MINI Cooper Complaints

4,588 consumer complaints on file.

#11432141September 8, 2021
STRUCTURE:BODY, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE
Driving at approximately 10-15 miles an hour entering a parking lot when I noticed flames coming out of the hood scoop of my 2005 Mini Cooper S. After brief inspection from my mechanic, it is believed to have been caused by the wiring harness for ABS or possibly the power steering unit since the fire originated from the rear/right hand side of the engine and those two components. I have a claim opened with USAA but during simple research, I have found tens, if not close to a hundred issues with similar characteristics. I know I am not the first R53 Mini Cooper (2002-2006 run) with this problem and this should be considered a hazard and public safety issue. I have included the link to many of the cases captured by the North American Motoring Association (a primarily North American Mini car association) which details 24 pages of these issues. https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock-problems-issues/73527-spontaneous-engine-bay-fires.html?ispreloading=1
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11430245August 24, 2021
ENGINE, STEERING, POWER TRAIN
The harmonic balancer aka crank damper went on my 2016 4dr hardtop 1.5L Mini Cooper. Has 73,000 miles on it. It has been sitting at a garage now for almost a month waiting for bmw to have the part in stock (tentative date avail. Sept.20, making it 2months wait time) tried every possible 3rd party parts dealer & not 1 harmonic balancer is to be found. I was told this part had already needed to be upgraded & modified making it a faulty part to begin with. Was told by garage it’s a common part to go on these cars. 1st my warning light came on saying the battery wasn’t holding a charge. Beings that I was 2 blocks from my house I drove there & as I was getting to my house another warning came on saying “carefully pull over & let engine cool” so I parked it & had it towed to garage to avoid any other issues.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11429910August 20, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, SEAT BELTS
The lighting and small system computer or FRM module. This module controls any features including safety features on the car. My turn signals, hazard lights, dash lights, courtesy lights, tail lights, windows, horn, high beam headlights and possibly airbags don’t work. Mini will fix the problem if the car is ten years old or less, but any car that is older doesn’t qualify. My car is a 2011 but I bought it new in 2012. They refuse to fix it and the repair cost is around $2000. I have had so many other problems with my car that have cost me several thousands of dollars and I feel like Mini should fix this problem considering these are safety features that could result in injury or death.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11428626August 11, 2021
AIR BAGS
The front passenger occupancy detector (or OC3) failed, making the passenger airbags inoperable. This is a common problem with minis and many other models have had the mat warranty extended. The dealer confirmed that the OC3 is bad but wanted $800 just to order the part which is embedded in the seat cushion. Consumers shouldn't have to bear the cost of a defective vital safety component that should last the life of the car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11427489August 2, 2021
AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS
Set Belt and Airbag Warning lights came light up for no reason and the computer got a hard code that cannot be reset (ACSM - Crash Safety Module, 93C3, OC3). This will be put in a Safety Risk if the car gets in an accident.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11427300July 31, 2021
ENGINE
Crankshaft Pulley burnt while driving. Could not accelerate. Car threw overheating codes and AC blew hot air. Battery Charging Malfunction error shown as well.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11426997July 29, 2021
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2010 Mini Cooper. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a rattling sound heard with a burning odor detected. The vehicle stalled without warning. The check engine light warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer on several occasions however, the mechanic was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The dealer performed an oil change and the check engine light was reset; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer and diagnosed with engine failure after failing the smog test. The vehicle was not repaired and remained at the dealer. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that the Vin was not under recall. The failure mileage was 104,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11427021July 29, 2021
AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS
2007 mini cooper s airbag light with warning on navigation screen saying seat belt tensioner or belt force limiter has a problem and passenger airbag is off. Odometer is 76,000 when problem started.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11426647July 27, 2021
ENGINE
The contact owns a 2015 Mini Copper The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and the contact was informed that the fuel tank needed to be replaced. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 78,000. The Vin was not available
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11426543July 26, 2021
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2011 Mini Cooper S. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 18V248000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11425998July 22, 2021
STRUCTURE:BODY
Per dealer, the front passenger door latch cable went bad (documentation available if needed) on a 2017 Mini Cooper S (4-door). Background: there was an episode a few weeks back when I was unable to latch the front passenger door. It just wouldn't latch when you tried to close it - the door would just swing / bounce off the body of the car (so to speak) on closure attempts. I fiddled with locking / unlocking the door, was finally able to have it latch again. Around 7/12, people washing my car accidentally opened that door. Unfortunately, despite again trying to fiddle around to get the door to latch for quite some time, I wasn't able to latch that door again. This obviously created a huge safety issue -- e.g. to even get the car to a dealership for repairs, people in my situation would often have to physically hold the door closed from the inside while driving. I figured out a way to hold it closed with the front passenger seatbelt; that thankfully held the door closed while I drove (including on the highway) the car to the dealership. The dealer eventually diagnosed the front passenger door latch cable as having gone bad (please see attached service report). First, the latching mechanism for car doors should never fail - customers should never e.g. have to hold their doors closed while driving or have to rig up their seatbelts to do the same. Second, it's also very unexpected that this issue happened in my car -- my car has always been well-maintained (it's regularly serviced), my car is just four years old, it's very low mileage (26k); and hardly anyone uses my front passenger door.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11425630July 20, 2021
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EXTERIOR LIGHTING, VISIBILITY/WIPER
While driving home one night the following items failed to work: Head lights; turn signals, front windows (so no hand signals); Hazard lights; interior lights; and speedometer dash light. This occurred shortly after a battery change. I am not sure if tail of brake lights function at this time. Driving the vehicle in this condition presents a unacceptable safety concern. During daily light hours I had already noticed the turn signal issue and just thought maybe a relay was bad and had not had time to investigate. Investigation revealed the failed part is the FOOTWELL MODULE, and that this is a KNOWN ISSUE by Mini Cooper. Rather than issue a recall and fix the parts, they offered an extended warranty that lasted 10 years (which expired 13 months ago for my car). As a safety issue, this should have been a recall for all vehicles, not a wait til people have a fail to fix. This issue affects newer models as well.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11424939July 15, 2021
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Fuel tank did not allow me to input fuel. Pump clicked off immediately. MINI issued a service bulletin on the problem in 2015. I have been advised the entire fuel tank must be replaced, and have heard from other MINI owners this is a systemic problem. If I had been traveling and this problem had surfaced I would have been stranded. The repairs warrant warranty coverage on the part of MINI. See service bulletin SI M16 01 15. https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2015/MC-10147283-9999.pdf
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11424692July 13, 2021
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
This car was maintained, by Mini and BMW authorized mechanics and only had OEM parts installed and followed management of vehicle as directed by manufacturer, throughout its history. It was always driven and kept in moderate weather conditions, no extreme heat, cold, wet, or speeds. Used almost daily for 30-60 minute commutes. Just after 100K miles, total engine failure was suddenly experienced on the freeway, due to combustion in two valves, damaging two cylinders and sudden leaking of the exhaust system under the hood. The manufacturer, BWM, has been shown evidence of malfunctioning of the four cylinder engine and will not show evidence of their grounds for why they will not take responsibility.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11423872July 8, 2021
TIRES:TREAD/BELT
While driving on I-81 to NY state, I experienced serious tire vibration followed by tire loss of air. All tires were checked for proper tire inflation before trip. The service center in which I ended up in said that the tire belts had separated and caused the rapid tire deflation.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11423873July 8, 2021
TIRES:TREAD/BELT
While driving on I-81 to NY state, I experienced serious tire vibration followed by tire loss of air. All tires were checked for proper tire inflation before trip. After pulling off to the side of the road, I witnessed a large hole with metal fiber sticking through the tire tread. I believe the tread separation was the cause.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11423628July 6, 2021
STEERING
The electro-hydraulic power steering system stopped working on my 2005 Mini Cooper. The was a recall for 2002 to 2005 mini power steering pump failures but the problem continued thru 2011 because the fix that mini Cooper came up with was inadequate. The essentially put a band-aid on the problem and left car owners holding the bag. I, in fact, had the auxiliary pump that mini came up with replaced and the power steering problem continued because their fix was no good. I have an appointment with the Mini Cooper dealership to look at my car in about 2 weeks. They've told me that I'm not covered by the recall even though they ordered a recall of 86,000 cars for the problem in 2015. Not having power steering in any vehicle is very dangerous. The problem first occurred and remains after 2 years. The problem was reproduced by an independent repair service that I have used for years.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11423204July 2, 2021
AIR BAGS, SEAT BELTS
On Saturday, June 26, 2021, I was driving from a Highway # 30 from Caguas to Humacao Puerto Rico and when a try to take the exit for my House the car swept away and crashed. The airbags do not open and the Seat belt does not protect my self. I suffer many injuries in my head and body.
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
1
Deaths:
0
#11421516June 20, 2021
EXTERIOR LIGHTING, EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL
Some how from one day to another the Signal doesn’t works for any dirección, horn, high lighting doesn’t work, only works the posición light but doesn’t respond if I use the control to turn off or change the option.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11420895June 14, 2021
SUSPENSION
Engine Mount and right control arm bushings have cracked and need to be replaced below 60,000 miles and only being 4 years old.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

← Back to MINI Cooper