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

Structure complaints

1 reports

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13,000 miles · Jun 30, 2008

Electrical SystemStructureInjury

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DRIVING ON HIGHWAY ABOUT 60 MPH. EXTREMELY LOUD SCREECHING BURST OF SOUND OCCURRED. SOUND WAS SIMILAR TO SMOKE DETECTOR TEST SOUND, LASTING ABOUT A SECOND, BUT HORRIBLY LOUD, ESPECIALLY IN A SMALL ENCLOSED AREA WITH THE WINDOWS UP. NEARLY HAD AN ACCIDENT. OUR EARS HURT BADLY (I STILL FEEL SOME SORENESS A DAY LATER, AS I NOW WRITE. SIMILAR OCCURRENCES FOR MINI COOPER NOTED IN WEB FORUMS, REFERENCING A POSSIBLE STEREO AMPLIFIER PROBLEM. OUR RADIO WAS NOT ON. FORTUNATELY THE DEALER WAS OPEN (ON SUNDAY) AND WE HAVE AN APPOINTMENT SCHEDULED TODAY. FROM WHAT I'VE RESEARCHED ON THE INTERNET, WE ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES VICTIMIZED BY THIS ISSUE. WE ARE ACTUALLY FEARFUL AND UNCOMFORTABLE DRIVING THE CAR, WORRYING THAT AT ANY TIME THIS COULD OCCUR AGAIN. THIS IS AN UNNECESSARY HARDSHIP AND DISTRACTION THAT KEEPS US FROM PAYING FULL ATTENTION TO SAFELY DRIVING THE CAR. UNTIL THE DEALER CAN SPECIFICALLY EXPLAIN WHAT THE PROBLEM IS AND PERFORM WHATEVER WORK IS NEED TO GUARANTEE IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN, I DO NOT FEEL SAFE DRIVING THIS ONE-YEAR-OLD CAR, BEING CONCERNED THAT I'LL HAVE AN ACCIDENT IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. THIS IS WITHOUT QUESTION A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. IF I STILL FEEL SORENESS IN MY LEFT EAR LATER TODAY, I PLAN TO CONTACT MY DOCTOR. *TR

NHTSA ODI #10232670

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.