MINI Cooper S
Across 20 model years (2002–2025), the MINI Cooper S has 23 NHTSA recall campaigns and 1,634 complaints on file.
The component named most often in complaints is steering (335.5 per 1,000 component mentions), followed by engine (156.1).
The 2005 model year has the most complaints (307). Recall campaigns peaked in 2015 with 5; complaints were received in the largest number in 2011 (285). Within MINI, this line ranks 2 of 17 by total complaints.
Complaints are consumer reports and have not been verified by NHTSA.
Model years
| Model year | Recalls | Complaints | vs line average | Units in campaigns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 MINI Cooper S | 1 | 82 | 100% | 86,018 |
| 2003 MINI Cooper S | 2 | 212 | 259% | 91,128 |
| 2004 MINI Cooper S | 2 | 242 | 296% | 87,211 |
| 2005 MINI Cooper S | 2 | 307 | 376% | 177,818 |
| 2006 MINI Cooper S | 1 | 181 | 222% | 91,800 |
| 2007 MINI Cooper S | 4 | 243 | 297% | 264,557 |
| 2008 MINI Cooper S | 4 | 160 | 196% | 264,557 |
| 2009 MINI Cooper S | 3 | 103 | 126% | 236,107 |
| 2010 MINI Cooper S | 4 | 50 | 61% | 236,312 |
| 2011 MINI Cooper S | 3 | 17 | 21% | 236,107 |
| 2012 MINI Cooper S | 2 | 8 | 10% | 145,739 |
| 2013 MINI Cooper S NHTSA record | 1 | 9 | 11% | 97,933 |
| 2014 MINI Cooper S | 4 | 11 | 13% | 38,495 |
| 2015 MINI Cooper S | 4 | 4 | 5% | 38,495 |
| 2016 MINI Cooper S | 3 | 3 | 4% | 38,411 |
| 2017 MINI Cooper S | 3 | 1 | 1% | 35,844 |
| 2019 MINI Cooper S NHTSA record | 1 | 1 | 1% | 5,309 |
| 2020 MINI Cooper S | 2 | 0 | 0% | 759 |
| 2021 MINI Cooper S | 2 | 0 | 0% | 21,613 |
| 2025 MINI Cooper S | 3 | 0 | 0% | 267,453 |
"vs line average" is the model year's complaints as a share of the line's average per model year (100% = average). A campaign covering several model years counts once per year. Model years with one campaign and fewer than 25 complaints are listed but have no page of their own; the NHTSA link opens the agency's record.
Components most reported
Per 1,000 component mentions across all MINI Cooper S complaints (1,973 mentions).
Campaigns by year reported
Complaints by year received
Other MINI model lines
- Cooper 45 recalls · 1,808 complaints
- Cooper S 51 recalls · 1,634 complaints
- Cooper Convertible 11 recalls · 148 complaints
- Cooper S Convertible 10 recalls · 130 complaints
- Cooper Clubman 8 recalls · 72 complaints
- Cooper Countryman 0 recalls · 67 complaints
- Cooper S Clubman 12 recalls · 66 complaints
- Cooper Clubman S 0 recalls · 33 complaints
- Cooper S Countryman 3 recalls · 20 complaints
- JCW 19 recalls · 13 complaints
- Countryman 10 recalls · 11 complaints
- Clubman 4 recalls · 7 complaints
- JCW Clubman 7 recalls · 5 complaints
- Cooper SE 11 recalls · 0 complaints
- Countryman S ALL4 6 recalls · 0 complaints
- JCW Convertible 5 recalls · 0 complaints
- John Cooper Works 3 recalls · 0 complaints
Questions and answers
Which MINI Cooper S model years have the most recalls?
2007 (4), 2008 (4), 2010 (4). Across model years 2002–2025 there are 23 distinct campaigns.
Which MINI Cooper S model year has the most complaints?
2005, with 307 of the line's 1,634 complaints. Newer model years have had less time to accumulate reports.
What do owners of the MINI Cooper S complain about?
steering (335.5 per 1,000 mentions), engine (156.1 per 1,000 mentions), air bags (128.7 per 1,000 mentions). Complaints are consumer reports and have not been verified by NHTSA.
Where does this data come from?
NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall and complaint flat files, public domain, dated 24 Sep 2026 and 15 May 2019.
Provenance
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation recall, complaint and investigation flat files, public domain, dated 24 Sep 2026 and 15 May 2019. Model names are as NHTSA records them; variants such as "Accord" and "Accord Hybrid" are separate lines. See the methodology.