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

Service Brakes complaints

1 reports

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49,000 miles · Aug 26, 2013

Service Brakes

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THIS IS MY 3RD MINI COOPER S. ON MY PREVIOUS 2 CARS, A 2004 AND A 2005, I HAD TO REPLACE THE BRAKE LINES FROM THE FRONT TO THE BACK BRAKES. BOTH CARS HAD ABOUT 50,000 MILES ON THEM. THE LINES ARE HELD IN PLACE BY "CLIPS" WHICH TRAP MOISTURE AND SALT. THIS CAUSES THE LINES TO RUST OUT AND FAIL, LOSING BRAKING ABILITY. SOMETHING THAT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN WITH A 50K MILE CAR AND CAN CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY. LOOKING AT MY 2006 YESTERDAY. CAR WITH ABOUT 50K MILES, BRAKE LINES LOOK TO ME LIKE THEY ARE READY TO FAIL FROM RUST. IF THIS HAS HAPPENED ON ALL OF MY CARS, THIS MUST BE A COMMON SAFETY DEFECT CAUSED BY A BAD DESIGN. MINI DOES NOT OFFER ANY HELP WITH THIS MATTER. I HAVE CONTACTED THEM BUT THEY HAVE OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. ALL I ASKED THEM TO DO WAS TO REPLACE THE LINES AT THEIR EXPENSE. THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN DOING SO. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10537261

Official recalls

15V205000 · 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

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.