On 9/20/2011 I pulled on to the highway with my MINIand turned on the air conditioner which did not work. This had never happened before and there were no lighted indicator lights. A few minutes later, the temperature gauge light went on and then went off. I turned on the air conditioner and it was now working. Several minutes later the temperature light went on again so I turned off the air conditioner, entered the right lane and slowed down. The temperature gauge continued to go on and off and then I smelled smoke. When I looked in my rear-view mirror, I saw dark smoke and then more smoke began to pour our from under my hood. I pulled my car off the road and opened the hood after a while. Oil was splattered all over the engine and I noticed that the coolant tank was bone dry. I was towed to hassle MINIwhere my vehicle still is. After inspecting my car, hassle told me they couldn't repair the engine even though my warranty was still in effect. They told me the problem was my fault and I should report it to my insurance company. I was also told it would cost approximately $15,000 to replace the engine. I do not understand why hassle will not honor the warranty and I do not understand why a well maintained vehicle should behave like this. My life was endangered in this situation. There are several reasons I believe MINIshould honor my car's warranty: 1. all required service was performed and records provided. 2. the vehicle had been serviced only 700 miles prior to this incident and found to be in running order. 3. the car had a documented history of faulty indicator lights. 4. there were only 13,674 miles on the car. 5. MINIhas a history of engine fires.

- West Islip, NY, USA