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2006 Mini Cooper

Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations

More warning signs than most Cooper years

Owner complaints for the 2006 Mini Cooper are substantially higher than the model-year median of 40.5.

About this comparison →

How this year compares

Owner complaints by model year

Compare all Cooper 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

166 reports with mileage · 34 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 111 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Steering. Review the 53 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
  • Power Train. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

9 crash reports8 fire reports8 injury reports

Air Bags complaints

111 reports
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Mileage unknown · Jun 3, 2013
Air Bags

AIR BAG LIGHT ABOVE REAR VIEW MIRROR ILLUMINATES WHEN A PASSENGER IS SEATED. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS AND FOUND MANY OTHERS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE, BUT HAVE NOT DISCOVERED A RECALL OR ANY INFORMATION TO MAKE THE NECESSARY REPAIRS. SEEMS IT SHOULD BE FIXED AS THEY DID WITH THE 2002 MODEL, COVERING THE REPAIR TO 10 YEARS OR 150,000 M…

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AIR BAG LIGHT ABOVE REAR VIEW MIRROR ILLUMINATES WHEN A PASSENGER IS SEATED. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS AND FOUND MANY OTHERS HAVING THE SAME ISSUE, BUT HAVE NOT DISCOVERED A RECALL OR ANY INFORMATION TO MAKE THE NECESSARY REPAIRS. SEEMS IT SHOULD BE FIXED AS THEY DID WITH THE 2002 MODEL, COVERING THE REPAIR TO 10 YEARS OR 150,000 MILES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10514873

107,850 miles · May 27, 2013
Air BagsSeats

PURCHASED CAR USED. WHEN PASSENGER SITS IN FRONT SEAT, AIRBAG LIGHT INTERMITTENTLY GOES ON AND OFF AND THEN STAYS ON. HAVE SEARCHED ONLINE AND THE PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR IS LIKELY BROKEN AND IS A $1500 FIX AT THE DEALER. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE COVERED BY MANUFACTURER. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10513633

48,000 miles · May 25, 2013
Air Bags

PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG FAILED. SEAT PASSENGER DETECTOR FAILURE IS CAUSE. A REVIEW OF ON LINE TROUBLE SITES SHOW THIS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WHICH MANUFACTURER DENIES AND DELAYS REPAIR. THOUGH MINI HAS MULTIPLE REPORTS OF THIS, THEY REFUSE TO REPAIR AS THEY STATE "OUT OF WARRANTY". THIS IS A BASIC SAFETY FEATURE WHICH IS FL…

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PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG FAILED. SEAT PASSENGER DETECTOR FAILURE IS CAUSE. A REVIEW OF ON LINE TROUBLE SITES SHOW THIS TO BE A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WHICH MANUFACTURER DENIES AND DELAYS REPAIR. THOUGH MINI HAS MULTIPLE REPORTS OF THIS, THEY REFUSE TO REPAIR AS THEY STATE "OUT OF WARRANTY". THIS IS A BASIC SAFETY FEATURE WHICH IS FLAWED AND SHOULD BE SUBJECT TO IMMEDIATE AND BROAD RECALL. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10513495

60,060 miles · May 17, 2013
Air BagsSeat Belts

DURING THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS, THE AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT WOULD COME ON. AT TIMES IT WOULD STAY ON FOR A LONG PERIOD, OTHER TIMES NOT AS LONG. THIS WEEK THE SEAT BELT INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON AFTER A PASSENGER LEFT THE CAR AND THE ALARM SOUNDED FOR APX. 10 MINUTES UNTIL I STOPPED AND SHUT OFF THE CAR. THE AIR BAG INDICATOR ALS…

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DURING THE PAST COUPLE WEEKS, THE AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT WOULD COME ON. AT TIMES IT WOULD STAY ON FOR A LONG PERIOD, OTHER TIMES NOT AS LONG. THIS WEEK THE SEAT BELT INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON AFTER A PASSENGER LEFT THE CAR AND THE ALARM SOUNDED FOR APX. 10 MINUTES UNTIL I STOPPED AND SHUT OFF THE CAR. THE AIR BAG INDICATOR ALSO CAME ON. I TOOK IT FOR SERVICING TODAY BUT THE GARAGE COULD NOT GET ANY CODES FROM THE SRS CONTROL UNIT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10512604

58,300 miles · May 11, 2013
Air Bags

PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG SEAT WEIGHT SENSOR BEGAN TO INTERMITTENTLY TRIP PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG LIGHT AND AIR BAG LIGHT. ADJUSTING WEIGHT ON SEAT WOULD INITIALLY EXTINGUISH; HOWEVER, PROBLEM IS NOW CONSTANT. COST PROHIBITIVE TO REPLACE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10511490

45,676 miles · May 4, 2013
Air Bags

DRIVING ALONG AT 30 MPH WHEN AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND OVER HEAD PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AND OFF. HAD PASSENGER SEAT BOTTOM REPLACED ONLY TO HAVE THE LIGHT COME BACK ON 3 DAYS LATER. I HAVE HAD THE SYSTEM CHECKED 3 TIMES ( WITH LIGHT TURNED OFF WHEN RETURNED) ONLY TO HAVE THE LIGHT COME BACK ON A FEW DAYS LATER. *…

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DRIVING ALONG AT 30 MPH WHEN AIR BAG LIGHT ILLUMINATED AND OVER HEAD PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON AND OFF. HAD PASSENGER SEAT BOTTOM REPLACED ONLY TO HAVE THE LIGHT COME BACK ON 3 DAYS LATER. I HAVE HAD THE SYSTEM CHECKED 3 TIMES ( WITH LIGHT TURNED OFF WHEN RETURNED) ONLY TO HAVE THE LIGHT COME BACK ON A FEW DAYS LATER. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10510625

90,000 miles · Apr 29, 2013
Air Bags

PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT WON'T GO OFF. I DO NOT KNOW IF THE AIRBAGS WILL WORK IN A ACCIDENT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10509829

58,000 miles · Apr 5, 2013
Air Bags

PASSENGER SEAT AIRBAG SENSOR FAILED AND THE AIRBAG LIGHT STAYS ON AND THE AIRBAGS IN THE FRONT SEAT PASSENGER AND DRIVER MAY BE DEACTIVATED AND NOT WORK IN A CRASH. MINI IS AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM HAS CHOSE TO IGNORE IT. IT IS A GREAT SAFETY HAZARD. MY WIFE HAS REFUSED TO RIDE IN THE CAR OR LET ANYONE ELSE RIDE IN IT. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10507235

56,000 miles · Apr 2, 2013
Air BagsSeats

MY 2006 MINI COOPER HAD A AIR BAG LIGHT JUST TURN ON ABOUT A WEEK AGO FOR NO REASON FOR WHAT I CAN TELL. I CALLED MY MINI DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS PROBABLY A WORN OUT PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR. THEY SAID IT WOULD COST ABOUT $900-1000 TO REPLACE THE SEAT AND THE SENSOR. OUR MINI ONLY HAS A LITTLE OVER 50K MILES AND 50% OF THOSE…

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MY 2006 MINI COOPER HAD A AIR BAG LIGHT JUST TURN ON ABOUT A WEEK AGO FOR NO REASON FOR WHAT I CAN TELL. I CALLED MY MINI DEALER AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS PROBABLY A WORN OUT PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR. THEY SAID IT WOULD COST ABOUT $900-1000 TO REPLACE THE SEAT AND THE SENSOR. OUR MINI ONLY HAS A LITTLE OVER 50K MILES AND 50% OF THOSE MILES THERE WASN'T ANYONE EVER SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT TO WARE IT OUT. I HAVE SEEN ON SEVERAL OTHER FORUMS THAT THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN CORRECTED BY BMW BUT NOT BY MINI. I BELIEVE THIS ISSUE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON ALL MINI'S AS I HAVE SEEN THAT HUNDREDS OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME ISSUE. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10505345

82,000 miles · Mar 29, 2013
Air Bags

THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. WE CONTACTED THE DEALER WHERE WE PURCHASED THE CAR AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO BECAUSE IT WAS NOT UNDER WARRANTY AND THERE WAS NO RECALL. THEY HAD REPAIRED THIS PREVIOUSLY UNDER WARRANTY. WE THEN CONTACTED MINI USA AND THEY SAID OUR VIN# WAS NOT LISTED FOR A RECALL. I MENT…

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THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. WE CONTACTED THE DEALER WHERE WE PURCHASED THE CAR AND THEY SAID THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO BECAUSE IT WAS NOT UNDER WARRANTY AND THERE WAS NO RECALL. THEY HAD REPAIRED THIS PREVIOUSLY UNDER WARRANTY. WE THEN CONTACTED MINI USA AND THEY SAID OUR VIN# WAS NOT LISTED FOR A RECALL. I MENTIONED THERE ARE MINI COOPERS IN FORUMS ALL OVER THE INTERNET WITH AIRBAG LIGHT ISSUES. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10504975

Official recalls

1

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

0

No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.