I rebuilt our SC took about and 90 mins to remove the front/ Drain the coolant and de-gas the AC. Once the front end is off and the engine mount is off also it's one easy car to work on.
Has anyone heard about Mini Coopers having problems with strut mounts? I heard that the metal on that area tends to tear off, making the whole car to drop off the struts. I don't know what years, though.
I have an '03 and alternator went at around 50K, around the same time the drier for the AC unit exploded releasing all the pellets inside, so 1500 later we have a new ac system, door locks have both gone with less than 50K, I replaced them. ours is a loaded sport package w/ Nav so far so good with electronics and it now has 80K. You have to get used to ripping off the front of the car everytime you have major stuff wrong. I think it's history well before 100K.
its German not English my wife had the same model but you get to the alternator from below if you have some ramps its not to bad a job, its the clutch that's really bad that's an engine out job, hope this helps have a go your self trust me its not that hard best of luck.
@668725 This video is old, I had the car fixed at Orlando Mini. I replaced the alternator, radiator fans, and power steering pump cooling fan. Total cost was $1672, but my warranty paid for it all minus my $200 deductable. Since I had to pay $200 regardless, I told them to replace anything that was bad.
When alternator goes bad, the car will use the electricity charge from the battery until it goes dead which doesn't take long. This is why ps pump goes because it's electric on this car.
The ps pump is electric and the mini will start to shut down all unnecessary systems when you have a low charge on the battery and the alternator is not working. I knew my alternator was bad the other day when trying to get it to work where I changed the alternator on it. At the end of the trip the ABS light came on, the TCS light came on, I low power steering but the engine still ran. It's also wise to turn off blower motor and radio and any lights that aren't necessary.
Yep - the Mini Cooper is a piece of CRAP!!! What a marvel of engineering! My clutch burned about and melted down the entire transmission. It too is ridiculous to get at - the entire engine had to come out. $6000.00!!!!! Why did this happen? Because I got stuck behind a fatal accident on I75 in 96 degree heat for hours. My mechanic says the parts are made from a cheap alloy that melt down when exposed to heat. Yep - that's what happened all right. Oh - and if your car dies where there is
I too have a 2004 Mini Cooper S. What Mini charges for repairs is nothing short of offensive. They are the biggest rip off artists. I highly recommend taking the time to find a mechanic other than Mini to fix your car. Mini's hourly labour rate and parts price mark up is completely unjustifiable.
@MrSavage2502 I agree, but my deductable for the warranty is $200 regardless of where I go or how much I spent. So, I always go to the dealer to get my money worth :)
@dragasoni Well if it's covered under warranty, then taking it to the dealer is a no brainer. But if it's not take this as a friendly FYI from one Mini owner to another. I recently blew the supercharger in my car. Mini was going to charge me $3200 for a refurbished one. That did not include labour and tax!! My mechanic was able to order a brand new supercharger from Germany. All in it cost me $2100. Just one of several examples I have come across. A trustworthy mechanic is a great pet to have.
This is very interesting. Thanks for posting. I've had a number of VW Golf's but my current one has been terrible,I have spent far too much money keeping my LAST Golf on the road and I was considering changing to a new Mini.
Did you sort or sell it off?
If you kept it is it OK now or yet more (expensive) problems?
@mikeismad61 Honestly, based on all the cars I've owned (14 so far) the worst are American and Korean, European are average, and the Japanese are the best. I've had the best luck, by far, with Honda and Nissan. But I never owned any other Japanese brand.
We fixed the Mini last year about a month after I filmed this. The total cost was $1,672 for an alternator, radiator fan, and power steering pump cooling fan.
@mikeismad61 If you want a Mini, know that the newer ones are a bit larger, have better build quality, but they now use French engines. The 2003-2006 models had BMW engines, and they were better in my opinion. But the newer ones have a much better feel inside; the buttons and door handles won't break off in your hands. The 2002-2006 models are very fragile.
My best advice for you is to test drive both the older one and the new one, and then decide for yourself.
@mikeismad61 Lastly, I'd like to stress that our Mini does A LOT of sitting which may be why the alternator failed so early. We've had the car for almost 4 years, and in that time we only put 11,000 miles on it. We plan to store the car in a garage soon, and buy a second beater to use. This Mini is priceless to my wife and I, and we plan to keep it until we die.
Same happened to mine, the rough running definately IS from low voltage, I replace my alternator, its not as hard as it seems, you have to take the bumper cover, reinforcement, and the big aluminum cage off then it was pretty accessible after that. the alternator was $100 from autozone. I hope you got it all fixed up, and although its not THAT hard, its unacceptable for it to happen at 33000 miles
Same happened to mine, the rough running definately IS from low voltage, I replace my alternator, its not as hard as it seems, you have to take the bumper cover, reinforcement, and the big aluminum cage off then it was pretty accessible after that. the alternator was $100 from autozone. I hope you got it all fixed up, and although its not THAT hard, its unacceptable for it to happen at 33000 miles
@chuy25 The alternator replacement itself was just over $1,000, parts and labor. Did your friend bring it to the dealer? If not, I highly recommend they do that. You can't bring a car like this to any mechanic.
Sell the car. Power steering pump failed twice on my 05 MCS with less than 65000 miles on the car. Very poor engineering design and safety hazard. Over $1000 in repairs each time. MINI has no fix for this issue. All of these cars should be recalled for power steering pumps with cooling fan and manual transmission clutches. MIN/BMWI does not stand by its products.
@cofax76 The power steering pump wasn't bad, it shut down due to low voltage. The cooling fan for the power steering pump was bad though. This repair was $1,672, but I only paid $200.
We plan on keeping the car because it has a bumper to bumper warranty until 2013 or 60,000 miles. The car is about to hit 34,000 miles at this point, and we only put about 2,000 miles a year on it.
Regardless of the hassle, the car makes up for it because it's a pleasure to drive. My wife loves it :)
i had the same problem i fixed the alternator fortunately we had a close family friend who was able to remove it no prob took its to mexico to get fixed (live near the border cost was no more then 150$) but my power steering pump also craped out . question is what did they do to fix your pump did they replace it ?
@dragasoni I just purchased the alternator from Advance Auto Parts for $200...i'm assuming $715 is the dealer rape price? You NEVER take a car to a dealer no matter the brand.
I rebuilt our SC took about and 90 mins to remove the front/ Drain the coolant and de-gas the AC. Once the front end is off and the engine mount is off also it's one easy car to work on.
stu0500 1 week ago
Yes I know I used to own one! So glad to get rid of mine. I had a transmission go at 55,000. Now driving a 2011 VW GTI and loving it!
lawbench191 1 week ago
did you buy an extended warranty? if so, ffrom whom and for how much? thanks
iamomeed 1 month ago
Has anyone heard about Mini Coopers having problems with strut mounts? I heard that the metal on that area tends to tear off, making the whole car to drop off the struts. I don't know what years, though.
gospelnews123 2 months ago
I have an '03 and alternator went at around 50K, around the same time the drier for the AC unit exploded releasing all the pellets inside, so 1500 later we have a new ac system, door locks have both gone with less than 50K, I replaced them. ours is a loaded sport package w/ Nav so far so good with electronics and it now has 80K. You have to get used to ripping off the front of the car everytime you have major stuff wrong. I think it's history well before 100K.
mini03cheapparts 3 months ago
BMW = Big Money Wasted
jsiszero 3 months ago
its German not English my wife had the same model but you get to the alternator from below if you have some ramps its not to bad a job, its the clutch that's really bad that's an engine out job, hope this helps have a go your self trust me its not that hard best of luck.
668725 3 months ago
@668725 This video is old, I had the car fixed at Orlando Mini. I replaced the alternator, radiator fans, and power steering pump cooling fan. Total cost was $1672, but my warranty paid for it all minus my $200 deductable. Since I had to pay $200 regardless, I told them to replace anything that was bad.
dragasoni 3 months ago
It's British, what did you expect?
jelloslug 4 months ago
@jelloslug Its german
74jenwylie 2 months ago
When alternator goes bad, the car will use the electricity charge from the battery until it goes dead which doesn't take long. This is why ps pump goes because it's electric on this car.
terarealm256 6 months ago
The ps pump is electric and the mini will start to shut down all unnecessary systems when you have a low charge on the battery and the alternator is not working. I knew my alternator was bad the other day when trying to get it to work where I changed the alternator on it. At the end of the trip the ABS light came on, the TCS light came on, I low power steering but the engine still ran. It's also wise to turn off blower motor and radio and any lights that aren't necessary.
terarealm256 6 months ago
Yep - the Mini Cooper is a piece of CRAP!!! What a marvel of engineering! My clutch burned about and melted down the entire transmission. It too is ridiculous to get at - the entire engine had to come out. $6000.00!!!!! Why did this happen? Because I got stuck behind a fatal accident on I75 in 96 degree heat for hours. My mechanic says the parts are made from a cheap alloy that melt down when exposed to heat. Yep - that's what happened all right. Oh - and if your car dies where there is
MsGadgetJunkie 6 months ago
I too have a 2004 Mini Cooper S. What Mini charges for repairs is nothing short of offensive. They are the biggest rip off artists. I highly recommend taking the time to find a mechanic other than Mini to fix your car. Mini's hourly labour rate and parts price mark up is completely unjustifiable.
MrSavage2502 10 months ago
@MrSavage2502 I agree, but my deductable for the warranty is $200 regardless of where I go or how much I spent. So, I always go to the dealer to get my money worth :)
dragasoni 10 months ago
@dragasoni Well if it's covered under warranty, then taking it to the dealer is a no brainer. But if it's not take this as a friendly FYI from one Mini owner to another. I recently blew the supercharger in my car. Mini was going to charge me $3200 for a refurbished one. That did not include labour and tax!! My mechanic was able to order a brand new supercharger from Germany. All in it cost me $2100. Just one of several examples I have come across. A trustworthy mechanic is a great pet to have.
MrSavage2502 10 months ago
@MrSavage2502 I'll keep that in mind.
dragasoni 10 months ago
This is very interesting. Thanks for posting. I've had a number of VW Golf's but my current one has been terrible,I have spent far too much money keeping my LAST Golf on the road and I was considering changing to a new Mini.
Did you sort or sell it off?
If you kept it is it OK now or yet more (expensive) problems?
Would value an update
mikeismad61 10 months ago
@mikeismad61 Honestly, based on all the cars I've owned (14 so far) the worst are American and Korean, European are average, and the Japanese are the best. I've had the best luck, by far, with Honda and Nissan. But I never owned any other Japanese brand.
We fixed the Mini last year about a month after I filmed this. The total cost was $1,672 for an alternator, radiator fan, and power steering pump cooling fan.
dragasoni 10 months ago
@mikeismad61 If you want a Mini, know that the newer ones are a bit larger, have better build quality, but they now use French engines. The 2003-2006 models had BMW engines, and they were better in my opinion. But the newer ones have a much better feel inside; the buttons and door handles won't break off in your hands. The 2002-2006 models are very fragile.
My best advice for you is to test drive both the older one and the new one, and then decide for yourself.
dragasoni 10 months ago
@mikeismad61 Lastly, I'd like to stress that our Mini does A LOT of sitting which may be why the alternator failed so early. We've had the car for almost 4 years, and in that time we only put 11,000 miles on it. We plan to store the car in a garage soon, and buy a second beater to use. This Mini is priceless to my wife and I, and we plan to keep it until we die.
dragasoni 10 months ago
Why do the people in the back seat need to see how fast your going?
Corey497 11 months ago
Same happened to mine, the rough running definately IS from low voltage, I replace my alternator, its not as hard as it seems, you have to take the bumper cover, reinforcement, and the big aluminum cage off then it was pretty accessible after that. the alternator was $100 from autozone. I hope you got it all fixed up, and although its not THAT hard, its unacceptable for it to happen at 33000 miles
Thevinylhouse 11 months ago
Same happened to mine, the rough running definately IS from low voltage, I replace my alternator, its not as hard as it seems, you have to take the bumper cover, reinforcement, and the big aluminum cage off then it was pretty accessible after that. the alternator was $100 from autozone. I hope you got it all fixed up, and although its not THAT hard, its unacceptable for it to happen at 33000 miles
Thevinylhouse 11 months ago
my friends alternator just went out and there charging her 1600 to replace the alternator and battery (parts n labor)is that ok?
chuy25 11 months ago
@chuy25 The alternator replacement itself was just over $1,000, parts and labor. Did your friend bring it to the dealer? If not, I highly recommend they do that. You can't bring a car like this to any mechanic.
dragasoni 11 months ago
Sell the car. Power steering pump failed twice on my 05 MCS with less than 65000 miles on the car. Very poor engineering design and safety hazard. Over $1000 in repairs each time. MINI has no fix for this issue. All of these cars should be recalled for power steering pumps with cooling fan and manual transmission clutches. MIN/BMWI does not stand by its products.
cofax76 1 year ago
@cofax76 The power steering pump wasn't bad, it shut down due to low voltage. The cooling fan for the power steering pump was bad though. This repair was $1,672, but I only paid $200.
We plan on keeping the car because it has a bumper to bumper warranty until 2013 or 60,000 miles. The car is about to hit 34,000 miles at this point, and we only put about 2,000 miles a year on it.
Regardless of the hassle, the car makes up for it because it's a pleasure to drive. My wife loves it :)
dragasoni 1 year ago
Comment removed
cofax76 1 year ago
i had the same problem i fixed the alternator fortunately we had a close family friend who was able to remove it no prob took its to mexico to get fixed (live near the border cost was no more then 150$) but my power steering pump also craped out . question is what did they do to fix your pump did they replace it ?
albertlera 1 year ago
@albertlera The pump wasn't broken at all. The low voltage caused the computer to disable the power steering pump, basically to conserve power.
I'm always amazed at how the Mexican people can fix nearly ANYTHING! They're excellent workers, kudos to them.
Anyway, best of luck with your power steering pump repair.
dragasoni 1 year ago
Orlando area?
chessyang 1 year ago
@chessyang Yeah
dragasoni 1 year ago
expensive repair.. such a shame
xschan 1 year ago
@xschan Yup, the repair was $1,672 for an alternator and radiator cooling fan. The alternator itself was $715, just the part!
dragasoni 1 year ago
@dragasoni I just purchased the alternator from Advance Auto Parts for $200...i'm assuming $715 is the dealer rape price? You NEVER take a car to a dealer no matter the brand.
terarealm256 6 months ago