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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
Like many others on here … 2005 Mini S R52 (wherefore not covered under this class action suit) paperweight -with approx 73k miles. $8000 to replace with rebuilt tranny – more than trade-in value of car. To say Im upset is putting it mildly. Bought the extended warranty – that expired 1000 miles/2 weeks ago. Needless to say, loved driving the Mini … but based on costs of repairs and apparent transmission issues with both the CVT and Aisin box I cannot recommend anyone buying a Mini unless they plan to drive for a few thousand miles and then buy something much more reliable and affordable to repair.
I brought a used 2006 Mini Cooper R50 and my car started losing power, propulsion and I have found out that the transmission is the problem. I am inquiring about the class action lawsuit and believe that BMW needs to stand by their product and fix the issues with the transmissions in which they knew about. Loyal BMW customers should not be held liable for this expense, is there any recourse for me to hold BMW responsible for a defective transmission.
I purchased a 2004 Mini Cooper brand new in 2004. I have 91,000 miles on it and the transmission went out just 3 weeks ago. It will cost me over $6K to repair, its sitting in my garage now. How can I get involved in the Class Action Suite.
Bought a 2006 Mini Cooper s with 50,00 miles, have only had the car for 3 months. Transmission needs a new valve body that will cost $3000 to fix. Dealership from California listed the car with a clean car fax, found out the car had been in a accident, repainted, and has a leak in the main rear seal. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!!
I have 2007 mini cooper , bought used with 79,000 miles . Barely got to use the car and CVT auto transmission stays in low gear all the time. Mini Cooper dealer in Dublin, Ohio quoted me 8,200 for a new transmission after they checked the car out, the dealer then said they could not repair my transmission because they had no transmission mechanics employed, only parts replacement mechanics and charged me $150 dollars. So now the car sits in the garage. Will sell car for big loss. Can I join the lawsuit?
I have a 2007 mini s convertible with 50000 ml on it with broken transmission siting in my garage .how do I join the law suit please advice.
Compré en una subasta un mini cooper 2006 tiene 11000millas y la transmición no funciona estoy muy desilusionada y desesperada ya me era para mí hija ke va ha entrar ala Universidad.me debo aser.
2003 mini cooper. transmission failed 2 days ago. mileage 47000
I bought 2007 mini transmission went out a year after what can I do ? Is there help I owe 8 grand on my car and it cost 6k to fix it I’m a single mom can this law suit help us ?
Purchased a 2005 mini for my grandaughter she drove it 3 months now it’s sitting i cannot afford to fix it and im still paying for the car i purchased at a local dealer..my opion dealers should not be selling anymore of these vehicle to anyone even if offering the warrenty..its pathetic people have to deal with this especially poor people refering to myself.. Thank-You
We bought a 2003 mini cooper 5 speed transmission didn’t have it for year and the tranny went. Now it is sitting because can’t afford the repairs. Can someone guide me in the right direction please email me at rahura74@gmail. Com