Electrical System. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Engine. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Power Train. Review the 8 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

1 crash reports2 fire reports2 injury reports

What owners actually said

34 reports

12,150 miles · May 5, 2016

Air Bags

Read full complaint

MY CAR WAS PARKED AND I WENT TO START IT UP IN THE MORNING TO GO TO WORK. A LIGHT CAME ON WHICH LOOKED LIKE AN AIRBAG/SEATBELT LIGHT. IN MY VEHICLE IT WAS NOT ONE OF THE REGULAR SERVICE LIGHTS THAT THEY HAVE HIGHLIGHTED IN THE MANUAL SO I CALLED THE DEALERSHIP THAT AFTERNOON. THEY MADE AN APPOINTMENT FOR ME TO BRING MY CAR IN TO BE CHECKED OUT ON 4/5/16 WHICH I DID. BEFORE I GOT THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP THE LIGHT HAD TURNED OFF BUT I TOOK IT IN ANYWAY. THEY SAID THEY WOULD CHECK IT OUT AND GET BACK TO ME. THE NEXT DAY THEY CALLED ME TO TELL ME THAT IT WAS AN AIRBAG ISSUE AND THEY HAD TO SPECIAL ORDER THE PARTS FROM GERMANY WHICH WOULD BE IN ON 4/22/16. LATER THAT MONTH THEY CALLED ME BACK AND ASKED ME TO BRING THE LOANER CAR THEY HAD SUPPLIED TO ME BACK BECAUSE THE PARTS WERE NOT AVAILABLE AND BEING BACKORDERED NATIONALLY. THEY HAD THEIR PARENT COMPANY PAY FOR A RENTAL VEHICLE BUT THERE WERE ISSUES WITH A COUPLE OF THOSE CARS TOO. IT IS NOW MAY 5, 2016 AND I HADN'T HEARD ANYTHING MORE SO I CALLED THEM AND THEY SAID THEY MAY HAVE PARTS TOMORROW AND BECAUSE MY CAR HAS BEEN THERE SO LONG THEY WOULD TRY AND PUT MINE FIRST TO BE SERVICED. IT'S BEEN VERY DISAPPOINTING AND AN INCONVENIENCE SINCE THEY HAVE PUT ME IN 4 DIFFERENT CARS IN THE LAST MONTH. NOW I AM UNEASY ABOUT HOW SAFE MY VEHICLE ACTUALLY IS. IT IS A 2014 AND HAS LOW MILES AND IS IN GOOD SHAPE AND I'VE HAD IT LESS THAN A YEAR AND QUESTIONING MY DECISION TO PURCHASE THIS VEHICLE AT ALL.

NHTSA ODI #10863472

15,000 miles · Feb 27, 2016

Structure

DRIVER'S DOOR HANDLE LOCK COVER (PLASTIC) FELT UNEXPECTEDLY WHILE DRIVING.

NHTSA ODI #10838742

7,000 miles · Jan 22, 2016

Unknown Or Other

TWO TIRES THAT CAME WITH MY MINI COOPER 2014 WENT FLAT IN LESS THAN 7,500 MILES, ONE ON NOV 7, 2015 AND THE OTHER ON JAN 3, 2016. THE TIRES ARE VERY EXPENSIVE (ABOUT $200 PER TIRE) AND OF VERY LOW QUALITY. AS A CUSTOMER I FEEL BEING CHEATED ON.

NHTSA ODI #10821813

20,800 miles · Oct 19, 2015

Engine

Read full complaint

I HAVE A 2014 MINI COOPER HARDTOP. I HAVE HAD THIS CAR SERVICED AT LEAST 4 SEPARATE TIMES FOR A RECURRING ISSUE. TODAY WAS VERY DIFFERENT AND UNEXPLAINABLE. I WAS DRIVING TO WORK ON THE FREEWAY, MY CAR REACHES SPEEDS OF 80 AT LEAST, BUT I HAD SLOWED TO A CRAWL BEFORE THE TOLL PLAZA. TRAFFIC WAS THE USUAL HEAVY TRAFFIC. I MUST HAVE BEEN GOING 5-10 MPH IN STOP AND GO TRAFFIC. SUDDENLY, TH CAR STARTED BUCKING , LIKE IT WAS HAVING TROUBLE DOWNSHIFTING . THIS IS THE TYPICAL BUCKING IT MAKES RIGHT BEFORE THE "DRIVE TRAIN MALFUNCTION: DRIVE MODERATELY." WARNING COMES ON. THE ENGINE STARTED TICKING (TO ME THAT IS INDICATING LACK OR NO OIL). "DRIVE TRAIN MALFUNCTION: DRIVE MODERATELY." AND "DROP IN OIL PRESSURE. SLOW TO A STOP " WARNINGS BOTH CAME ON. I PULLED OVER 3 LANES QUICKLY TO THE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY , SHUT THE CAR OFF AND HOPED I WAS IN A SAFE SPOT. WHEN THE TOW TRUCK OPERATOR CAME, HE TOLD ME OIL WAS UNDERNEATH MY CAR. WHY WOULD A CAR JUST SPILL OIL OUT WHILE DRIVING ? IM PRETTY SCARED OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MY ENGINE. CAR IS AT THE DEALER, AND I'M REALLY NOT CONFIDENT IN THIS CAR. I HAVE NOT BEEN CONFIDENT SINCE ALL OF THE PROBLEMS I HAVE HAD SINCE PURCHASE.

NHTSA ODI #10783527

25,471 miles · Aug 24, 2015

Electrical SystemFire

Read full complaint

YOUTUBE LINK: HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=QWXHFEKSZ0W MINI COOPER S ROADSTER 6 SPEED MANUAL WHILE DRIVING SMELLED ODOR OF RUBBER BURNING, THEN ABOUT 10 SECONDS LATER SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE DEFROSTER VENTS AND THEN SOME SORT OF WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND I IMMEDIATELY TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND COASTED TO A STOP BELIEVING THE ENGINE HAD OVERHEATED. I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND THE SMOKE GOT WORSE AND WHEN THE PLASTIC IN THE DASHBOARD HAD MELTED AWAY I SAW FLAMES AND CALLED 911. THIS ALL HAPPENED IN LESS THAN 2 MINUTES FROM THE START TO CALLING 911. THE ENGINE WAS NOT DAMAGED AND THIS WAS FROM THE WIRING I BELIEVE. I PURCHASED THE CAR NEW ON MAY 28, 2014. THE CAR WAS TOTALED.

NHTSA ODI #10758960

Mileage unknown · Jul 14, 2015

Structure

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE RECALL NOTICE FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V815000 (STRUCTURE) WAS RECEIVED IN FEBRUARY OF 2015. AFTER CONTACTING THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS, THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE PARTS NEEDED TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE WERE STILL NOT AVAILABL…

Read full complaint

NHTSA ODI #10733953

8,000 miles · Jul 13, 2015

Power Train

Read full complaint

I WAS DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE AND A WARNING READING "DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION. DRIVE MODERATELY" CAME ON. POWER WAS LOW (COULDN'T GET THE CAR OVER ABOUT 60 MPH, NOT SAFE ON AN INTERSTATE WITH STEADY TRAFFIC) AND CAR WAS SOMEWHAT CHUGGY. THIS CAR HAS THREE TIMES IN UNDER 8000 MILES TOLD ME THE OIL WAS LOW AND IT WAS CRITICALLY NECESSARY FOR ME TO ADD A QUART, WHICH SEEMS RELATED. AFTER STOPPING AND CALLING MINI (WHO TOLD ME THEY WOULD SEND A TOW TRUCK IF THE LIGHT HAD BEEN RED, RATHER THAN YELLOW) AND STARTING THE CAR BACK UP SOME 20ISH MINUTES LATER, NO WARNING. UNSURE WHEN THE NEXT WARNING IN THIS NEW CAR WILL COME UP, BUT MINI SAYS THERE IS AN ISSUE WITH OIL FILTER HOUSINGS.

NHTSA ODI #10733782

Mileage unknown · Jun 30, 2015

Structure

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V815000 (STRUCTURE). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE PART NEEDED TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPE…

Read full complaint

NHTSA ODI #10731217

7,600 miles · Jun 5, 2015

Steering

Read full complaint

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 MINI COOPER. WHILE DRIVING AT 80 MPH, THE VEHICLE STARTED TO SHAKE VIOLENTLY. THE FAILURE RECURRED THREE TIMES. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER, BUT WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBERS: 14V815000 (STRUCTURE) AND 14V154000, (EQUIPMENT); HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE REPAIR WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,600.

NHTSA ODI #10723675

Mileage unknown · May 15, 2015

Structure

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2014 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 14V815000 (STRUCTURE) HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED TO DO THE REPAIRS WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE…

Read full complaint

NHTSA ODI #10716741

Official recalls

15V739000 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification; Seats

Nov 9, 2015

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 door vehicles manufactured February 25, 2014, to May 16, 2015, 2014-2015 MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2 door vehicles manufactured March 28, 2014, to May 9, 2015, 2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 door vehicles manufactured October 17, 2014, to June 2, 2015, and 2015 MINI Cooper S Hardtop 4 door vehicles manufactured November 24, 2014, to June 11, 2015. During a service appointment, the affected vehicles received replacement front passenger seat cushions (which contain integral Capacitive Interior Sensing (CIS) functions). The CIS functions may have been incorrectly calibrated, and if so, would cause impaired occupant classification and thus inappropriate air bag activation/deactivation.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Inappropriate air bag activation/deactivation can increase the risk of occupant injury in the event of a vehicle crash.

Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the front passenger seat cushion, free of charge. The recall began on December 28, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 .

Additional source detail variants (2)

Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification

Consequence: Inappropriate air bag activation/deactivation can increase the risk of occupant injury in the event of a vehicle crash.

Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the front passenger seat cushion, free of charge. The recall began on December 28, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 .

Seats

Consequence: Inappropriate air bag activation/deactivation can increase the risk of occupant injury in the event of a vehicle crash.

15V628000 · Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module

Oct 7, 2015

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper two-door vehicles, 2015-2016 MINI John Cooper Works and MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper four-door vehicles and 2014-2015 BMW i3 vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the passenger frontal air bag may not deploy properly in a low speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: In the event of a vehicle crash, an air bag that does not deploy properly increases the risk of injury to the front seat passenger.

Remedy: MINI and BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on November 25, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 and BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

15V450000 · Structure:body

Jul 17, 2015

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles and 2015 MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop 2 Door vehicles. The affected vehicles do not meet the side impact performance requirements for the rear seat passengers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 214, "Side Impact Protection."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the side impact performance requirements are not met, rear seat passengers may be at a higher risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will install additional energy absorption material between the rear interior side panels and the exterior vehicle body, free of charge. The recall began on September 4, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525. Note: this recall supersedes 14V-815.

15V034000 · Equipment:other:labels

Jan 26, 2015

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop two door vehicles manufactured December 1, 2013, to December 14, 2014. The affected vehicles may have been manufactured with an incorrect maximum capacity weight stated on the Tire Information Placard. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, "Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: The maximum weight listed on the label is incorrect (too low) and therefore does not comply with Federal Regulations.

Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will replace the incorrect labels with corrected labels, free of charge. Owners were mailed interim notification on March 18, 2015. The recall began on October 15, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.

14V789000 · Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (tcm/pcm/tecm)

Dec 15, 2014

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door, and Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles manufactured January 6, 2014, to October 17, 2014. During service appointments, dealers may have inadvertently reprogrammed the transmission control unit with software that may allow drivers to exit the vehicle when the transmission is not in Park. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the driver exits the vehicle without the transmission being in Park, the vehicle could roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.

Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the transmission control module with the correct software, free of charge. The recall February 4, 2015. Owners can contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.

14V619000 · Tires:temporary/emergency Spare Tire

Oct 3, 2014

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2-door vehicles manufactured January 7, 2014, to July 21, 2014. The spare wheel may have been attached under the car with a nut that is not self-locking.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Vibrations from driving may cause the nut to loosen, allowing the wheel to separate from the car. If the spare wheel separates from the vehicle, it could become a road hazard and increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the spare wheel securing nut with a self-locking nut, free of charge. The recall began on November 20, 2014. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-275-6464.

14V422000 · Air Bags:frontal

Jul 14, 2014

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling a certain model year BMW i3 vehicle manufactured March 31, 2014, and certain 2014 MINI Cooper Hardtop vehicles manufactured February 2, 2014 to May 30, 2014. The affected vehicles may have been manufactured with an air bag inflator that was not assembled correctly. This could cause the air bag to not deploy properly in the event of an accident.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the air bag deploys improperly in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the air bags, the seat occupant may be at an increased risk of injury.

Remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag, free of charge. The recall began in September 2014. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

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

AQ15004 · BMW Safety Act Violations

Opened Sep 24, 2015 · Closed Oct 2, 2017

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Structure

In a Consent Order executed on December 17, 2015, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) admitted that it violated the Safety Act by: failing to conduct a timely recall for Recall No. 15V-450; failing to file certain quarterly recall reports in a timely manner; failing to timely notify vehicle owners of the existence of a defect or noncompliance; failing to promptly advise NHTSA of delays with the beginning or completion dates for mailing owner or dealer notifications; and failing to timely submit copies to NHTSA of communications relating to recalls.As part of the Consent Order, NHTSA imposed a total civil penalty of $40 million against BMW NA for its violations of the Safety Act.The civil penalty consists of a cash payment, monetary performance obligations, and stipulated penalties.BMW NA paid the $10 million cash penalty on February 12, 2016.Failure to comply with the terms of the Consent Order or the Safety Act will result in portions of the stipulated penalties coming due.The Consent Order required BMW NA to appoint an independent safety consultant to assist BMW NA in developing best practices for complying with the Safety Act and evaluating safety issues under consideration by BMW NA.BMW NA was also required to develop a program to train dealers on the importance of complying with the prohibition on selling unremedied vehicles under recall, improve dealers' access to information necessary to maximize completion of open recalls, and invest in a pilot program to determine whether BMW NA can use data analytics to detect emerging safety defect trends.The population listed in this closing resume is based on BMW NA's untimely recall and does not include other issues addressed by the Consent Order, which relate to BMW NA's safety processes.Based on the Consent Order, BMW NA's admissions that it violated the law, and its ongoing performance obligations, this audit query investigation, AQ15-004, is closed. Closure of this AQ has no bearing on the terms of the Consent Order, including BMW NA's ongoing performance obligations or legal obligations, and does not represent a determination by NHTSA as to BMW NA's performance under the Consent Order to date.

AQ15003 · International Autos, Inc. / Mini Recall

Opened Aug 18, 2015 · Closed Aug 23, 2016

Status: closed (inferred from source dates) · Equipment:other:labels

The Safety Act requires, among other things, that a manufacturer notify its dealers of defects related to motor vehicle safety and non-compliances with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and, in turn, that a dealer not sell and deliver a new vehicle subject to a recall unless the recall remedy has been performed (49 U.S.C. ?? 30112(a), 30120(i)).NHTSA opened AQ15-003 to determine whether International Autos, Inc. of West Allis, Wisconsin complied with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 (Safety Act). NHTSA received information that International Autos sold and delivered at least one new model year (MY) 2015 Mini Cooper 2-door hardtop vehicle to a customer without having had all required safety recall repairs performed on that vehicle. NHTSA opened this investigation and then issued an information request (IR) to International Autos on August 20, 2015.A copy is of this request is in this investigation's file, together with a public copy of International Autos' response.A careful review of the information supplied confirm that International Autos sold and delivered at least eleven new vehicles with outstanding safety recalls on them. Under a Settlement Agreement dated April 26, 2016, International Autos committed to take concrete actions to improve its processes for verifying that prior to sale and delivery of any new vehicle International Autos has confirmed that the vehicle is not subject to an un-remedied recall. International Autos confirmed that it had engaged in these processes since June 25, 2015.International Autos also committed that it now also checks for open recalls on every customer vehicle brought in for service, and that it checks for open recalls on every used trade-in vehicle, regardless of make or model, and takes steps to have all used trade-in vehicles repaired prior to retail sale. International Autos admitted to violating the prohibition on sales of new vehicles with open recalls, and agreed to pay civil penalties in the amount of $40,000.This Audit Query is closed.