— A MINI Cooper oil filter housing lawsuit will move forward after a federal judge denied to dismiss the class-action suit that BMW wanted thrown out forever.
The MINI class-action lawsuit says 2009-2014 MINI Coopers have defects related to lubrication of the engines that cause too much of a safety hazard to drive because the cars suddenly lose oil pressure while driving.
This allegedly forces drivers to shut down the engines to protect against all kinds of problems from overheating engines.
A big claim of the MINI lawsuit involves technical service bulletins (TSBs) BMW sent to dealerships about possible problems with engine lubrication.
One bulletin talks about 2005-2013 Mini Coopers that can experience oil leaks due to "compromised" oil pump volume control solenoid valves.
Another TSB says dealers shouldn't replace the engine oil pan gaskets on 2005-2013 Mini Cooper cars, and a separate TSB talks about the possibility of coolant leaking into the oil filter housings on 2014 Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S cars.
According to the suit, the plaintiffs say BMW continued to send additional dealer bulletins based on engine and oil filter housing problems.
Those plaintiffs also claim constant repairs are needed to keep the cars running and customers must pay possibly thousands of dollars to repair or replace the oil filter housing units, oil filter gaskets, oil filter covers, oil pumps, oil feed lines, oil pans, valves and seals.
In addition, the complaint had been dismissed in the past, but the judge allowed the suit to be amended. Attorneys brought in a different lead plaintiff and changed the wording of the lawsuit to focus on the oil filter housing unit.
The lawsuit started with claims that all kinds of parts were involved, including the oil pumps, vacuum pump assemblies and oil filter housing units that caused oil to leak from the seals. However, the latest amended class-action lawsuit has been whittled down to focus on the oil filter housing units in 2009-2014 MINI Coopers.
BMW's motion to dismiss was shot down when the judge ruled there is enough evidence to allege the automaker could have known about possible engine problems based on complaints made by owners.
As for specific dates, the judge said the plaintiffs presented enough evidence to allege BMW could have known about possible defects since 2011, but allegedly may have kept that knowledge from consumers.
Furthermore, the judge said one of the plaintiffs provided enough evidence to allege she paid more than $1,000 for repairs and yet still kept having problems with engine power and a burning smell while driving.
The MINI Cooper oil filter housing lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California - Joshua Borkman, et. al., v. BMW of North America, LLC.
The plaintiff is represented by Capstone Law APC.