MINI Cooper Transmission Class Action Lawsuit to be Approved by Judge

A class action lawsuit against BMW of North America on a transmission defect in the 2001-2006 MINI Coopers is expected to be approved by U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez.

The affected vehicles were equipped with the British automaker’s continuously variable transmission (CVT), which, the suit alleges, was known to fail even when being well maintained. The suit claims that BMW hid the defects of the CVT from its customers but informed dealers that it was an issue. It is being reported that BMW will settle and offer to reimburse up to 1,200 affected owners that needed repairs within eight years or 150,000 miles of their original purchase. The plaintiffs have estimated the repair costs to range from $6,000 to $9,000.

The proposed class action lawsuit settlement will also provide a max of $4,100 to Class Members who had their Coopers repaired at a third-party facility, and up to $2,000 to owners which sold the vehicle at a loss as a result of the transmission defects. BMW has also agreed to cover all future repairs on the affected Coopers for up to 150,000 miles and eight years.

Also, owners of MINI Coopers who had their transmissions replaced after the warranty expired will get a three-year, 50,000-mile parts warranty.

The original lawsuit was filed in 2011 and four similar class action lawsuits have been filed since.

[Source: Top Class Actions]

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