MINI Cooper Complaints

4,588 consumer complaints on file.

#11501907January 15, 2023
STEERING
I am writing regarding the failure of the steering column on my 2019 Mini Cooper Hardtop. The incident occurred on December 31, 2022. I drove my car to a residential location in Seattle, parked and locked the vehicle. When I returned to my car and started it up to move it, I realized I had no control of the car because the steering wheel was spinning uncontrollably. When the car was towed to Seattle Mini, the AAA tow truck driver and the dealership service department personnel receiving the car said they had seen nothing like this before. Seattle Mini takes the position that the steering column was forcibly broken due to an accident which is not the case. I’m very concerned about the safety of this vehicle and not comfortable with Seattle Mini’s theory as to the cause of the failure since no accident or “great force” event occurred as described in the service department video. If this had occurred while I was on-route to the location where the car was parked, the outcome could have been catastrophic. We would like to confer with you this coming week on the best course of action to address this situation. Thank You.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11501799January 14, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
UNKNOWN Driver side tail light socket. All lights stopped working. Took out the socket and the wiring harness connector burned up
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11500592January 7, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES
At 15,000 miles, front brake pads and rotors were badly worn and rear brake pads. Replaced brake pads front and rear.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11499386December 29, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
After work, I started the car in a parking lot. Before leaving, a fire started under the hood behind the passenger side headlight. After using the jaws of life to take off the hood, the fire department contained the fire. No injuries. There was extensive damage to the right front. The contents were all smoke damaged. Neighboring cars were not damaged. The car has been totaled.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11496394December 7, 2022
AIR BAGS
Supplemental Restraint System (SRS) Airbag Warning Light has come on indicating a malfunction with this safety system and consequently that the airbag safety system may not deploy in the event of an accident. This problem is not unique to my specific vehicle and appears to be a very common issue amongst BMW Mini vehicles as evidenced by much discussion on forums across the internet.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11496400December 7, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Driving at low speed piercing loud noises came from speakers, buzzing and whining. Noise stayed on with ignition on or off and radio on or off. This occurred two more times on way home. Am waiting for dealer appointment. Have not driven vehicle since.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11496432December 7, 2022
AIR BAGS, AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:FRONT PASSENGER
Passenger seat occupancy sensor has failed, rendering the airbag system permanently turned off until it is replaced. This is an issue that is so common that people are purchasing bypass units off of eBay to trick the computer into thinking the passenger is there. A quick google search will confirm this. It cannot be condoned that a company as large as BMW gets a free pass on refusing to fix this while companies on eBay profit on a device that is clearly not safe to use.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11494448November 21, 2022
AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS
When passenger is seated with safety belt on the seat belt light comes on along with a message that the passenger seat air bag will not deploy.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493892November 17, 2022
SERVICE BRAKES, SEATS, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
i Purchased the car in Dover Pa . INspection sticker had same milage as on car so i shoulda knew he slapped a sticker on . drove 150 miles dash lit ip like chrismas tree. 1st thing left window wont work , then left lock wont work had to lock from passenfger dide. then door wont open at all . have to get ou t passenger door . know that wont open have to put down passenger window pull handel to get out . car is possessed light work whren they want does all kinda crazt stuff . batter has problems . charge and still cant start it . and hatch locks so i cant get to battery. power steering leaking going bad . timing belt making noise . no power on hills .cracking noise in right front pulls to right had . hazard to me ive been locked inside three times could get out of car i coulda sat in heat and died or cold and froze . cant get out of car when it ts electric doors dont work . car sucks . this has been gradual thing these events from feb to may . now i just hate the car
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493526November 14, 2022
AIR BAGS, AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION
The passenger seat occupancy detection module and program failed. The red airbag and seatbelt lights went on. According to the dealership, the default setting is that the airbag will not go off if the module is broken. A Google search suggests that this is a common problem; so much so that there is an electronic gadget you can buy and videos on YouTube on how to install it to do a "workaround" to get the light to go off without fixing the module.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493125November 10, 2022
STEERING
Power Steering pump leaking failure
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11493154November 10, 2022
AIR BAGS
On October 4, 2022, the Mini Cooper hardtop 4 door was hit in a head-on collision by a driver who was going at least 40 MPH, possibly more. The car that hit the Cooper was a Toyota Prius. All the Prious' airbags deployed. No airbags deployed on the Mini Cooper hardtop 4 door. None. The Mini Cooper, after assessment, was considered to be a total loss.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
2
Deaths:
0
#11492816November 8, 2022
AIR BAGS
Car shows signs of passenger seat occupancy sensor recall. Mini acknowledges the recall has not been performed. Mini expanded recall to 10 years from date of service but because previous owner didn't get recall done I cannot. This is a known issue with these cars and should not have an expiration date! Dealer I purchased car from used says that because recall isn't listed here then they aren't liable to fix it...
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489819October 18, 2022
ENGINE
Our Mini Cooper Countymen S was being towed behind our motorhome. I. saw smoke coming from the car I stopped and the car started to catch on fire. I got out motorhome disconnect just in time before the Mini was consumed by fire, it was a total loss. The Fire Investigator stated he believed the fire started in the right side of the engine compartment.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11489667October 17, 2022
POWER TRAIN
I purchased this vehicle on 9/03/2019 with 29,871 miles. I had to replace the clutch on 5/11/2020 at 39,690 miles. I am now having to purchase yet ANOTHER clutch on 10/17/2022 with 58,850 miles. Two clutches within 3 years is just unacceptable!
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487831October 4, 2022
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
At about 6:40AM on September 23, 2022, the 2011 Mini Clubman car caught on fire. The car was parked in the driveway, locked with everything off, key removed and unoccupied. It was last driven the evening of September 22nd. About 6:40AM the interior behind the steering wheel and dashboard erupted into flames. The car filled with smoke and flames. The fire burned for about 5 -10 minutes and self extinguished. Just prior to the fire the headlights were reported to be on. After the fire, the windshield wipers were operating with no way to turn them off. At a reasonable time after the flames were no longer visible (10-15min), the driver's door was opened by the emergency key to vent the smoke. Upon inspection, the area around the left footwell near the driver's door was heavily charred with insulation burned off all wiring and co-located electrical devices. The hood release latch was melted. The air vent to the left of the steering wheel was missing and all the ductwork to that vent was missing. There was a large deformation and hole in the dashboard above and slightly to the right of the steering wheel and the windshield was cracked about 2-3 inches above the dashboard. It appears that electrical components and wiring inside the dashboard were also engulphed in flames but no detailed inspection of the damage occurred. Significant smoke damage occurred to the entire interior. The local fire department was called and they were able to open the hood and disconnect the battery which stopped the windshield wipers. The car was a stock car with no modifications. Reasonably maintained by professionals. The odometer reading before the fire was approximately 103,000 miles. No problems were noted prior to the incident. Insurance has considered the car a total loss and unrepairable. In general it is assumed by the writer that Mini's or any other car should not experience electrical fires when unoccupied, all devices are off, no key is present. Kindly investigate.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487713October 3, 2022
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
When refueling, fuel is rejected after dispensing about 1/8 US gallons, about 4 oz. Of course, fuel spills are a hazard - both in possibly of fire, and to the environment - by contaminating ground water. Dealer said that there are several solenoid operated valves and replaced fuel tank and fill pipe, a cost to me of $2400.00. There are many reports of this on social media, one person suggested holding the fuel nozzle upside down which made a larger spill.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11487381October 1, 2022
ENGINE
Transmission-get message when opening car door to put parking brake on to secure vehicle from rolling… Car does not roll, goes into gear with no problem… on the mini message board a lot of owners getting the same message….
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486005September 23, 2022
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
Transmission/timing chain issue/engine malfunctions
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11486102September 23, 2022
AIR BAGS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
This vehicle just went over 66,000 miles and the airbag warning light started appearing. An independent mechanic and dealership both diagnosed and said it's a defective front passenger seat occupant detection mat and I'd need to replace the entire system/seat. Several other vehicles with the same part have recalls however my specific 2008 model is not included in this recall. I believe it should be included in the recall as this is clearly a known issue and an obvious safety system/design flaw. No sort of crash or collision occurred and now the vehicle will not pass safety inspection and is unusable because of this until I spent roughly $2000 on the repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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