2007 Mini Cooper

THE AIR BAG LIGHTS BEGAN ILLUMINATING INTERMITTENTLY ON MY 2007 MINI COOPER WITH 48,000 MILES. UPON MY MECHANIC SCANNING THE COMPUTER WE FOUND THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE AIR BAG SENSOR IS OUT OF THE SEAT. THE ONLY FIX IS TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SEAT CUSHION (COST: $1500). I GOOGLED "MINI COOPER AIR BAG LIGHT" ' AND FOUND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM ON MANY DIFFERENT MODEL YEARS. WHEN I CONTACTED MINI COOPER AND QUESTIONED WHY THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL ISSUED, THE PERSON TOLD ME THAT SINCE THE PASSENGER OCCUPANT STILL HAS THE SEAT BELT THAT THE AIR BAG MALFUNCTION IS NOT A SAFETY CONCERN. WHEN ASKED IF THE AIR BAGS WOULD DEPLOY ON THE PASSENGER SIDE IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT, HE ANSWERED THE QUESTION BY SAYING "WELL, THEY STILL HAVE THEIR SEAT BELT"'. IF THE AIR BAGS ARE NOT A SAFETY FEATURE OF THE CAR THEN WHY IS IT EQUIPPED WITH 8 AIR BAGS? PLEASE INVESTIGATE THIS AIR BAG MALFUNCTION BECAUSE AS A MINI COOPER OWNER, THIS IS A BIG SAFETY CONCERN FOR ME, AS WELL AS THOUSANDS OF OTHER MINI COOPER OWNERS WHO HAVE TAKEN TO THE INTERNET TO EXPRESS THEIR FRUSTRATIONS. THANK YOU *TR

REPORTING SERIOUS RECALLABLE SAFETY ISSUE WITH MINI COOPER AIR BAG SYSTEM! MY DEALER JUST CALLED TO TELL ME THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SEAT MUST BE REPLACED AT AT A COST OF OVER $2500. THERE IS A SHORT IN THE AIRBAG SENSOR IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. I BELIEVE THIS IS A DEFECTIVE COMPONENT SAFETY EQUIPMENT ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE FIXED UNDER A RECALL OR EXTENDED WARRANTY. "PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" INDICATOR TURNS ON WHILE DRIVING AND REMAINS ON FOR THE DURATION OF THE DRIVE. PASSENGER SEAT WAS OCCUPIED BY A PASSENGER WEIGHING APPROX 135 POUNDS WITH SEAT BELT PROPERLY FASTENED. THERE IS NO WAY TO MANUALLY TURN ON THE PASSENGER AIRBAG AND BYPASS THE SEAT SENSOR. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE MINI COOPER AND IS DISCUSSED ON ONLINE ENTHUSIAST FORUMS, WITH MINI USA DEALERSHIP NOW CHARGING FROM $2500 TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SEAT. MINI USA DEALERS STATE THAT THE ISSUE IS AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE WITH THE SEAT SENSOR AND THE ENTIRE SEAT MUST BE REPLACED. FOR HOW LITTLE THE PASSENGER SEAT IS USED IN MY VEHICLE, IN MY OPINION THIS IS A DEFECT AND NOT A WEAR-AND-TEAR ISSUE. I HAVE NEVER OWNED A CAR THAT HAD A VITAL SAFETY ISSUE ARISE SUCH AS THIS I ALSO NOTE THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED A NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAFETY ISSUE FROM OTHER OWNERS. IT IS A COMMON COMPLAINT ON CONSUMER BLOGS. *TR

"PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF" INDICATOR TURNS ON WHILE DRIVING AND REMAINS ON FOR THE DURATION OF THE DRIVE. PASSENGER SEAT WAS OCCUPIED BY A PASSENGER WEIGHING APPROX 195 POUNDS WITH SEAT BELT PROPERLY FASTENED. THERE IS NO WAY TO MANUALLY TURN ON THE PASSENGER AIRBAG AND BYPASS THE SEAT SENSOR. THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THE MINI COOPER AND IS DISCUSSED ON ONLINE ENTHUSIAST FORUMS, WITH MINI USA DEALERSHIPS CHARGING FROM $1,100 TO $1,400 TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE PASSENGER SEAT. MINI USA DEALERS STATE THAT THE ISSUE IS AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE WITH THE SEAT SENSOR AND THE ENTIRE SEAT MUST BE REPLACED. FOR HOW LITTLE THE PASSENGER SEAT IS USED IN MY VEHICLE, IN MY OPINION THIS IS A DEFECT AND NOT A WEAR-AND-TEAR ISSUE. *JS

MY PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT CONTINUES TO GO ON AND OFF AT RANDOM INTERVALS (IE. REGARDLESS OF SOMEONE BEING IN THE SEAT, DRIVING CONDITIONS, ETC). THIS STARTED ONE DAY WHEN I TURNED MY VEHICLE ON AFTER NORMAL OPERATIONS. THIS IS A WELL DOCUMENTED PROBLEM WITH MINI COOPERS MADE AFTER 2005, THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL FOR THIS SAFETY PROBLEM. *JB

UPON STARTING MY CAR IN THE PARKING LOT AT THE END OF A WORK DAY, AN INDICATOR LIGHT CAME ON IN MY 2007 MINI COOPER INDICATING A PROBLEM WITH THE AIR BAG. MY MECHANIC WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE PROBLEM WAS WITH THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG (CODE 93A8 STAGE 1). HE RESET THE LIGHT AND THE SAME PROBLEM OCCURRED A FEW DAYS LATER. HE CHECKED THE CODE AGAIN AND IT WAS THE SAME. AS A RESULT, HE CONTACTED THE NEAREST MINI SERVICE CENTER. ALTHOUGH THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THE AIR BAG CONNECTION, MINI CHARGES ABOUT $600 TO REPLACE IT EVEN THOUGH NO ACCIDENT HAD OCCURRED, NO HARD STOPS, NOTHING TO TRIGGER THE AIR BAG. UNTIL THE PROBLEM IS FIXED, THE DRIVER'S SIDE AIR BAG WILL NOT DEPLOY IN THE CASE OF AN ACCIDENT. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON A HOUSTON, TX FREEWAY GOING 60 MPH WHEN THE CAR TO THE LEFT OF ME SUDDENLY SWERVED DIRECTLY INTO MY DRIVER SIDE. THE OTHER CAR, WHICH WAS A HONDA PASSPORT SUV, HIT MY ENTIRE DRIVER SIDE FROM REAR BUMPER TO MY DOOR TO THE FRONT BUMPER. I WAS DRIVING A 2007 MINI COOPER. AT 60 MPH, MY SIDE AIRBAGS DID NOT DEPLOY! THE IMPACT WAS DIRECT AND AT 60 MPH. SURELY THERE MUST BE SOME DEFECT WITH THE SIDE AIRBAGS. *TR

PASSENGER AIRBAG LIGHT OFF COMES ON AND OFF REGULARLY, HAVE REPEATEDLY REPORTED PROBLEM TO DEALER. WAS IN CAR ACCIDENT, FRONT ON COLLISION OVER 30 MPH, NEITHER AIRBAG DEPLOYED. NEW WARNING CAME ON STATING PROBLEMS WITH AIRBAG SYSTEM, DEALER SAID THERE WAS NO PROBLEM. WARNING LIGHTS KEEP COMING ON, HAVE REPORTED PROBLEM TO DEALER, WAITING ON REPLACEMENT PART. *TR