A not-so-mini recall

Owners of Mini Cooper and John Cooper Works models built between 2006 and 2011 will be written to in the coming weeks to ask them to bring their cars to a Mini dealer for a replacement water pump.

The recall is estimated to affect around 235,000 cars around the world – approximately 300 of these in Ireland – and follows reports of the water pump drawing heat from the car’s turbocharger failing.  Mini say a failure of the circuit board controlling the pump may lead it to smoulder and Mini have said they cannot rule out the possibility of such a failure leading to a fire. 

There have been 81 cases worldwide of overheating due to the failure of this water pump, 4 of which saw Minis catching fire, that have been linked to this problem.  To make the cars safe, Mini have instructed their dealers to fit a new water pump.  This work will be carried out free of charge.

Recalls are actually quite common in the motor industry.  Much like any manufactured product, issues can arise only when used by consumers in the real world and when there’s even a remote chance of a problem making the vehicle becoming dangerous (the 81 Minis that have overheated from this problem represent 0.034% of the total vehicles sold with this problematic water pump), the manufacturer must take action to rectify the issue.  Sometimes, when the issue is non-urgent, a service bulletin is issued to dealers.  This bulletin alerts them that if they see a particular model of car in their garage, they check it for a specific problem and fix it if necessary.  AA patrols, technicians and garage agents also get these bulletins, so they are aware of these specific issues.

But when there’s an urgent need to fix a problem with a vehicle, like this Mini Cooper recall, the manufacturer approaches the Department of Transport, who manage the National Vehicle and Driver File.  This file contains the full details of every car and driver on the road.  The manufacturer outlines their case for a recall and the Department provides them with the name and address of every person to whom the affected vehicles are registered.  Recall notices are then issued to the owners of affected vehicles, who should then bring their cars to a main dealer for the brand and have the work carried out.

Ireland does not have a national vehicle recall register, so if you have a query about your car and whether it’s affected by a recall, you should contact the manufacturer’s distributor in Ireland for more information.