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LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION

BMW Mini Cooper Defective Transmission Class Action Settlement


This is a settlement for the BMW Recalls MINI lawsuit.

San Francisco, CA: Preliminary approval of a defective automotive class action settlement has been granted, potentially ending the lawsuit pending against BMW over allegations the German auto-maker concealed a defect in the transmission of its Mini Cooper cars.

US District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez, who is hearing the complaint, (Aarons v. BMW of North America LLC, Case No. 11-cv-07667, in the US District Court for the Central District of California), has requested additional information about the class size and suggested some revisions to the existing preliminary settlement. However, if approved, thousands of Mini Cooper owners could be eligible to receive as much as $9,000 for vehicle repairs.

According to attorneys representing the plaintiffs, approximately 1,200 Mini Cooper owners had to have their transmissions replaced at BMW dealerships. However, many drivers took their Mini Coopers to a third-party facility for repair, and that number is not known.

The lawsuit claims that the transmission defect, which can cause significant delays in acceleration, loss of forward propulsion and total transmission failure while driving, was concealed from Mini Cooper customers, by BMW. However, BMW, at the same time, allegedly issued bulletins to BMW dealerships acknowledging the defect. The transmission defects also included the failure of the transmission without warning. These failures and defects may have contributed to traffic accidents resulting in serious injury or death.

The plaintiffs further claim that in an effort to keep the prices of the Mini Coopers low, BMW sacrificed quality, thereby making cars of a substandard quality and putting consumers at risk.

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Published on Jul-24-13


READER COMMENTS

Posted by

on
Hi all-
I have a 2006 Cooper S Convertible with 32K miles on it. There have been no issues but Ive written to Aarons v. BMW of North America LLC Claims Administrator P.O. Box 43192 Providence, RI 02940-3912 and I didnt get a response. Does anyone have any info on this Class Action Suit and if its too late to try to file just in case?

Thanks so much all! JT

Posted by

on
I had the exact problem stated, total transmission failure on my 2007 mini cooper convertible while driving to work on the freeway this happened in 2016, I was told it would cost $7,000 I did not want to get rid of my car. So I kept it in my garage, drove it every once in awhile ( it wouldn’t go past 25 ). I had it repaired in 2019. I’m having problems with the transmission again and have put 20,000 miles since the repair. It is in the shop with the same mechanics who replaced the transmission. They have a transmission specialists working on it. What are my options. ( I don’t have any issues with the shop they are great guys and have always been extremely helpful and reliable)

Posted by

on
I have countryman S 2013 with 65,000 miles on it. Out of nowhere it started having transmission problems. A rebuilt transmission is being put in now. I have had so many problems with this car. Is it too late be part of this class action lawsuit?

Posted by

on
Engine leaking oil. The car caught on fire.

Posted by

on
I have 2009 mini cooper S10,000 with the same problems everybody is describing A perfectly great looking car that sits in the driveway delays in acceleration, loss of forward propulsion and total transmission failure while driving, was concealed from Mini Cooper but like the car so much before knowing just how bad this issue was I not only have that one but a 2009 clubman a problem with oil leaking on which cause causes the transmission slip sometimes jump hard out of gear it a shame that BMW would do this to there customer these are great little cars if these transmission problem did not excess they become a money pit. That why you see them salvage yard alot rather than putting anymore money owners have just scrape them. As long as BMW keeps Dealing in bad faith without a slap they will continue to put out cars that they knew were defective and letting the american consumer eat it. when it comes to these mini cooper im sure after owning these car that they BMW were will aware of the defects that all mini copper have and the cost that the american consumers have lost

Posted by

on
I am now going thru what everyone else has gone thru with their transmission, BMW should be embarrassed to say the least for their lack of customer service and NOT standing behind who they project themselves to be. Include me in to another lawsuit if one gets started. My mini is a 2012 and I had no knowledge of this issue until now that I’m dealing with it and I’ve spent a fortune on this car that to get rid of it now makes no sense.

Posted by

on
I have a '19 Countryman All4. Have been having shifting issues for the past 30K miles. All service completed at the dealership. Started out as intermittent, hesitant shifting between 2-3 gear while accelerating ... Now happens periodically when downshifting, as well. Dealership is telling me that it's a fuel issue, that I'm not using premium. This isn't that. I work on cars and know what bad gas feels like when misfiring. This is mechanical, like the car is temporarily out of gear before catching and shifting... oh, did I mention the car pulls to the right when this happens? Was told today, while it's being serviced that it's bad spark plugs. $414 to swap out 3 plugs. Nope. Not sure where this will go, but it's been documented each time I bring it in, so when it eventually fails. I'll have a history for them. Good to find a site that documents at least some of the on-going problems with Mini.

Posted by

on
I have a 2005 mini cooper S my transmission does irrational shifts along with hard gear change. They quoted me around 9500 to repair. Dont know what to do

Posted by

on
Check out ZF transmission, loss of reverse gear, torque converter seal defect, from 2000 on using this transmission. 1000's complaining.
Bmw does not recall nor correct defects!. Cost is over $4,000 each time.
I'am now replacing for third time my transmission!
Replacement will have same defects .

Posted by

on
Are these stick shift transmissions, or automatic transmission cars, or both?! We have an '07 Cooper-S, automatic, hard top with LOTS of issues - too much money in it now to stop!

Posted by

on
I have a 2012 min cooper countryman with the same issue as described by E. Smith. The car has 62000 miles
and I was told the transmission needs to be replaced for the same reason mentioned by E.Smith.
The assurance that the transmission fluid would not need to be checked and changed is definitely false.

Posted by

on
I, too bought a used 2006 mini cooper and the transmission issue was not disclosed nor the class action lawsuit.
It is highway robbery and we should be reimbursed for this treacherous action.

Posted by

on
Has there been another class action suit filed? If not there needs to be one filed!! 2006 mini transmission is out; estimate for new transmission is 8700.00 crazy isn’t? 615397-xxxx

Posted by

on
Transmission was making noise and while driving it jerked hard and when inspected there is a hole on the upper right quadrant of the transmission to trans axle connection.

Posted by

on
How can we all get in touch with each other & file another CVT transmission lawsuit.???? I see people left their phone numbers, but the last 4 digits are Xed out. Lets all HELP each other. We paid good money for our cars and should not have to junk them ?

Posted by

on
I have a 2002 Mini cooper. It has had issues with the transmission for many years now. I dont drive it much. I know a lots of mini coopers are just send to the junk yards because fixing the transmission is very hard to do and pricy.

Posted by

on
2006 Mini S R53 Coupe Auto Trans. 95K miles Occasionally when accelerating it acts like it jumps out of gear into neutral then slams back into gear hard jerking the entire car. Also when accelerating hard car does not shift well from 3rd to 4th gear, the sensation is the transmission is slipping. I had the trans fluid changed and the mechanic said it was very dark and had burned smell.

Brad 847-778-xxxx

Posted by

on
I have a 2005 cooper s that is slipping and has been for a couple months. It is not a constant yet but jerks when slipping. My understanding is that the warranty is up to 150,000 miles. Do i need to pay to have the trans replaced or can the suit pay for it? I don't have 9000.00 to spare for repairs on a defect

Posted by

on
My 2012 Mini Cooper S starting slipping gears and would not downshift properly unless putting it into neutral first. There was not dip stick to check the transmission fluid. Had to go to a mechanic. he said they were supposed to be a lifetime on the transmission fluid and never changed. He had to go under the car and open the plug and found the transmission fluid to be burnt and black. It ruined my transmission , so now I have to spend thousands of $ to get a replacement. BMW certainly has a default in this manufacturing of this transmission and misleading for lifetime on the transmission. They should back up their customers and step up to the plate when something had to be replaced as costly as this for a defect in their product.

Posted by

on
2007 Mini Cooper S - Transmission issue stated above EXACTLY describes my issue - PLEASE ADVISE BEFORE i am forced to spend all my saving to repair the vehicle...

Posted by

on
Hello, I have a 2004 mini cooper and just recently I noticed that it did not have the pickup when coming out of any of the gears I was in, the engine would rev up and when I finally reached a steady velocity, the engine would rev down. Today, I was driving home from work and I came to a complete stop, when I went to accelerate, the car would hardly move. I was able to get iit to the median and have it towed to my house. I have not had it checked, but from what I am reading, it seems like it might be a transmission problem. Would my car qualify for this class action lawsuit against BMW? Please let me know, Thank you.

Posted by

on
I have a 2004 Mini Cooper that I bought new and have taken excellent care of it. It now has 62k miles and I am told that the transmission is bad. I was never informed of a class action lawsuit or advised of any problems with the CVT transmission. I would appreciate some legal help with this. It cannot be correct that Mini can get away with this.

Posted by

on
I purchased one of those mini coopers that ended up with the CVT transmission within one week of owning the vehicle and now will not come out of gear and I’ve learned that it cost more than the car is worth to replace a transmission I am trying to find out how I can pursue a part of this lawsuit or at least a replace all of what I’m out of money on the vehicle 316-518-xxxx

Posted by

on
we have 2nd hand 2006 mini, it also has the similar CVT problem. We live in Toronto Canada, will this lawsuit also protect Canadian Owners? many thanks

Posted by

on
2005 mini s has been skipping out of gears

Posted by

on
Hello, I own a 2009 Mini Cooper S, I'm the original owner. it was manufactured in November 2008. My check engine light came on a couple of weeks ago. Had it diagnosed and it thru transmission code and sub codes. Took it to dealer who told me I needed a new transmission at a cost of $9000. Currently in process of finding other quotes. Can I qualify to file a claim once I proceed with the replacement?

Thank you for responding.

Posted by

on
I was wondering if this class action will be worldwide, as I am having the same issues with my 2005 mini Cooper S . I live in Australia

Posted by

on
We live in Brisbane Australia. My daughter bought a second hand 2006 Mini Cooper S in March this year. It has 148000kms on the odometer and feels as though the transmission is slipping. We took it into a mechanic who thinks that the transmission is faulty and estimates that it will cost between $3000-$5000 AUD to fix. I have driven vehicles previously that have had a lot more kilometres on the clock and the transmission has not been like that. I was wanting to find out what the liability is of the company.

Kind regards

Janine C

Posted by

on
I own a 2003 Mini Cooper and purchased it new. My car has less than 70,000 miles on it. I have not had any major problems until this past year. The rpm’s would surge to 4K when I tried to shift from second to third gear, then to fourth, and fifth. At the time it happened so randomly, I thought maybe my floor mat was causing the problem.
The local Mini dealership was having some kind of open house and I signed up for several free system evaluations on my car. Nothing was mentioned about the clutch or the transmission until I spoke to the manager about how I was hearing the car rev-up when I wasn’t stomping on the gas pedal. He took it for a little drive and came back to tell me my transmission was going out. Interesting that no one told me that until I mentioned that I may be thinking of using my Mini as a trade-in for a new car.
This week, I was on the freeway, and suddenly my car lost almost all forward propulsion. I was able to crawl off the freeway and into a parking lot just before it quite moving for good. So since I can’t afford a new or good used car and because my car has such low mileage, I’m having my private garage service company repair my Mini for $3,400.
If there is any help from a class action suit, I would appreciate being notified. Thank you,

Posted by

on
Had a 2009 Mini Cooper s conv. I’m the second owner. Was having engine problems.. had coils, filter, plugs replaced and oil change... car was back to perfection... randomly started flashing oil pressure and an engine light that was half solid half empty... engine caught fire... car totaled... insurance claim almost paid off the last of what we owed... leaving me with no car, no $ to put towards a new car, and near death... Am I just screwed? Owned car 14 months.. loved it until it died...

Posted by

on
June 2018.

Also bought a 2005 Mini Cooper with 108,000 miles and transmission destroyed 3 months after purchase. Repair would be over and above what car is worth. Is there any lawyer, civil suit, recall that covers this???

Posted by

on
My son bought a 2008 Mini Cooper S the end of June 2017. 2 weeks ago he was driving late at night and all the sudden his cooper just stopped running. It is a 6 speed manual and it took all he had to get it off to the side of the road to safety. His cooper had only 72,xxx miles on it when bought and now only has 77,628 miles on it. Our mechanic has just told us that the timing chain failed and possibly caused the engine to blow. I have called several Mini Dealers without any luck. They told me that they extended the original warranty to a 7 year/100,000 miles on the drive train. Of course, it was already out of this warranty as of May of 2016. Had we been made aware of this issue prior to purchasing this vehicle chances are we would not have proceeded with purchasing it. Since Mini Cooper does NOT want to help us with this major repair, we are stuck paying all of the repair on top of still owing $10,000 on the loan. THIS WILL SURELY BE THE LAST MINI EVER OWNED BY MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!

Posted by

on
Hello, I own a 2006 Mini Cooper with 90,000 miles and have taken excellent care of it. The transmission recently failed completely on the road and will need to be replaced. I was given a quote of $6000 for the repairs. Can I claim any of this from BMW?

Posted by

on
My 6 speed 2013 Mini with 30,100 miles has a bad transmission
Transfer case cracked
Any insight please. Going to Mini if Pitts tomorrow

Posted by

on
Bought a 2003 Mini Cooper last week and on the drive home it lunched the transmission.

Posted by

on
I bought a 2006 mini cooper s with a 71000 after driving a weak feel the trans to start having a delay and slipping in gear .

Posted by

on
My 2004 MINI COOPER has had 3 transmissions in 199k miles and this one is failing now too. Clearly this is a *defect* in the 5-speed manufacturing. Dealership quoted $6250 for 4th one. ugh. I hate this because I go-easy on clutch, etc and am not a fool driving stick.

Posted by

on
I purchased a 2005 mini cooper a little over a year ago with only 70,000 miles. A few months ago we started experiencing issues with gears not shifting. The most recent was today with engine revving up to 4000rpm when at 40mph when merging on the interstate and not shifting. I pulled over into the breakdown lane to avoid any accidents (my pre-teen daughter was with me and was very scared we were going to get hit). It has been recalibrated/reset twice and the fluid flushed/checked. It's ridiculous to have to replace a transmission that has less than 100,000. (I also have a 2001 Audi A6 for 10 years that now has over 210,000 miles on it without any transmission problems).

Posted by

on
Hi,
I owned a 2005 Mini Cooper having 125,000 miles and all of sudden my 4th and 5th gear popping out to neutral, came to know that having defective transmission, called BMW and they are offering $6000 for repair and if a trade a vehicle they offered me $600!!! WOW. How can i file a claim?

Posted by

on
I purchased a 2003 mini Cooper hatchback a few months ago from a private party and as soon as I got the car, and it ran pretty good when I got it but literally overnight, my car all of a sudden has acceleration problems both forward and back, sometimes it has some power, other times it has none at all, so it's kinda sluggish and I can't even drive it anymore cause it has transmission issues and needs replaced. It's deadly to drive, It won't go over 25 mph now, or out of 2nd gear to 3rd gear, if by chance it desides it wants to go into 3rd gear, it wont without the RPMs going to like 5000. It's crazy. My car only had a little over 93k Miles when I got it now it has around 95k. Is this lawsuit something that I can become a part of? There is also a lot of other little things that has all of a sudden happened to my car. Please let me know what I need to do to be one part of this. Thanks

Posted by

on
I have a 2006 Mini Cooper S Convertible has 97k miles on it and the transmission is shot. The cost to repair the transmission would be more than the value of the car. Is there anything that can be done for those of us that did not know about the lawsuit till it was to late.

Posted by

on
I own a 2006 Mini cooper s convert that I am experiencing transmission trouble as described below. I am sure the recall was never fixed on my vehicle. I have 130,000 miles and am the second owner since 90,000. how do I file a claim against this case?
thanks
Heather

Posted by

on
I own a 2007 mini cooper I am the second owner of the car i have had it for 2 weeks and the timing belt broke and my mechanic says i need a new engine, researched about class action lawsuits and recalls on the vehicle which i bought from a private owner. please help i cannot drive it and i dont have transportation now

Posted by

on
I have a 2004 mini cooper that i just bought used under 1 year ago. The transmission went out with no warning or symptoms. This vehicle had a transmission replacement 3 years ago with a 2 year warranty. The cost of the repairs are way over the value of the car. I have no idea what to do, there has got to be some kind of replacement, or discounted assistance to assist people who have lost transportation and thrown money away. Mini cooper should buy these cars back, I am struggling single mother who cannot survive without my car.

Posted by

on
Purchased a used 2006 Mini Cooper S in June 2017 and wished that I had saw this review sooner. Now I'm being told that the transmission needs to be replace for $8,000. Am I agible to file a claim?

Posted by

on
,I HAVE A MINI COOPER 2006 S HARD TOP I BOUGHT THIS YEAR IT HAS 120000 MILES ALREADY PUT NEW WATER PUMP NOW NEED TO PUT A TRANSMISSION IN IT WOW COST 6000 CAN I FILE A CLAIM WITH BMW?

Posted by

on
I have a 2010 MINI COOPER S and need a new transmission: $10,000.00. I have the exact problems outlined in the description about the lawsuit:

The lawsuit claims that the transmission defect, which can cause significant delays in acceleration, loss of forward propulsion and total transmission failure while driving, was concealed from Mini Cooper customers, by BMW. However, BMW, at the same time, allegedly issued bulletins to BMW dealerships acknowledging the defect. The transmission defects also included the failure of the transmission without warning. These failures and defects may have contributed to traffic accidents resulting in serious injury or death.

This is my second MINI and my second needing to replace the transmission at the 7 years point. Therefore, within an 8 year period, I will have spent $20,000.00 on two transmissions on two MINI'S. How do I become part of a class action suit?

Posted by

on
Hello to all Mini Cooper Owners: Buyers Beware

Below you will find a letter that I sent to mini.assistance@askminiusa.co. When I first contact Mini Cooper Assistance, I was told that my case did not qualify to be "escalated to the next level." After more than an hour of insistence, my case was escalated to the next level. The letter below accurately reflects my experience. I was denied any compensation by Corporate Regional Headquarters. I will say that my local dealer in Towson, MD did offer a 20% coupon to fix what would be an $8-$10,000 repair to the automatic transmission. That offer combined with my out of pocket expenses to fix the transmission would far surpass the KBB value. To date (BEFORE the transmission problem was FINALLY diagnosed) I have invested a total of a shocking $17, 819.49. I have in my possession every Mini Cooper dealership paid invoice over the history of ownership of my 2006 Mini Cooper S (R53) hardtop two door coupe (with a non-CVT transmission). Here is the letter recapping my service history:

Re: Mini Cooper S (R53), History of Maintenance and Repair Issues 
Dear Alex,
Thank you for speaking with us earlier today.  
As promised, I have attached a table setting forth the various maintenance and repair services performed on my MINI Cooper S (R53) since it was purchased new in October, 2005. It currently has about 66,500 miles on it.

I am confident that once you verify the figures in this summary you will feel as strongly as I that the fair and right thing for the MINI Cooper Corporation to do is to replace my transmission with a rebuilt one at no cost to me. Here are a few reasons why I say this:

I am the poster child of the “little old lady” who drives to church on Sunday and to the market a few times a week. Please do the arithmetic with me: 11 years and 5 months equals 4,165 days … 66,500 miles comes to just shy of an average of 16 miles per day that I drive this car.  More importantly, I care for my MINI as I would a child.  At each service interval - (I have never failed to miss one) - the MINI is religiously in the shop for maintenance care and, not just any shop - always faithfully to the MINI dealership who sold me the car.  And, what has my devotion and customer loyalty to MINI Cooper cost me in “world class inspection”, maintenance and repair?  It has cost me an astounding figure of $17,611.49.  To make bad matters far worse, I have now received the alarming news that for a mere $8,000.00 in parts and labor I can have a brand new transmission to replace a transmission that has been sending off signals that it has had a serious problem for years - long before the warranties had expired. From almost the outset of purchase, my Mini Cooper S has periodically failed to escalate when I’ve called for more speed and lurched in and out of gear. 
 
In the early years, the problem occurred with such infrequency, that I gave little or no thought to the possibility that it might be a transmission problem but rather that it was the “nature of the beast.”  Of course, 8-10 years ago I was not yet adept enough to reach out through the internet with extensive research to discover that I was not the only MINI Cooper customer experiencing this phenomenon.  Today, with a few key search words of "MINI Coopers and transmission problems", much that was once unknown to me has been revealed. Quite understandably, during the warranty period no MINI Service Representative asked me whether I was experiencing an occasional lurch or racing sound during gear change.

To say that I am disheartened is an understatement of monumental proportion because I am way beyond hitting the “tip of the iceberg.” I ask that you do the right thing for one of your most loyal customers and PR cheerleaders; Fish me out of the water of this fiasco and make me whole.

I look forward to further discussion and a positive outcome.

My best,
_____________________________________

The P.S. to this horror story is that MINI Cooper turned its back on me and I am forced to drive a potentially life-threatening car - or do without personal transportation. I am 67 years old and my husband is 86. We are both retired and living on a fix income.

Posted by

on
I just purchased a used 2006 mini cooper and after driving for a week the transmission started to slip on me and it is going bad. Did not know this was recalled and wish I would have seen it earlier. Is it possible to still have this replaced? The car currently has 82,000 miles on it.

Posted by

on
I own a 2007 Mini Cooper convertible. I am the 2nd owner. It has already had the engine replaced at 25,000 miles. It now has about 65,000 miles and I'm being told by mini that it needs a transmission. I wasn't aware of the engine class action. I just happened to see this about the transmission do I have a recourse. Thank You.

Posted by

on
I have a 2008 MINI cooper S hardtop. I had the transmission fixed in 2014. At the time it had only 90,000 miles.

Posted by

on
I have a 2005 mini cooper and having transmission problems. as it wont go into first and starting to have issues with other gears as well..

Posted by

on
I have a 2005 mini and I never received any information about transmission problems,until I saw it on you tube! Why weren't all mini cooper owners alerted to this issue? From what I am seeing it may be too late for me!!! Seriously?was this reward only to those that had problems and complained? As per usual once settled I'm not entitled to compensation! I will contact my attorney to find out if there is any thing that can lead compensation,due to the ineffective of miss handling this transmission recall or notice of said lawsuit.I am highly disappointed with this so called closed door settlement.

Posted by

on
I have a 2006 Mini Cooper S that I just bought used with 64,000 miles. I just found out today that the transmission is shot and it will cost me over $ 6,000 to get repaired. Who can I talk to about this faulty transmission. Please help.

Posted by

on
I'm an original owner of 2004 Mini Cooper with very low mileage (78,000). My transmission just started failing.
Mini refused to do anything about it. Please help!

Posted by

on
I Own a 2010 Mini Cooper S that was affected by the recall for the timing chain. I need to file a claim for this

Posted by

on
I have a 2005 Mini Cooper S convertible. I had to have my transmission rebuilt about a year ago. Am I still eligible to take part in this lawsuit? I can show proof of work done.

Posted by

on
I owned a 2008 Mini Cooper Hardtop and took excellent care of the vehicle. It only had 110,000 miles and was serviced regularly by a BMW/MINI dealership. Driving to work driving 45 the transmission failed and the car no longer moved. I was quoted over 10k to fix the transmission. Is it too late to file a claim for this obviously faulty transmission?

Posted by

on
I own a 2005 Mini Cooper with 46,000 miles,I am the first owner. I believe the car is beginning to have transmission problems. Can I file a claim against BMW?

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