My daughter had difficlty starting her 2003 mini cooper S. Then recently when she turned the key, she heard a click. When she turned it a second time, she heard a loud pop–loud enough to make her ears ring. She found out that the battery had cracked. The shop she took it to told her that when they tried to replace the battery it arced and that there was nothing more they could do. Now it’s at a shop that specializes in English cars and they are checking the electrical system. Have you heard of the mini coopers having this sort of problem and do you have any advice for her?
I don’t know why you would take a 2003 MINI to a place that specializes in British cars. That car was built by BMW with a Chrysler-desgined/ Brazilian built engine. Anywho, sounds like the battery was defective, if it was the orginal battery then it was about at the end of it’s life anyway. Your best bet would to find someone who specializes in that particular car, or a MINI dealership.
The 2002 and 2003 Mini’s had a lot of teething problems that got ironed out with the later cars. At this point most of the earlier cars have been updated and sorted out, but there’s some out there that have managed to avoid contact with a Mini dealer. As the previous poster mentioned this car was designed by BMW and uses most of their technology, which means most of the equipment and computer systems on the car are way over the heads of anyone specializing in English cars. Before someone damages an electrical system or sticks a wrench or meter where it doesn’t belong, have it flat-bedded to a real Mini dealer that can sort the car out properly. Besides repairing it she can get the software updates the early S-models need and some of the recall/bullentin things taken care of.