2015 Mini COOPER S: complaints, problems and recalls

AIR CONDITION EMITS STRONG ODORS

Owner-reported narrative. 250 miles reported. Look up ODI 10724862 at NHTSA ↗

WHEN I TOOK MY CAR IN FOR ITS FIRST SERVICE I WAS TOLD THAT THE ENTIRE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO A RECALL. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO LOCATE ANY SUCH RECALL. I HAVE FOUND THIS ENTIRE EXPERIENCE TO BE VERY UNUSUAL.

Owner-reported narrative. 8,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10910541 at NHTSA ↗

VEHICLE HAS BEEN SERVICED FOUR TIMES, SINCE PURCHASED IN MAY 2015 FOR BURNS TO LIGHT BULB AND SOCKET MELTING INTO HOUSING. MALFUNCTIONING ENGINE LIGHT APPEARS WHILE DRIVING CAR ON HIGHWAYS AND STREETS. TAILLIGHT IS ON THE LEFT SIDE, NOT FAR FROM GAS TANK. CAR IS UNSAFE DUE TO OVERHEATING, BURNS AND MELTING OF TAILLIGHT COMPONENTS AND PROXIMITY TO GAS TANK. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 25 miles reported. Look up ODI 10916801 at NHTSA ↗

THE HORN CONTACTS ARE CORRODED AND THE HORN WILL NOT WORK CONSISTENTLY. IT MAY TAKE 5 OR 6 TIMES PUSHING THE HORN TO GET IT TO ACTIVATE, OR HOLD IT DOWN FOR A LONG TIME AND TRY TO MOVE IT AROUND TO SCRAPE THE CORROSION OFF THE CONTACTS TO GET ACTIVATION. IT OCCURS WHETHER DRIVING OR STATIONARY. MANY OTHER OWNERS HAVE REPORTED THIS PROBLEM ON A MINI COOPER FORUM. MY VEHICLE ONLY HAS 20,000 MILES ON IT.

Owner-reported narrative. 20,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11101416 at NHTSA ↗

THE CARS TRANSMISSION JUMPS OUT OF 1ST GEAR WHEN TURNING ONTO A CITY STREET OR ACCELERATING FROM A STOPLIGHT ON A CITY STREET. I WAS ALMOST REAR ENDED 3 TIMES THIS WEEK AND IT'S VERY DANGEROUS. THIS HAS HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES THIS PAST WEEK AND IS A DOCUMENTED PROBLEM WITH THE 2015 MINI COOPER S MANUAL. MY CAR ONLY HAS 25,400 MILES ON IT. THE WARRANTY JUST EXPIRED ON 05/18/2019 (OUT BY DATE) THIS MONTH AND THE DEALER REFUSES TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM UNDER WARRANTY. IF THIS IS A DOCUMENTED PROBLEM, WHY DOESN'T THE DEALER TAKE THE STEPS TO FIX IT …

Owner-reported narrative. 25,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11218600 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 MINI COOPER S. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH, THE REAR DRIVER'S SIDE TURN SIGNAL AND BRAKE LIGHTS DID NOT WORK AND THE 'MALFUNCTION REAR LIGHT CLUSTER' MESSAGE ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BRAMAN MOTORCARS [phone removed], LOCATED AT 2901 OKEECHOBEE BLVD, WEST PALM BEACH, FL 33409) WHERE THE REAR BRAKE CLUSTER AND THE TURN SIGNALS WERE REPLACED. THE TECHNICIAN ALSO DIAGNOSED AND REPLACED THE ENGINE MOUNT DUE TO AN OIL LEAK. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURES. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. T…

Owner-reported narrative. 42,621 miles reported. Look up ODI 11240552 at NHTSA ↗

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2015 MINI COOPER S. WHILE PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE. THE CONTACT ATTEMPTED TO EXTINGUISH THE FIRE WITH A WATER HOSE, BUT WAS UNSUCCESSFUL. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FLAMES. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. FIRE REPORT NUMBER: 1900355515 WAS FILED. THE CONTACT'S INSURANCE COMPANY SCHEDULED A VEHICLE INSPECTION AT THE CONTACT'S HOME. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT DEEMED THE VEHICLE TOTALED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE FAILURE MIL…

Owner-reported narrative. 53,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 11271653 at NHTSA ↗

THE HORN NO LONGER WORKS UNLESS YOU PRESS IT REALLY HARD AND IN CENTER OF STEERING WHEEL.

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 11286361 at NHTSA ↗

Reported: 2014-12-15 (December 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: 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.

Reported: 2015-07-17 (July 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: 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.

Reported: 2015-10-07 (October 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: 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.

Reported: 2015-11-09 (November 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: 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 .