The car was parked in front of our townhome. That afternoon, my neighbor knocked on the door to tell me that there was black smoke coming out from under the hood and that she had heard a loud pop under the hood. After calling the fire department, the firefighters cautiously raised the hood and discovered that something had caught fire under the hood. They told me to not drive the vehicle, and I called my insurance company, had the car towed to the mechanic who works on our automobiles, and the insurance company sent a claims agent to assess the damage. The power steering pump had caught on fire, and numerous other parts were damaged.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

Without any warranting the power steering wheel was hard to turn. The car became very difficult to drive I just had diagnosed test four days ago on the car the only problem noted was the thermostat. Know I can not drive the car.

- Vallejo, CA, USA

Brand new vehicle was towed in for repair at 7,308 miles 1/27/10 vehicle was brought in for service due to misfires 1/27/810. MINIservice cleaned fuel system and provided "courtesy" first time injector service. Vehicle was returned to me and brought back the next day for the same misfire faults 2/2/10, high pressure fuel pump was replaced and fuel rail was removed. 7,318 miles, 10 miles later... the vehicle was towed in again for combustion misfires 24,491 miles 8/12/11 brought vehicle in for strange noise, MINIsaid it was nothing to worry about. 24,783 miles 8/18/11 vehicle was towed in due to engine seizing...turbo carbon build up, turbo feed line issues 33,124 miles 01/31/12 vehicle was making noises, brought in to service, MINIsaid they would need to inspect the car closer to see what was going on. I scheduled a service and loaner for 2/1/12 (report said that there were misfire issues, I was not informed...until I noticed it on the report a week later) 33,250 miles 2/1/12 vehicle was towed in engine seized, engine completely replaced. MINIclaims that this is not a lemon in any way and that I will need to continue to pay for my lease until the contract end. I feel unsafe driving a car, with a track record of seizing or misfiring at any time on a highway or road, putting me in a very dangerous situation.

- Bernardsville, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2006 MINICooper S. the contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving 5 mph. Upon restart, the vehicle would operate as normal. The contact also stated that the steering wheel would intermittently seize. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 19,650. Updated 03/05/12 the consumer stated the vehicle was ultimately taken to the dealer for a diagnosis. However, they were unable to determine the cause of the stalling. Updated 03/06/12

- Miami, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2006 MINICooper S. the contact heard an abnormal grinding noise when accelerating at any speed. The dealer advised the contact to bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing but the manufacturer was not notified. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who advised the contact to replace the super charger assembly, water pump assembly, bypass valve, and the anti freeze. No repairs were performed. The current and the failure mileages were 92,000.

- Cherry Valley, CA, USA

The motor mount on the MINIcooper is notorious for leaking hydraulic fluid and needing replacement after fewer than 20,000 miles of service. Mine showed fluid leakage at 18,000 miles, and many others on the internet report this defect in the neighborhood of 10,000 miles. The company has issued a technical service bulletin M22 01 06 for this problem, but will not treat this chronic and dangerous condition as a manufacturing defect. This defect could allow the motor to shift, leading to accidents and loss of life. Having been an automotive mechanic for years, I normally expect a motor mount to last about 75,000 miles. This unacknowledged manufacturing defect is unsafe and costly to repair. For example, I had it repaired at MINIof North scottsdale (AZ) and it cost me about $245.

- Scottsdale, AZ, USA

Plethora of electrical problems. Heated seats are a major concern. They go on and off by themselves, seem haunted. Sometimes, they get so hot they leave burn marks in my legs. I am afraid of an electrical fire. The heated seats get so hot, they left burn marks in my seat. Aisin 6 speed automatic transmission, equipped with "lifetime" fluid, begins slipping gears at 70K the supercharger had to be replaced due to the "design" of the supercharger it could not be repaired, I was forced by bmwusa to purchase a remanufactured supercharger. I was told it was a "common problem" I have also found out from forums such as northamericanmotoring.com this is a problem that BMW does not want to admit its at fault for however they are acknowledging the widespread happenings across the country. The availability of new superchargers is very low because of this problem, hence me purchasing a remfgd one. Rear wiper motor failed at 40K quoted hundreds to replace, not worth it!!!!!

- So Amboy, NJ, USA

I wasdriving in ct. When my car would not start again. My car was hauled away and BMW (MINICooper) and MINIof fairfield county in stamford ct try to claim that this engine was hydrolocked. That is impossible when it was not raining to make this claim. Engine completely seized.

- Larchmont, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2006 MINICooper. The contact stated that while driving, a loud sound was coming from the engine. A local mechanic diagnosed that the crank pulley fan belt that controlled the air conditioning and heater was loose. The manufacturer denied any assistance with repairs to the failure. The vehicle was repaired. The failure and current mileage was 31,039.

- Issaquah, WA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 MINICooper. The contact was driving 15 mph in the rain the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer for inspection. The dealer advised that the vehicle hydro-locked and caused the vehicle to stall. The contact did not agree with the dealers diagnosis and the vehicle was not repaired. He then suggested that the dealer further inspect the vehicle when it was discovered that there was a crack in the engine block. The vehicle was not repaired, as the dealer would not repair the vehicle under warranty. The failure mileage was 46,000.

- Larcmont, NY, USA

2006 MINICooper S. makes horrible engine noise and upon investigation MINIfound that the ac compressor is out and needs to be replaced. The car has only 44K miles and has been MINImaintained. The cost of the repair is close to 4K which is absurd for a part that should last.I found a mechanic ( not MINIthat can do the work for 2,800 but even that is too much for a defective part. MINIshould issue a recall. Now, we can't even turn on the fan because it will trigger a chain reaction of problems.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2006 MINICooper S. while driving approximately 7 mph the low oil pressure sensor illuminated on the dashboard. The vehicle was stopped and the contact added oil to the engine. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and while driving approximately 75 mph the vehicle stalled. The vehicle coasted to a stop and upon restart the contact was able to get the vehicle to authorized dealer. The authorized dealer told the contact that there was a small leak within the engine. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 74,500.

- Madison Heights, MI, USA

The contact owns a 2006 MINICooper. While driving approximately 60 mph, the check engine light illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle proceeded to lose power; however, the contact managed to move out of the way of traffic. He restarted the vehicle after a few minutes and drove to his residence. The vehicle will be taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The current and failure mileages were 130,000.

- Harwich Port, MA, USA

For about 2 weeks now I have noticed that my cooling fan comes on each time I turn off the engine and then it shuts off after a minute or so. So I thought that the fan was just acting up or something. However, yesterday I also noticed that the engine temperature gauge was at the maximum (250 degree F) and the indicator red light had come on. I had been driving for about 20 minutes at about 50-60 miles per hour on side roads (so I had been stopping at lights at intervals). The weather is actually unseasonably cool (60-70 degree F), and I had been changing gears (I have the automatic with sports drive). So naturally, when I turned off the engine the cooling fan came on again and didn't turn off for another 3-5 minutes. So on the way back, I drove at about 30 miles with my hazard light on as I was driving on the free-way and put it on cruise control. But the temperature gauge still went up to about 3 quarters of the way and the fan kicked on after I parked it after about 15 minutes. The manual says to immediately stop the car and let the engine cool down if the temperature gauge goes past the half-way point. I have an appointment with the dealer in 2 days for what I thought was a cooling fan problem. But this seems like an engine issue. So I am planning to get the car towed to the dealership first thing in the morning.

- Weston, FL, USA

The vehicle looses power at freeway speed and eventually stops running. The fuel cut off not allowing the vehicle to accelerate this is dangerous, not allowing the driver adequate time to get to a safe place on freeway as the vehicle has totally lost power.

- Stockton, CA, USA

My wife was driving our 2006 MINICooper S and the engine shut down in the middle of traffic. The dealership could not find any fault codes in the computer and was unable to reproduce the problem. The vehicle is an automatic 6 speed.

- Houston, TX, USA

I submitted a complaint today but want to make sure that the manufacturer is not contacted with my information. Thank you.

- Warminster, PA, USA

I started leasing my MINIcooper in 11/2005. I had leased cars with mitsubushi prior to this for 8 years with no problems. Recently, I was coming home from the airport in my MINIcooper. It started to "clunk", seized, I pulled over - then black and green fluid started pouring out of the front of the car. The roadside service sent a tow truck to pick me up. I sat in 95 degree heat on I-95 for 1 hour and 45 minutes waiting for the truck. The truck came and we took the vehicle to the closest BMW dealer - the dealer I leased from - princeton BMW. They looked at the car and told me that it would not be covered under warranty - even though the car was only 8 1/2 months old and had 6,300 miles on it. They told me that the reason was that the car had gone through water and this was not covered. 2 weeks prior to this event, I went through water on a regular street in my area, the car stopped, I started it up and went on my way. I then proceeded to drive the car down the shore, to work, etc with no problems, no engine light or warning signs. On July 9, I drove to the airport, parked the car, and went on a business trip. On July 11th the incident on 95 occurred. I have never had a car that was not able to go through water on a street.

- Warminster, PA, USA

: the contact owns a 2006 MINIcooper model S. three days after purchase at 130 miles the vehicle stalled and operated at a reduced speed while attempting to accelerate. Although the vehicle did not stall out completely, the vehicle was towed to the dealer. The dealer reprogrammed the computer software. Afterwards, the contact was pulling into a parking space with brake pressure applied, the engine roared and the vehicle lurched forward and struck a tree. The police were on the scene and a report was taken. The vehicle sustained minor damage, but no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was towed to a dealer. The dealer performed a diagnostic test and was unable to duplicate the problem. The service department suggested replacing the engine. Updated 3/3/2006 -

- Pembroke Pines, FL, USA