I always maintained my 2002 MINICooper and at 80K miles the transmission blew up just before I was to enter a very busy freeway in los angeles, downtown area. There was plenty of oil in the transmission. I was told it was not a fault of my care after the mechanic looked at it upon tow in. It just stopped fast and short with a huge jerk forward and explosive noise. The mechanic said it blew in big chunks. I couldn't move it from traffic in neutral and had it towed to the shop. 80K is early for something like this and I see many people are reporting this happened with even less mileage, 34K, 48K...no replacements and so many failures like this? MINIturns their heads; would not replace or even talk to me. Previously too the power steering pump also just stopped and no movement on the wheel. Seriously dangerous. I was told by the dealership one time in mountain view, I had an oil leak. At the time the amount they wanted me to pay was high, $700 or so (just after warranty ended). I took it to another mechanic. He took me under the car and showed me there was not a spot of oil under that car in any nook or cranny. In thinking about this after transmission problem I realize these things are telling me MINIknows about their MINImechanical problems. Also when the new ($4350) transmission was purchased, la, MINItold the mechanic they had 5 transmissions in stock in their parts department at all times because this was so common. That's proof they know it's a problem. Yet no recall to people with these issues and these can cause serious life threatening problems.

- Santa Monica, CA, USA

Sudden failure of the manual 5 speed transmission causing car to come to a sudden stop in an intersection, endangering the driver and blocking traffic. Something internal fails in the transmission, car comes to T sudden stop, cant be pushed as the wheels lock up and must be towed from the road. Appears to be a common problem on message boards on the web. Transmission must be replaced.

- Simi Valley, CA, USA

Transmission bearings failure after 82,000 miles. No bearings kit replacement offered.

- Irvine, CA, USA

Purchased a used 2002 MINICooper about 3 1/2 yrs ago w/ about 12K miles. At around 15-17K miles the transmission basically exploded while I was on the highway. I was told that there was a crack in the transmission. MINIreplaced it with I'm guessing a rebuilt transmission. At the time of the repair I asked them if they were putting in a new clutch and they said no, which I found strange. Now at 60K miles the clutch is basically done. When the car is cold it shifts pretty normally, but after 15-25 minutes of driving the first two gears become hard to engage and they slip. This is not my first five speed and I'm shocked that this clutch is done after such little mileage. Should they have replaced the clutch when they replaced the transmission? I'm not a mechanic but to lose a clutch at 60K miles doesn't make any sense. My driving habits are pretty normal. I'm not lighting up the tires at traffic lights or racing people. This is an everyday car mostly used on the highway. I'm bringing the car in to have it looked at the MINIservice center in freeport NY on 12/29/08. Also had a problem with overheating about 4 months after car was purchased. And air bag light stays lit. Have had this problem corrected once or twice. But the light still stays lit.

- Long Beach, NY, USA

Clutch and cables fail at 100 000km. Rattling noise at start up. Very loud humming noise coming from the steering. Transmission gone at 103 000km.

- Laval, 00, USA

The warranty on my 2002 MINICooper ran out at 50K miles. At 53K miles the transmission failed and had to be replaced with a rebuilt transmission from MINIThe total cost of the repair was $4,200. I have been in contact with many other people who are suffering the same fate because MINIwill not take responsibility for their faulty transmissions.

- Homestead , FL, USA

Transmission blew at 34 thousand miles.

- Spencer, OH, USA

I have a 2002 MINICooper with 52K miles, the transmission has went out twice in the past 2 years the first time at 31K miles. The clutch has also went out as well as the sunroof motor, left front brake caliper, windshield wiper motor with a host of sensors, gauges etc... parts are impossible to get and service on a 24K car (when new) is as much as my 70K BMW 7 series.

- Skiatook, OK, USA

I purchased a pre-owned MINICooper with 34,000 miles on it. 5-speed transmission. Shortly after purchase, I noticed a "studder/hesitation" on take off from a dead stop in first gear. This happened about a dozen times. I took it to my mechanic to demonstrate the problem. On the test drive, the car made a loud grinding noise and all gears failed. The clutch and gear shift felt normal, but no gear would engage. The car was rolling backwards down a hill into oncoming traffic. It was towed to the local MINIdealership where it was determined that the transmission had failed. At that point the car had 35,000 miles on it. Because it was 4 months out of warranty, MINIrefused to pay for the repair. I found numerous accounts of the midland transmissions being replaced under warranty. I was informed that my car received the newer getrag transmission because the midlands were discontinued in 2004 in favor of the more reliable getrag transmissions. The failure occurred with very little warning. It was a dangerous and catastrophic failure that resulted in a car that suddenly would not move in traffic.

- Rockbridge, OH, USA

2002 MINICooper clutch and transmission failure at 68,000 miles.

- Phoenix, AZ, USA

Car stalls randomly when comming to a stop. This happens on on manuel transmission. When depressing the clutch it revs down and idols low and stalls when approahing a stop. After an inital stall power is reduced and is sluggish when the gas is depressed.

- San Antonio, TX, USA