I own a 09 mini s. about a year or so ago i noticed that the driver's side door was sticking whereas i had to jiggle it in order to open it. i took the door panel off to look for any obstructions and found none. i greased the door hinge and it worked better. i headed to the store one day and upon exiting the vehicle i heard a little different sound than usual at least i thought. after coming from the store i once again had to jiggle the door from the inside door latch and the outside door latch. i got the door open and decided to stop for gas on the way home. after arriving at the gas station i released my seat belt and attempted to get out but the door would not budge. after numerous failed attempts i could not open the driver's door. i headed home and in my driveway i tried for some time my usual technique along with repeated attempts with the unlock and lock toggle switch, i could not open the door. the window is too small to climb out at least for me so i exited the vehicle by climbing over to the passenger's side and exited through that door. this could of been a bad situation and a 911 call. the 1st responders would of arrived and tried to help me get out and if i wasn't nimble as i am to climb out through the passenger's side door they would have to call the fire department to come and cut me out of my perfectly good car as far as nothing else is wrong with it. i am the second owner and there are no modifications on the doors or any known accidents. i spoke with a mechanic and he diagnosed it to be a faulty door latch module. i haven't had it fixed yet.
Started to hear a knocking noise coming from the engine compartment. issue with the time chain. so bent out of shape that the chain almost broke. i have always kept on top of changing my oil and getting my car serviced everytime it need it so i don't understand why this would even happen. when researching my problem i saw that its extremely common for models since 2007+ to experience this. this needs to be recalled. there's no reason for a owner to have to pay 200-2000 dollars when they have done everything right with servicing and oil changes etc. im just glad i wasn't on the highway when this happened to me because having your engine belt break in a busy highway doesn't sound safe. *tr