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A California federal judge has indicated he will grant preliminary approval to a proposed class action settlement involving allegations that BMW of North America LLC concealed a transmission defect in its MINI Cooper automobiles. If approved, the class action settlement would pay thousands of drivers as much as $9,000 for vehicle repairs.
U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez requested more information about the class size and suggested some revisions in the MINI Cooper class action settlement notice. Plaintiffs’ attorneys indicated that approximately 1,200 MINI Cooper owners had their transmissions replaced at BMW dealerships. However, it is unclear how many drivers took their MINI Coopers to a third-party facility for repair.
The plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit alleged that BMW hid the MINI Cooper transmission defect from customers at the same time it issued bulletins acknowledging the issue to BMW dealerships. The transmission defect can cause significant delays in acceleration, loss of forward propulsion and total transmission failure while driving. Even more concerning is the tendency of the transmissions to fail without warning. These transmission defects can contribute to traffic accidents that may lead motorists to experience serious injury or death.
In their class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that BMW sacrificed the quality of the MINI Coopers in an effort to keep the vehicle prices low. Therefore, the company manufactured cars of substandard quality that put consumers at risk. The plaintiffs accuse the car company of prioritizing profits over customer safety.
Since the first MINI Cooper transmission defect lawsuit was filed in 2011, four similar class action lawsuits have been filed. The plaintiffs’ attorneys estimate that the number of Class Members in these consolidated class action lawsuits could number in the tens of thousands.
Judge Gutierrez has said that he will wait to approve the MINI Cooper transmission defect settlement until he receives an updated estimate of the number of likely Class Members.
Under the terms of the proposed class action settlement, BMW will reimburse drivers under the eight-year/150,000 mile warranty for all of their out-of-pocket expenses associated with the transmission repair. The plaintiffs have estimated their repair costs to range from $6,000 to $9,000. The proposed class action settlement will also provide a maximum of $4,100 to Class Members who had their MINI Coopers repaired at a third-party facility and up to $2,000 to consumers who sold the vehicles at a loss due to the transmission defects. BMW has also agreed to cover all future repairs for MINI Coopers up to 150,000 miles and eight years.
Owners of MINI Coopers who replaced their vehicles’ transmissions after the warranty expired will receive a three-year/50,000-mile parts warranty, according to the class action settlement.
Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit are represented by Roland Tellis and Mark Pifko of Baron & Budd PC and Payam Shahian of Strategic Legal Practices, among others.
The BMW MINI Cooper Transmission Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Aarons v. BMW of North America LLC, Case No. 11-cv-07667, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
UPDATE: Judge Gutierrez preliminarily approved the MINI Cooper Transmission Class Action Settlement. Details on how to file a claim will be available soon
UPDATE 2: Notices and claim filing instructions for the MINI Cooper settlement are being delayed by disputes between the two parties. Both sides asked the Court to intervene to expedite administration of the class action settlement benefits.
UPDATE 3: Claim filing instructions are now available! See how to file a claim for the MINI Cooper class action settlement here.
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114 thoughts onJudge Will Approve Mini Cooper Transmission Class Action Settlement
I have a 2003 Mini Cooper with 53,000 miles. My automatic transmission doesn’t shift on time and sometimes it starts at 6th gear. A dealer said i need replace the transmission and it would cost $10k.
My car’s value is only around $7,000. I am highly interested in this lawsuit.
I also have a nice 2003 mini with dead cvt trany. Was quoted $8500 to fix it. So this $5000 metal weight just sits in our garge. Any information would be appreciated.
I brought a 2006 cooper 2 and a half years ago, has 65,000 km on it, which is nothing, and nearly a year ago i had big prob with the gearbox….so the poor car has jus been rotting in the shed……i can’t afford to front the cash for repairs!
Prices are ridiculous just to pull the box out so they can find whats causing the problems, let alone the added cost’s to repair the piece of shit…!
And I’m not even eligible for any of this due to the fact I’m in Australia….
BMW just need to man up and claim responsibility for there bullshit mistakes, instead of the customer being out of pocket.
Ibrought mini cooper 06 I,am having problem with acceleration my warranty ran out would I be protested under this law suit.thank you Shelia Fosque
I have a 2004 mini and have had some hesitation and some jerky acceleration in 1st. I would like to have the transmission replaced before there is a breakdown. will this law suite cover this issue? Walla Walla Wa.
On 11/12/2013 my 2006 Mini Cooper transmission went out while my wife and I were on the highway, endangering our lives.
Had it transported to the dealer in Arlington Texas. The next day I was told it needed a new transmission and would be 9200 dollars to replace it. Can not put 9200 dollars in a 5000 dollar car. Mileage was a little over 112,000. Was told I could get 1000 for trade in.
I’m currently dealing with this headache issue… My 2002 5 speed was having a acceleration problem and now the transmission does not work at all.
WE BOUGHT AT A SMALL DEALER. THE MINI COOPER MADE IN 2003 HAD 83000 MILES, TRANSMISSION STARTED TO MAKE WEIRD TICKLING SOUND AT 84000. MECHANIC SAID WE NEED A NEW TRANSMISSION, SINCE THIS IS NON REPAIRABLE CVT….
PLEASE PUT US ON THE LIST at lawsuit. WE LIVE IN ILLINOIS
Have taken flawless care of my adored 2005 Mini that I had hoped to drive for many more years, cannot imagine life without out it. It started making a “huming” noise, then leaving wet marks on the garage floor. Found out today it is not safe to drive – CVT Transmission has blown. It is still running, but advised not to drive. Informed to join this lawsuit, I have 140,000 miles on it. Shame on you BMW for hiding this info all these years! I paid 800 for “routine” transmission servicing last year to keep up with the maintenance. Found out today these are not even serviceable, curious what I paid you for! Judge make the right decision!!
I have a 2005 Mini Cooper. After only 58,000 miles the transmission failed and had to be replaced. It not only cost thousands of dollars in repair but was in the garage for 2 months. A month after finally getting it repaired it is now in the shop once again to get repaired for the same reason. I’d like to be added to this list.