Problems with 2006 MINI Cooper AIR BAGS

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper. the contact stated that while driving 15 mph, he noticed that the air bag light was illuminated on the instrument panel. the light remained illuminated whenever the vehicle was in motion. the dealer was not notified. the manufacturer was notified and offered no assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 50,000. the vin was unavailable.

Airbag sensor failure in passenger seat. passenger airbag light is on. *tr

Passenger seat airbag warning light won't go off. i do not know if the airbags will work in a accident. *tr

1/10/2010, i my heater was blowing cold air and my engine temp indicator was jumping around. i called mini of towson and took my car in for service. i reminded them that both air bag and flat tire indicators had been flickering on and off since the last time i came in on june of 2009 and that as of a few weeks ago they had both remained on. at that time, no one took my inquiry seriously and i was told the lights were coming on as a result of the past required engine work for the cooling system and engine, and a slow leak in one of my tires, which i was instructed too monitor by filling-up when low and to ignore. i was informed recently that i now have to replace my passenger side air bag seat sensor ($1000). i have read many of posts on the miniusa website that say this as a common problem with mini's being wired incorrectly form the manufacturer; something that could be avoided with early detection by the dealership at the time of the initial faulty indicator lighting. i was also told my water pump is now leaking coolant and needs to be replaced ($900); something i have been told may be attributed to the earlier manufacturing defects i had. also, i am enrolled in their tire and rim protection warranty that states any tires or rims that are damaged by nails, pot holes, etc are replaced for free. they have patched 4 of my tires for nail damage; 3 out of the 4 tires continue to leak and i feel should be replaced. lastly, my mini appraised $6,500 by this dealer. i asked how much the value increases if i completely service the car and was told it would increase the value of services rendered ($3,100) a total est.value of $9,600. when asked why my mini had depreciated so much i was told because of the cars extensive service record. she said because of the deplorable service record, my car could not be kept by the mini dealer and that it had to be sold at wholesale because the car is considered faulty. she said my mini was not safe according to the dealer resell standard. *tr

Passenger seat air bag detector is faulty. when no one is sitting on the seat, the airbag light illuminates. this was replaced by the dealer at 44300 miles. the warning light has come on once again at 67000 miles and has stayed on. *tr

The passenger side air bag started having intermittent failures starting about 55,000 miles and little over three years, seven months after purchase. full failure occurred at 80,000. the seat was not commonly used. the car is used primarily to commute to and from work by one person. *js

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper. the contact stated that the frontal passenger air bag warning light remained illuminated. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 45,000.

Passenger air bag light keeps coming on. has been repaired 4 times. has not recurred this last repair, however only repaired 2 months ago. happened first 3/26/07, parts had to be special ordered and it was repaired on 4/17/07; then 1/29/08, then 6/17/08, and then 10/27/08. each time they make the same repair: part number 52 10 6 961 324, replaced sensor mat, (oc3 mat) passenger seat, 65 77 604, removed seat, removed seat cover, replaced seat cover, mat, and upholstery material. the light has not come back on since last repair, however it has only been 2 months. *tr