2 August 2002: About half of the new Mini Cooper cars that have been sold in the United States will be recalled to fix a transmission problem. Mini owners BMW also have to recall its X5 luxury SUV for the eith time, now for loose brake pedals.

More than 6,000 Minis have been sold in the US since March. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that on 3,531 Mini Coopers with manual transmissions, the cable connecting the shift lever to the transmission could detach, leaving the transmission in the last gear selected and increasing the risk of a crash.

In other recalls, 2,085 Rolls-Royce and Bentley cars built between 1998 and May of this year will be recalled to fix a problem with the braking system that could allow air into the brake lines. Rolls-Royce and Bentley are owned by Volkswagen AG , but BMW will take over the Rolls-Royce name and production in January.