Reliability Issues
 

My 2002 "S" now has 23K. Great car but have had my share of hickups - Airbag Light has been on 3 times, Computer tends to re-set itself periodically, Hatch sqeaks incessantly, and we have had issues with cold starts. I am curious to see what other folks' experience has been to date.

I havent heard of the computer issue or the airbag light, sorry to hear you are having issues. My car only have ~3.5k miles so I cant comment on long term reliability, but so far so good. My only issue is an occasional hard start, although I've read there is a computer upgrade addressing this.

I've heard somewhere that the new Minis were having a lot of problems, however idont have anything to confirm that

You might want to check out Consumer Reports or JD Power

Here's a link

http://www.jdpower.com/cc/index.html

Actually Mini was rated one of the WORST for initial quality but in good company. I think the HUMMEr was the only car rated lower

Though it was near the bottom, there were a couple other cars that had to be rated lower (in order to get the make rated lower, the cars would have to be lower).

http://www.jdpa.com/news/releases/pressrelease.asp?ID=2003028

Kia and Land Rover were between Mini and Hummer.

I wish the JD Power ratings were more objective - the Hummer was hit for poor fuel economy. That's not a quality problem. They need a weighting factor, so that "catastrophic engine failure" is not the same as "won't fit my Uber Gulp soda".

The Mini is allegedly being hit for cupholder design. See this link:

http://ad-rag.com/104350.php

I wonder how the Skoda and the Hyundai rank in there as well...

Let's see how this pic turns out....

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1058891964.jpg

This press release is US-Centric so Skoda's not on there, but you could group them with VW.

Nice to see BMW and Porsche edge out Toyota. "But honey, we need a reliable car! :)

Cooper S: I'm not happy with the off idle acceleration with the a/c on- it feels like a dog. My buddy's S is the same way, even when the ecu got a reprogram. We have to both give it a lot more pedal to get off the line
Other than that love it

I agree with the power issue with the A/C on. Not sure there is anything to be done, until the boost builds the car is pretty darn gutless. Oh well, fall is around the corner. :)

You may want to consoder putting an A/C unloader switch in there. What it does is automatically disengage the A/C compressor under hard acceleration.

Just an update - Airbag light now on for the fourth time since March.....It is these little things that detract from the overall positive experience.

slight problem
 

I have an 02 MINI Cooper, with 35K miles; it is in the shop for the 3rd time because the power steering keeps going out. If BMW figures out the problem I'd probably buy another one. The second one would be an "S". :)

I had a teething problem with the indicators not always working and headlights failing on my coop. Now 15K klm and no other problems.

Our S had the poor starting problem and an ECU update under warranty fixed it. Yes it is guttless off idle, I give it full throttle when starting on a hill then back out of it as the revs rise. It seemed slightly better after the ECU update. Aftermarket pulleys that spin the supercharger a little faster are available that help this but may be a warranty issue if anything goes wrong with the engine.

The only other problem has occured recently with the glove box not staying closed as detailed in another post. Overall it hasn't been too bad, my wife still loves the car and I still enjoy driving it when I get the chance.

Eron

only 5k miles to date, but they have been very "sporting" ones. Just returned from a weekend in Mexico with 600 miles of high speed driving (love it down there!) and it was a joy with the handling this lil bugger can dish out. Top speed check at 130 mph with the a/c on- stable and just keeps humming along
Not one problem yet, save the a/c off idle response mentioned earlier.
Keep on Motoring

I just got back from a 1400 mile trip and the Mini Cooper S did fine. It was fairly comfortable over the last 600 mile day. The second day (400 miles) it rained the entire day and the wipers began to transfer rubber to the windshield but replacing the inserts fixed that for the rest of the trip. The only other problem was the ever present glove box falling open... It was a fun car to take on the trip, I just wish there were some twisty roads between Austin TX and Panama City Florida! It seems BMW tried to save some pennies in a few places they probably should not have but overall I still think it is a pretty good value.

AND PORSCHE TOPS THE EUROPEANS!!!!! Not to worry I'm sure BMW will get the MINI right up there with them, as they should be.

They had their fair share of problems the first couple of years, but lets remember that this is a totally new car that hasn't had the benefit of going through a couple iterations before all the kinks are worked out. My 2004 S has been flawless (knock on wood) and I'm modifying it with great results.