Problems with 2003 MINI Cooper SUSPENSION

The left rear control arm broke in half. i noticed my car was not reversing correctly as if the rear wheel was dragging. i exited the car and elevated it with a floor jack to find the rear control arm on the driver's side broken in half. *tr

This mini cooper a 2003 w/130k miles driven by a young female. she had no idea her wheel was going to fall off the driver side front. she had called for a check engine light on and intermittent battery failure. it was ask that i drive the car and listen to a pop coming from the wheel section. the pop was the entire wheel assembly moving forwards and back bumping the wheel wells as the car went forward. needless to say i didn't drive far nor did i accelerate faster than 10 mph. i told the parent of the driver that the car was not drivable under any condition and that it needed immediate attention. the lower control arm bushing rubber was completely gone. i do not know if this is a defect. this part is a mount and it's holding many components of this car together. it is nothing like i have seen before used as a mount. i have seen the rubber worn from this type part but they were not being used as a mount. when the rubber on this part deteriorates it causes the mount to be unstable resulting in the whole wheel assembly moving like a swing forwards and backwards while driving. in a traffic situation this could be devastating to more than just the driver of this car but also to the cars driving near if the wheel were to come off in their traffic. needless to say the mini cooper would immediately fail in traffic with the brake cylinders hitting the road causing flying sparks, if rear ended it would more than likely flip. this is a dangerous scenario. this car was purchased second hand as are a lot of cars. this is not a part on anyone's check list and not one you consider to be one of this type of failure. i am filing this complaint but i am not the owner of this car. i am merely concerned at the implications of the deterioration of the rubber and what those implications mean to the other purpose this part is suppose to perform and can't when the rubber is gone. *tr

My 2003 mini cooper has almost caught on fire several times, replaced transmission, electrical harness, power steering pump, a/c hoses and a/c service, wheel bearings, injection plugs etc....... i still cannot find the real problem why is causing a short, it has almost caught on fire several times, this car has been the most dangerous car i have ever own, i have never spend so much money on trying to fix any vehicle, right now i'm about $11,500 in costs of repairs, this is a crime to the consumer, i have been reading about a class action lawsuit that is in progress, i hope and pray that we get justice from the maker of mini. *tr

I bought a new 2003 mini cooper with a 3 year 36k warranty 6/26/03. while under warranty and receiving recommended maintenance through the dealer, the car required repair of the driver's seat which was frozen in the reclined position. shortly after the warranty expired, and 10,481 miles after a dealer maintenance check, the brake light indicator began flashing. i took it immediately to the dealer. i was told the entire brake system needed replacement for $886.60. at the same service visit, i was told the front struts needed replacement to the tune of $1600. my male friends who are mechanically inclined and/or engineers said that one would need to be doing stunts in a car to need that kind of repair at 50,293 miles. it was not clear why the indicator only tells when brakes are totally shot, or why the most recent service check had not shown worn pads and disks. later, at 53,007 miles, the driver's side window failed and that cost $497.51 to replace. at 62,516 miles the air conditioning system died which cost $1173.58 to replace. the automatic door lock on the driver?s side does not work and lord knows how much that repair will cost. now at 69k, the manual transmission needs replacement. my present mechanic (cheaper and more reliable than dealership) says the replacement of the transmission and clutch with a remanufactured system will be >$4000. this is an outlandish amount of repair and repair cost for a $19,000 car with 70k mileage. i have had 2 previous hondas that were cheaper than the mini and never needed a clutch or transmission. my son drove my $14,000 '95 honda civic until last month and it had 200k miles. i will never buy another mini, or bmw for that matter, based on this experience. i will be sure to discourage others from buying one. i hope a class action suit is formed. *tr

My car's right rear control arm had broken in half. this arm prevents the tire from swinging sideways. lucky for me, i was going slowly at the time. the control arm consists of two 1/4" pieces of metal with holes in them at evenly spaced points. both of the metal arms were broken in line with the holes that were part of the manufactured design. i paid $1900 for an extended warranty through universal underwriters(now called zurich) at mini of concord, california. control arm replacement is listed as covered. their reason for not covering it is because it has a slight bend in it (i don't see it) and it is because of that it eventually broke. the metal that makes up this arm is no more than 1/4" thick: poorly made, especially when coupled with these holes that are in it. this part should be made to withstand impact. to me it is obvious this is a manufacturing defect and i am appalled that neither the dealer or the insurance company that i bought my extended warranty from will pay for it. i could have been killed had i been on the freeway when this happened. i have gone from a mini lover to one who will sell it after i'm able to afford to repair it. i am currently price comparing in private repair shops. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper. upon taking the vehicle in for an oil change, it was discovered that the driver side struts needed to be replaced. approximately four months later, the passenger side strut needed to be replaced. the front and rear brakes were also replaced and the vehicle had an oil pan leak. the driver's and passenger side window motors failed and needed to be replaced. the current mileage was 12,900 and failure mileage was 10,000.