2008 MINI Clubman owner complaints

Passenger seat sensor failure. This seems like a very common problem on these cars. Of course, there is a recall on previous years

Airbag warning light on because of faulty passenger side seat mat sensor. Airbags are disabled without repair/replacement.

Driving with an adult in the passenger seat, the "passenger side airbag is off" light turned on. After shifting in the seat the light turned off. This has happened several times. This is an issue with the airbag mat and is a common problem for minis. Have also reported this problem with a 2005 Mini cooper. Reading online numerous other people have had similar problems. Keep waiting for a recall because it is an expensive problem to fix. *tr

The passenger air bag seat sensor is not working. Air bag indicator displays air bag is off when a passenger is in the front passenger seat. Multiple warnings indicate a passenger restraint system failure. No incident occurred to make this happen.

The passenger seat occupancy light lit up in 2 places on dash information-there was no occupant in the seat. Researching this issue @ Mini cooper web sites indicates this is a common problem and has persisted for at least 10 years. It is an extremely expensive repair (usually between $1600 & $2600) as the occupancy sensor (for air bag deployment) is sewn into the bottom of the seat & the repair calls for the bottom cover of the seat to be replaces with a new sensor pre-sewn in. The sites offer "emulator" kits which tricks the sensor-but will prohibit air bag deployment in many cases. The kits sell for approximately $79.00. This is a real safety danger. *tr

Air bag warning light went off even though there was no accident. No one was sitting in the passenger seat, and I (the driver), had my belt on. I tried buckling the passenger belt, but the light remained on. I think this is a safety issue because I do not know if the airbag is defective, or whether there is a sensor problem, and the seat belt and airbags for the passenger are operable. There appear to be a lot of complaints about false airbag lights, illuminating. *tr

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

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

While driving home on secondary road, a loud engine noise started and the engine light came on blinking. I pulled over and had car towed to my garage. The diagnosis was that the timing chain tensioner broke and had to be repaird. This was done for a cost of $567.97. In researching information about this, it appears many owners have had the same problem. I am filing this complaint in hopes that BMW reimburses this expense for an issue they seem to be aware of but are not taking recall action with. *tr

The timing chain assembly is failing after having the car for less than 5,000 miles after buying it used from a Mini dealership who had performed their usual inspections and resale maintenance. Apparently the timing chain is inside the engine casing and the metal chain runs along a plastic guide. The top portion of the plastic guide has, it appears, failed, causing a very loud engine noise and risking complete timing failure which, of course, could potentially present serious mechanical and safety issues if it happens at high speed. I have found wide reports of this happening similarly in other cars, however after a quick search, I don't see this issue listed on this NHTSA site, so I thought it should be added. See these links for reference: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/consume

Car has just over 100000 miles but has been constantly overheating (have to fill tank almost every day). Cannot find out the source, but I noticed a recall on the water pump on other similar models, but VIN search said mine was okay. I feel this is an error. Please inform me of my next step. Getting very frustrated. I wouldn't consider this high mileage for this car, and I take care of it.

I purchased a 2008 clubman and it's the non-turbo but the engine has an issue with multiple misfire codes being sent out to the obd2 reader as well as some ECU codes that imply weak fuel pressure and when looking up and trying to find how to replace the fuel pressure pump then I realized I was not alone in this issue and wonder if anyone else has had the thought to actually file a complaint so that way something can be done since it's a very faulty thing and most of these have had issues from 30000 miles about but then for all the others that also have it after the warranty drops to intentionally put in a faulty part I'm not sure if it's illegal or not but it should be. I do no that if they put in enough faulty parts there should be a recall made if it is determined that they are at fault

While driving on a city street, I was stopped in traffic. I pulled off in first gear and the car died. Several other drivers helped me push my car to a safe lot.I then had the car checked out to find the timing chain broke and ruined the engine. I bought the car through car max with their pre owned, pre certified program. My car now has 80,000 miles as it has since march 10th 2017. I'm still making payments and full coverage insurance payments on a car I can't drive. Do I have any recourse? Are automobile manufacturers not held accountable. Under different circumstances, I could have died or been seriously injured that day. This is widespread. There are literally 100s of thousands of Mini owners with the exact same issue. The timing tensioner breaks causing the timing chain to give way. G

The contact owns a 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V337000 (Electrical System); however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

2008 Mini clubman. Speedometer is not accurate off by approx. 5-6 MPH at 60 MPH. Dealer did not care. *tr

Playing golf, car is in parking lot. Engine catches fire, destroyed front half of car, engine fell on pavement . *tr

The Mini cooper clubmans 2008 and 2009 have the same problem that the toyotas have with the floor mats. They are really dangerous. *tr

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

Vehicle caught fire, while I was driving down the highway.