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F56 Mini Cooper S JCW - Parting with my JCW :(
Hey guys, I know some of you probably saw my post on the facebook group recently. Unfortunately, the outcome hasn't been a good one and I've reluctantly decided to part with my JCW for good. I'll be repairing it first so watch out for it in the for sale section in the coming weeks...
It's a 2015 F56 JCW Mini Cooper S and I've unfortunately had a lot of issues with it over the years but, as it's been covered under warranty, I was hopeful once I got the last set of major repairs out of the way last November it'd finally be a sorted and I could get on with enjoying the car.
It's had everything it could ever want done since I got it and I only very recently (less than 300 miles ago) dumped a load of money on a full set of brake discs and pads all 'round and was looking forward to a winter of fun with it :( However, it looks like it just isn't to be. The car just turned 6 years old and unfortunately recently developed some issues, including errors for:
- Reverse Parking Camera failure
- Headlight vertical aim failure
- Lighting System - Control lights, turn indicator, dipped beam, fog light, high beam and headlight flasher not functioning
- Lighting system - Front right cluster failure
I took it down to a MINI specialist (KSA in East Calder) and they quickly identified a CAN communications issue. Upon investigation, they discovered that a design flaw with the car has resulted in water running down behind the scuttle, soaking onto the wiring harness and drenching the wires. The wiring is severely swollen and these errors are the start of massive electrical failures. I spoke with BMW parts and they confirmed they're aware of the issue and sell a specially made part which is designed to replace the area of the wiring commonly affected. Additionally, they told me the fault is so common that they sell 70+ of these repair parts per month. The new part has been redesigned to allow water to drain away from the wiring when it gets wet.
However, due to the amount of work required to access the wiring to replace it, the repair is 2-3 days of labour and, even without dealership prices, I've been quoted upwards of £1500+VAT to make the repair. I spoke with MINI and Peter Vardy Edinburgh regarding the issue and they told me that as the car is out of warranty they won't do anything and quoted me £2584+VAT to repair it at their centre.
I spoke with MINI customer services and their executive complaints team to ask if there's anything they can do to help, as the issue has clearly taken years to develop and there's no way a 6 year old car should have a full wiring failure of this nature, but they've refused to offer any help whatsoever and told me it's my problem, despite it being a well known issue due to the way the car has been designed.
I can't afford the repairs, or the risk of future issues with this kind of cost attached, so unfortunately I'm faced with no other option than to finance the repair and sell the car to recoup the costs.
As far as I can tell, this issue can affect any F56 mini from 2014 through to at least 2018 and was only recently rectified, thus the need for this specific replacement part that BMW have created. In some cases, the washer fluid bottle directly above can leak onto the wiring and in other instances it's just a case of rain water slowly leaking down over a sustained period of time, eventually resulting in complete electrical failure. If the issue is left undiagnosed for too long then in some cases it can result in the entire wiring harness requiring replacement. It's still unclear if mine is damaged beyond the scope of the replacement part or if that part will be enough - the garage currently working on the car have left the bill open ended as they're unsure how long it's going to take to fix or if a full wiring harness will be needed.
I wanted to make sure anyone with an F56 of this era checks their wiring - don't end up like me with an eye watering repair bill and an undrivable car. If you find you have this issue or you've had this issue previously and didn't know it was a common fault, please feel free to get in touch, as I plan on continuing to pursue BMW UK for the cost of the repairs and hopefully help out other owners who've had to shoulder this cost themselves too. I know from a brief search online that I'm definitely not the only one. The wiring flaw is so severe it should've resulted in a recall, but because it only causes financial woe for customers and isn't a safety issue, BMW clearly decided not to bother taking any responsibility.
I've attached some photos of my wiring so you know where to look if you need to check yours.
My boyfriend and I met through our love of MINIs and we only recently sold his Cooper S Seven Edition on the assumption we'd keep the JCW as our fun car, so pretty gutted this has happened and even more upset that MINI and BMW have been so dismissive and rude in their response to my request for their help. I was very polite about it but as soon as I mentioned it's a common fault they got very defensive and told me I don't qualify for any help. Very upset it's come to this as I've had MINIs throughout my driving career and this has left me feeling like I can't trust MINI or BMW anymore and has soured my enthusiasm for them :(
