2008 Mini Cooper S Clubman: problems, recalls and reliability

“I was hearing a loud rattle and brought my mini in to get serviced right away. It was misdiagnosed and now I fear it has caused significant damage to the engine due to a timing chain tensioner issue. The car will lose power out of nowhere. I have read that this is not being considered a safety issue but when you live in minnesota and are trying to go through a busy intersection during a blizzard and the car loses all power and you almost get t-boned by a truck I would tend to disagree. *tr”Owner report · Engine · Oct 2014

“Air bag light goes off with code 93b1 passenger head airbag not present. Mini knows this is an issue as it has issued a technical service bulletin for this issue. The tsb number is si-m-65-10-08. This is a serious issue and should be recalled. *tr”Owner report · Air Bags · Jun 2013

“The transmission in my car is going out at only 53 thousand miles... Every time I got to turn off my car the light pops on saying their is a issue with my transmission..it also takes me turning off my car and back on for it to get un stuck out of park.. Im getting fed up and fear that something worse will happen with my car when my child or husband is in the car with me.. I've only had this car a year and already put $1200 into a waterpump and thermostat with housing ... And that was hardship on me. *tr”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2012

“Engine timing chain broke while driving because of a faulty plastic tensioner piece braking. This issue has surfaced repeatedly globally, but no recall issued. This needs to be recalled, it is clearly a safety issue and because of one small little plastic faulty part cost me close to $5000. Mini/bmw north america does not acknowledge this issue nor wants to reimburse me for the expenses incurred to keep driving safely. *tr”Owner report · Engine · Jun 2012

“I came home from work and parked the car in his normal parking space on the black top. I turned off the car, put the vehicle in gear with the parking brake and locked the door. A minute later, the vehicle was on fire. The fire dept report was unable to determine if there was a key left in the ignition.”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · Mar 2012

“The mini cooper clubmans 2008 and 2009 have the same problem that the toyotas have with the floor mats. They are really dangerous. *tr”Owner report · Equipment Adaptive/Mobility · Nov 2009

“My 2008 mini clubman s was parked at the post office, when someone came in to tell me my car was on fire. I ran outside to find smoke pouring from under the hood, and called the fire department. I ran back inside to get a fire extinguisher, and came back out to find flames coming out from under the hood, along with the smoke. I emptied the extinguisher, but the flames kept coming. By the time the fire department arrived, only five minutes later, the flames were 12 feet high, and the car was totaled. I have found reports of at least 30 other similar incidents of minis spontaneously combusting, but the manufacturer has, as far as I know, done nothing to correct the problem. *tr”Owner report · Engine And Engine Cooling · Nov 2009