IllustrationPASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY. THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED COUNTLESS TIMES WITH 2005-2006 MINI COOPER S VEHICLES. THE IDENTICAL PART FROM BMW WAS PART OF A RECALL IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. *TR
2006 Mini Cooper S
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Cooper S years
Owner complaints for the 2006 Mini Cooper S are substantially higher than the model-year median of 23.5.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Cooper S years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
270–25K
3825–50K
5350–75K
2475–100K
17100–150K
2150K+
161 reports with mileage · 25 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 67 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Steering. Review the 48 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 23 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
4 crash reports9 fire reports6 injury reports
Air Bags complaints
67 reportsSRS WARNING LIGHT REQUIRING OC3 MAT REPLACEMENT AT ONLY 60K MILES. PASSENGER AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY IN CASE OF COLLISION. COST OF REPLACEMENT IS QUOTED AS $1374.83. *TR
AIR BAG WARNING LAMP ILLUMINATED AS WELL AS "AIRBAG OFF" LIGHT ILLUMINATED. OCCURS WHEN PASSENGER IS AND IS NOT IN SEAT. AUDIO FOR SEATBELT OCCURS WHEN PASSENGER IS NOT IN SEAT. MINI DEALER REPAIRED INITIALLY AT ABOUT 30K MILES, OCCURRED AGAIN AT 48K MILES. *TR
I HAVE A MINI S 2006. APPROXIMATELY 2 WEEKS AGO THE DASH AIRBAG LIGHT CAME ON. THEN WENT OFF. NOW THE LIGHT STAYS ON CONSTANTLY. I WAS TOLD THIS IS A 1300.00 JOB. MY CAR IS IN EXCELLENT SHAPE. THE CAR HAS A DEFECT SOMEWHERE, 75000 MILES? THE AIR BAG SENSOR SHOULD NOT BE FAULTY. *TR
THE PAX AIRBAG LIGHT BOTH ON DASHBOARD AND ABOVE REAR VIEW MIRROR ARE LIT AND STAY THAT WAY AFTER A PERIOD OF ON AND OFF WITH SOMEONE STATING IN THAT SEAT. ON THE BLOG OF MINI COOPERS A LOT OF COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS HAPPENING IN BMW THE MAKER OF MINI COOPERS AND THE 05, 06 MINI COOPER MODEL. IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE! A VERY EXPENSIVE…
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THE PAX AIRBAG LIGHT BOTH ON DASHBOARD AND ABOVE REAR VIEW MIRROR ARE LIT AND STAY THAT WAY AFTER A PERIOD OF ON AND OFF WITH SOMEONE STATING IN THAT SEAT. ON THE BLOG OF MINI COOPERS A LOT OF COMPLAINT ABOUT THIS HAPPENING IN BMW THE MAKER OF MINI COOPERS AND THE 05, 06 MINI COOPER MODEL. IT IS A SAFETY ISSUE! A VERY EXPENSIVE FIX AT $1500.00 WHEN IS THERE GOING TO BE A RECALL? *TT
PASSENGER SEAT OC-3 AIR BAG SENSOR FAILURE: I HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM SPORADICALLY SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR BUT RECENTLY, I'VE BEEN GETTING BOTH THE YELLOW OVERHEAD AIRBAG OFF LIGHT (ABOVE THE REARVIEW MIRROR) AND THE RED WARNING LIGHT ON THE CENTER DASH TURN ON AND STAY ON. THIS HAPPENS SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK NOW WHETHER THE SEAT IS…
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PASSENGER SEAT OC-3 AIR BAG SENSOR FAILURE: I HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM SPORADICALLY SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR BUT RECENTLY, I'VE BEEN GETTING BOTH THE YELLOW OVERHEAD AIRBAG OFF LIGHT (ABOVE THE REARVIEW MIRROR) AND THE RED WARNING LIGHT ON THE CENTER DASH TURN ON AND STAY ON. THIS HAPPENS SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK NOW WHETHER THE SEAT IS OCCUPIED OR NOT. IT CAUSES THE SEATBELT ALARM TO GO OFF AND I HAVE TO BUCKLE AN EMPTY SEAT. MY MAIN CONCERN IS IT JEOPARDIZING THE PASSENGER AIRBAG FUNCTION. *TT
THE AIRBAG SENSOR LIGHT ALONG WITH THE SEATBELT LIGHT STAYS ON CONSTANTLY FROM STARTUP.TRIED TO RESET BY INSTRUCTIONS IN THE OWNERS MANUAL BUT DIDN'T WORK.MINI SERVICE WANTS 100.00 TO JUST EVALUATE THE PROBLEM.THE PROBLEM IS THAT MINI /BMW KNOW THERE IS DEFAULT WITH THE SEAT SENSORS BUT WON'T TAKE ON RESPONSIBILITY AS THE CAR O…
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THE AIRBAG SENSOR LIGHT ALONG WITH THE SEATBELT LIGHT STAYS ON CONSTANTLY FROM STARTUP.TRIED TO RESET BY INSTRUCTIONS IN THE OWNERS MANUAL BUT DIDN'T WORK.MINI SERVICE WANTS 100.00 TO JUST EVALUATE THE PROBLEM.THE PROBLEM IS THAT MINI /BMW KNOW THERE IS DEFAULT WITH THE SEAT SENSORS BUT WON'T TAKE ON RESPONSIBILITY AS THE CAR OWNERS ARE PAYING $1500-2200 + TO HAVE THIS REPAIRED. THIS IS A VERY SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE AS NONE OF THE AIRBAGS WILL WORK IN THE CAR AT THIS POINT. *TR
WHILE DRIVING THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT TURNED OFF. AT THE SAME TIME THE SEAT BELT LIGHT CAME ON. HAD BOTH CHECKED AND WHEN CAR WAS RETURNED BOTH LIGHTS WERE OUT. PASSENGER SEAT BOTTOM WAS REPLACED. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS IS COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE SEAT BOTTOM. NO PROBLEM NOTED FOR THE SEAT B…
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WHILE DRIVING THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT TURNED OFF. AT THE SAME TIME THE SEAT BELT LIGHT CAME ON. HAD BOTH CHECKED AND WHEN CAR WAS RETURNED BOTH LIGHTS WERE OUT. PASSENGER SEAT BOTTOM WAS REPLACED. I WAS TOLD THAT THIS IS COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE SEAT BOTTOM. NO PROBLEM NOTED FOR THE SEAT BELT LIGHT. 1/2 MILE FROM DEALER BOTH WARNING LIGHTS AGAIN TURNED ON AND THE PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT TURNED OFF. AT THIS POINT I AM NOT SURE IF THE CAR IS SAFE TO DRIVE OR NOT.
AIR BAG FAILURE LAMP LIGHT ON. 2006 JCW MINI COOPER. ON STARTUP, LAMPS ALL GO THROUGH STARTUP ILLUMINATION THEN GO DARK. AIRBAG FAILURE LAMP RELIGHTS 1 SECOND LATER AND REMAINS ON. NO INTERIOR WIRING DONE, CAR IS AS WAS RECEIVED NEW FROM DEALER. *TR
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MINI COOPER S. UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATING ON THE DASHBOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE BECAUSE THE LIGHT WAS NO LONGER ILLUMINATING. THE CONTACT WAS TOLD T…
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TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MINI COOPER S. UPON STARTING THE VEHICLE THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATING ON THE DASHBOARD. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THEY WERE UNABLE TO DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE BECAUSE THE LIGHT WAS NO LONGER ILLUMINATING. THE CONTACT WAS TOLD THE FAILURE WAS MOST LIKELY DUE TO THE AIR BAG SENSOR FAILING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE CONTINUED TO OCCUR. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 61,000. UPDATED 12/14/11 *CN
Official recalls
115V205000 · Air Bags:frontal
Apr 6, 2015
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2005-2006 MINI Cooper and Cooper S vehicles manufactured January 5, 2005, to November 28, 2006, and 2005-2008 MINI Cooper Convertible and Cooper S Convertible vehicles manufactured January 5, 2005, to July 31, 2008. Due to manufacturing, installation, and exposure issues, the front passenger seat occupant detection mat may not function properly and, as a result, the front passenger air bag may not deploy in a crash.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: An improperly functioning mat may cause the passenger frontal air bag to be inactive when the seat is occupied, and in the event of a crash, the air bag will not deploy, increasing the passenger's risk of injury.
Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger seat occupant detection mat, free of charge. The recall began on October 12, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.