Hi...Check my last post with pictures.. Post #522

 

We Both deserve a new car!! Can we trust BMW?

 

Again...I am so very sorry! Check my post #522 for pictures. Mine looks very much like yours!

Karen

 

We need to know if this problem has been corrected....Otherwise,do we want another MINI?

 

...and we were all thinking this was limited to Gen1 MINIs. Can't believe the same thing is still happening after all these years.

 

They do indeed! My car had such an awesome story behind it, its so sad that it is gone now. I contacted my dealership and they told me they have never heard of this problem...yeah right.

 

That is the same thing the dealership told me. I think when you read posts you will find this is what they tell everyone. I kept calling them until they put me in touch with a contact @ BMW North America. You MUST do the same! Be very persistant! Do not give up! There is a class action lawsuit taking place www.topclassactions.com "Mini Cooper Defective Steering Class Action Lawsuit" However, the lawyers are usually the only winners in that type of suit, so I am not going to get involved. IMHO it is better to work directly with BMW and if that does not work, hire your own attorney.

 

Actually, these types of fires in the 2nd Gen MINIs still seem to be quite rare compared to the 1st Gen experience. Remember that the power steering system design is completely different between the two. This thread has 40 documented 1st Gen fires in the first post and a bunch more mentioned throughout the thread that never made the list, and a "smoldering gun" in the form of a NHTSB investigation. I think I've heard of at most 6 2nd Gen fires and two of those were related to ABS failure.

I know that doesn't make you feel any better. I feel bad about your loss. I had a '95 Ford Ranger burn to a shell in a golf course parking lot and I didn't have a fraction of the affection to it that I've had for my MINIs. It still sucked.

 

I say this should be sticky also! I averted this exact problem by chance when I had my PS pump and ABS sensors and module replaced.

 

...this is something i did not want to read... I don't have the money to replace the ABS and PS pump

alright, after reading through most of the pages i wanted to verify somethings i'm not real clear about.
on a few occasions after turning my car off, I've heard a fan still going. i assumed it was the radiator fan but after reading a few posts here i think it may be the PS fan. it will only turn off after letting it run shortly (about a minute) and restarting the car momentarily. I have an 03 Cooper

 

The fan in my MINI refused to shut down....sometimes I could make it shut down by restarting....which might have taken several restarts. However, it would sometimes continue for 20-30 minutes and I could not shut it down even if I took it for a short drive. When this first happened, I thought that the car was still running....but it was the fan. I think on the day of the fire, I was surrounded by enough city noise that I did not notice that the fan was still running. I was in the store for about 10 minutes and was told my car was "overheating". I looked in the parking lot and a huge cloud of black smoke was coming from under the bonnet. You see the consequences in the pictures. If I were you, I would take it to a dealer and express your concerns. (You might print a copy of pertinent posts and take them with you.) I had complained to the dealership several times...You will need to be VERY INSISTANT that they find the cause! .....especially if it is running more than a minute or so, Maybe someone on this thread can tell you if a minute or so would be normal. For me, the problem came and went and seemed more likely in the summer when the air conditioning was in use. (or this may have been coincidence) BMW could not find a cause after a complete investigation; the damage was too extensive. (" inconclusive" ) I have not yet been told the findings of the insurance company investigation.

 

It is normal for a car with an electric fan to run for a few minutes...
especially on a hot day or when driven hard.
It is not normal when it stays on for a long time...5 minutes or more.

Ignoring a fan or ps motor that continues to run (and not fix it) is dangerous...in ANY CAR.

 

i've decided just to replace it anyways, i have 109K on the stock "faulty" fan design so i think i can justify buying a replacement of the new design.

 

Please let me know if it stops the fan.

 

If you are refering to the rad fan...the aftermarket is an exact copy..the computer on the car determines runtime....a failed relay could keep it running, but same desgin...a failed resistor on the fan cause the low speed to fail...minor issue, but will let the car run hotter, make the ac work harder....

Ps fan did have a wiring change in 2005 that can be retrofitted...splitting the ps fan and rad fan to separate fuses....
the ps pump change was said to be mostly sound related...
A few cars did have a chafing issue on the ps power cable (non-fused due to current requirements)....easy to look for, and add a gromit or chafe tape if needed.

 

interesting, how far up the harness has the chafing generally been?

 

My mini Cooper R56 Spontaneous Caught on FIRE.

Before all this happen, I took the car in for Service. I stated to the Service Advisor the car was not driving right and I'm sure some Services needs to be looked at. My buddy ol' pal pops the key into the card reader "Nope nothing showed up you good to go" I exit with a smile on my face never thinking twice, could be my mind playing car games.

Saturday 8/27/11 (10:30p) Car sitting from a drive to have dinner. Came home parked the and didn't hear or notice anything.
Sunday 8/28/11 (4:00p)
Police came knocking on the door My car was on fire and Plantation FIRE DEPT was in the process of putting out the FIRE. The cause unknown. The fire Dept guy said " from the looks of this incident, what’s seems to cause this was the electrical fuse. Flames were shooting 8'ft in the air. The car is totaled there's no engine there's nothing left besides the some of the interior cabin.

I am tired of heading over to Vista Mini and having them explain there never nothing wrong with my car. 3 1/2 months ago my fuel pump goes, and was told I had to pay for $850 pump that was called a recall. I am shocked and lost for words that Vista cannot get there act or services dept together.

Long live Minimiles you live on forever. Forever young.

 

Hi everyone,

I don't even know where to begin this, so I thought this was as good a place as any. My Clubby S threw a barbecue without inviting me this morning. Drove 30 minutes to work, parked, and about 5 minutes later someone ran past my office and calmly said, "Your cars on fire, buddy". Boy was it. Billowing smoke that soon turned into rather large flames. It is a total loss. Even my child's carseat in the back was melted.

I am happy, and thankful, that I wasn't driving at the time, and that it wasn't parked in my driveway, but I don't know what to do. (i've called insurance, etc.) I take care of my cars and I have hit every service appointment. The car is still under Mechanical Warranty. I can only think it was something electrical.

The issue mentioned above, about the fan running for longer than 5 minutes? I think my Clubby might have done this recently. I thought it was just warm on a hot day and took extra long to cool off, but I remember thinking that it had gone on for a while. Could this be one of the issues? I know this isn't a common thing that happens, but it happened to me, and I don't know how it's going to play out.

Midwestern Mini (Dublin, Ohio) didn't seem too concerned or sympathetic when I spoke to the service manager. Actually asked me if I thought it was a mechanical/electrical issue? I asked him what else could it be?? Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. Especially from anyone who has gone through this.
Thanks!

Oh, link to pictures. http://min.us/mwOI6HgoQ

 

Wow an '09 Clubman S that burned down? That's not very reassuring. So sorry to hear about your loss and glad that nobody was injured. Wow, I'm stunned.

re: Fan
The turbos on our cars run VERY hot and depending on the weather, the fan can run for quite awhile cooling the car down.

Has your Clubbie been serviced recently?
How many miles were you at?
Did you notice or experience any strangeness in the days before this happened?


Richard

 

Thanks for the info on the turbos/fan, Richard. It is at least reassuring that I didn't ignore a possible problem.

To answer your questions:
Last service was on July 30th, i think, and it was an oil change.
I had approximately 38,600 miles on her.
I hadn't driven the Clubbie all weekend (3 days). Nothing strange up to that point, but at one point this morning, I thought something sounded a little different during acceleration, but couldn't put my finger on it and it wasn't unique or distinct enough to concern me.

Two winters ago, it did have a bad start-up problem. Loooud knocking sound that ended up being a stuck intake manifold. (if I remember correctly) and it was replaced by the dealer. I also have not done any aftermarket mods to the car, as much as I wanted to.

Your Clubbie is hot!, by the way. Not like mine, though... hah. I'm still shaking.

 

So sorry to hear about your clubman but glad no one was hurt. ihave an 09 S too, hardtop.

looking at the pictures, i noticed that the front wheels are right up against the curb. maybe what happened was, even after shutdown, the power steering motor was still running trying to follow the last input on the steering wheel. With the front wheels against the curb though, they would't budge so the motor could've overheated.

I read somewhere here on NAM that the MINI's systems stay on for some time after ignition off.

hopefully the investigation will identify the cause

 

I wondered about the PS unit, because oddly enough, while the flames were starting to build and I was still pretty close to it, she began to roll backwards. Just as I started to worry about the other cars behind it, she went forward again. Faster... not a coast, hit the curb pretty good and the wheels actually kept trying to spin against the curb for a few seconds.

This is a manual transmission, E-brake pulled and left in first gear as I always do. So my question is, how would it roll backwards AND how did it move forward again at an even faster rate??

 

"Your cars on fire, buddy", BIG TIME, hope he called the fire department IMMEADIATLY......
Glad the car wasn't in your garage or near anything else that would burn. That was one hell of a blaze. Hope all goes well for you - please post when a determination is made.

 

inb4infernohappens

 

I wouldn't think the starter motor, if somehow it got powered, would be strong enough to move a handbraked car. Sorry I thought you parked it that way.

Hopefully, even with the extensive damage, a definite cause will be found.