upgrading to a Countryman S in a year or two, but now I’ve lost all confidence in Mini. I just can’t justify paying all that cash for such a highly unreliable car that is completely fine one day but toast the next day. In the short 3 years and 4 months that I’ve owned my Mini with the utmost attentiveness to keeping it top notch condition, I’ve replaced the water pump 3 times, had the chain tensioner replaced twice, and the thermostat replaced only a short while ago (not to mention the new battery).

On a side note, in my most recent visits to the dealership, it was amazing to see how many fellow motorists arrived on tow via flatbeds. I’ve always defended Mini in the past whenever someone remarked about how much I was spending to maintain the car. “It’s the price for premium,” has always been my mantra response. I didn’t realize how high that price could climb.

Prior to purchasing my Mini, I read many of the horror stories on this and other forums about catastrophic failures (chain tensioner-induced cold start chatter, Minis catching on fire), but I thought that perhaps some people just didn’t regularly maintain their Minis or perhaps there was a infinitesimally tiny fraction of lemons that somehow slid past an intense quality control. I couldn't imagine that three and a half years later I would be just another angry post, writing about being a victim plagued by cold start chatter, a cracked thermostat, and a melting engine, even after such diligent care. I now seriously doubt the whole “squeaky wheel gets the oil” excuse that is often thrown around when talking about the many serious problems that Mini owners face. We often hear that the small percentage of owners with issues are the ones who make the most noise. Well, if that’s the case, add my roar to the lengthening squabble of voices.

For any future buyer absolutely intent on a Mini purchase, at the very least please consider getting the GAP insurance; I wish I did. These cars are very delicate beasts; you never know when or how the engine may suddenly fail on you without a warning, when you least expect it.

-----Update 7/1/2013-----
So after reporting my grievances to Mini Cooper HQ as well as speaking to the GM of the dealership, Mini has agreed to offer the car back to me as well as cover most of the repairs. I must say that I am very impressed by the GM and his willingness to correct the problem.

Thank you all for your support and advice!

 

Sorry to hear about your experience, that is truly awful. What a pill to swallow! I'd feel the same as you do. I'd raise hell considering you had JUST had the car in the shop and they failed to spot this ticking time bomb of a thermostat.

I love my R50 but I won't be buying an R56.

 

Did you get any legal advise?

 

After they realized that I wasn’t interested in purchasing a new car, I had few options. I was afraid that they would charge me for leaving the car on their lot for an extended period of time. Thinking about it now, I probably should have more deeply explored my options. I hadn't done much research in the legal avenues available, but I will be looking into it now especially since the thermostat was recently replaced, although it may be too late at this point.

 

Did your Mini have a low coolant warning light? Our gen1 cars do not which I consider a significant oversight and product planning error.

 

Unfortunately, no low coolant warning. The dealer supposedly checked all of the fluids the day before.

 

Very sorry to hear your delima, you would think the dealership would have tried to work with you considering it was a defective part failure that caused the problem to start with.
When first looking at Mini's for my wife, I became very much aware of a history of serious mechanical failures (mostly tied to the turbocharged models) and Mini Coopers reluctance to take ownership of those failures.
Because my wife wanted a Mini so bad, I opted to purchase a new base (no-turbo) with a six year 100K mile warranty.
Based on what my research on Mini's has shown, I would never purchase one without warranty and would recomend the same to others unless they have very deep pockets and an over-riding passion for this car that transends what could be called common sense.
I encourage you to at least explore any leagal recourse that may be open to you.

 

I would seek advise from a lawyer. If you just replaced the thermostat with an OEM unit, it should under warranty. If you could prove that the new thermostat failed and caused the engine damage, Mini may be liable.....

 

Maybe a dumb question, but did you negotiate with MINI USA or with the dealership? MINI USA has stepped up when the dealership hasn't, in the past. If you didn't talk to them directly, that might be something to explore... though it might have gone too far to be useful.

If they replaced the thermostat recently, it should have been under warranty, isn't that the case? The warranty for each part starts with the installation of that part, surely? When was the last time they replaced it?

You have every right to pursue this, and you should. Keep going up the ladder. Write a letter to Jim McDowell. What do you have to lose?

 

So sorry to hear about your experience. I agree that you should elevate this issue and seek legal advice. And I know you are very emotional, but 2010 is 2nd gen, an easy oversight I'm sure. Seems like gross negligence and greed driven douche-baggery on the dealer.

 

Thanks everyone for their support! The camaraderie in Mini community is really what I'll miss most.

Another dealership actually replaced the thermostat around February or March, so I'll definitely look into a possibly warranty on the work to see if I can make a case for it.

 

Thanks Yesti. I absolutely didn't realize that I posted under Gen 1! I had meant to post under the R56 forum.

This may be a dumb question, but can I move this post to Gen 2?

Can I move it myself, or do I need a moderator to move it?

Thanks and sorry for the confusion.

 

This.

 

I am hoping that you kept all the receipts for the work performed on your former Mini ?

They may come in handy since the dealership worked on your vehicle before this mess happened and they reported all is well; what does your receipt state ?????

 

I'm trying to envision a scenario where low coolant results in "melting much of the internals". Did you get the engine temp warning light? Even a battery going dead in three years is suspect, and that wouldn't cause a 'jamming noise'.

 

Didn't you smell or see coolant?

 

Sorry to hear this.

I assume you had over 50K mileage (out of warranty due to miles)?

 

Were they the ones t hat installed the thermostat a few months prior? If so I'd be blaming them.

 

One question.....when the dash lit up....bunch of red lights...did you SHUT THE CAR OFF?
sorry for your loss....well worded description... But sometimes perception of events may not match what happened.....parts of the description seem like continued driving with a issue.
Sure...a recently replaced part failed.....but cars rarely "melt down" unless run out of oil or coolant for an extended time..... Hate to say it...but everyone was thinking it. I am not blaming you...crap happens....you have decided to move on...you are paying the price.... But maybe Something can be learned here and used in your next car....
And hate to say it...bet the "jamming noise" was the motor starting to sieze from lack of lube.....I call them as I see them. Why the car was not towed to the shop after sooner?

 

per my SA, mini parts replaced by a mini dealer carry a 2 year warranty

if that new part fails and causes other damage, that would be covered also

also, the "meltdown" did not happen suddenly ... this is why i personally check under the bonnet daily ... check oil, check coolant level, check brake/clutch fluid level and generally "look around" ... this could have been prevented

i also look at the ground that was under the engine as i move out of my parking spot

scott

 

Thats been bothering me also, if they went completly over the car less than 24 hours before the melt down how could all that coolant be lost without noticing something was wrong, like leaking collant under the car, smell of hot antifreeze, steam from overheated engine as collant excaped, warnning lights that should have sounded well before the melt down etc. etc.
Was it a cracked thermostat or thermostat houseing? If the housing was cracked and leaking fluid, why wasn't it obvious when the mechanics went over the car?
Lots of unanswered questions to draw any understanding of what actualy happened to cause the melt down.

 

my best guess is typical modern car owner ... gas-n-go with no thought of maintenance ... mini does not help with this situation with their crazy long service intervals and lack of instrumentation

while this is fine for most cars today, minis are not most cars ... the S models in particular are high performance machines and as such need more attention and care ...

scott

 

+1 Mini should be liable if it was due to a defective part installed.

 

I traded old Blue my Clubbie S with 54,450 miles on him. I was crossing my fingers everyday that last couple of weeks and prayed the last 150 miles to the dealer to drop it off. One of the folks at work offered me more than the trade, but personnaly I could never sell a used Mini to someone I know.

Lucy is covered for 6 years 100K maintenance and extended warrenty. I plan to trade her with 99,500 miles or at 5 years 11 months.

 

This is exactly why I paid the bucks to have MINI install a temp gauge in my 2013 JCW Hardtop when it was new in March. Even the gauge is under warranty. Every MINI should have one. This orange light, red light business, is just BS. You need to know when it's going wrong, not after it's gone wrong!