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MINI · NHTSA safety record

2012 MINI Cooper S Countryman

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

26

Complaints

0

Crashes

4

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2012 MINI Cooper S Countryman have filed 26 safety complaints with NHTSA between September 2018 and January 2026. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 12 of them (46%). The typical failure was reported at 94,000 miles, the median across the 14 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 1 recall covering this vehicle.

Recalls (1)

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER

18V248000 · April 18, 2018

The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2011-2012 BMW 550i, 550i xDrive, 550i Gran Turismo, 550i Gran Turismo xDrive, 750i, 750Li, 750i xDrive, 750Li xDrive, 760Li, X5 xDrive50i, X5 M, X6 xDrive50i, X6 M, ActiveHybrid7, MINI Cooper S Convertible, John Cooper Works (JCW) Convertible, Cooper S Countryman, Cooper S Countryman ALL4, Cooper S, JCW, Cooper S Clubman, JCW Clubman, Cooper S Roadster, JCW Roadster, Cooper S Coupe, JCW Coupe and Rolls-Royce Ghost, 2011 BMW X6 Hybrid and 2012 BMW 650i Coupe, 650i xDrive Coupe, 650i Convertible and 650i xDrive Convertible vehicles. The electric auxiliary water pump may fail and cause the circuit board to overheat.
The risk
If the circuit board were to overheat, it can increase the risk of a fire.
The remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the electric auxiliary water pump, free of charge. Depending on the model, there are currently limited parts available, however not all parts are available at this time. Owners will be notified of the recall beginning June 11, 2018, and will receive a second notification when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact BMW customer service at BMW 1-800-525-7417, MINI at 1-866-825-1525, or Rolls-Royce at 1-877-877-3735. Note: BMW recommends that owners park their vehicle outdoors until the recall remedy has been performed.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 47,806 vehicles across all model years covered

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 26.

ENGINE 12 46%
AIR BAGS 3 12%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 12%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 12%
POWER TRAIN 2 8%
SEATS 2 8%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 4%
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE 1 4%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 4%
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC 1 4%
STEERING 1 4%
STRUCTURE 1 4%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2018 at 6.

2018 2026
2018 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ENGINE

fire · towed · 84,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2012 MINI COOPER S COUNTRYMAN. AFTER DRIVING FOR APPROXIMATELY FOUR HOURS, THE CONTACT PARKED THE VEHICLE AND BLACK SMOKE APPEARED UNDER THE HOOD. THE CONTACT EXITED THE VEHICLE AND CALLED 911. THE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS ARRIVED AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. A POLICE REPORT AND A FIRE REPORT WERE FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED AND TOWED TO AN IMPOUND FACILITY. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 84,000. *LN*JB*PM*JB

NHTSA complaint 11269428. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER:INTERCOOLER

fire · 86,000 miles

TURBO COOLANT PUMP - LAST YEAR MY CAR SMELLED LIKE BURNT RUBBER AND SMOKE BEGAN COMING OUT OF THE TAILPIPES. THE SMOKE WAS SO BAD, THE CAR LOOKED LIKE IT WAS ON FIRE. I TOOK IT TO A BODY SHOP TO GET IT FIXED AND THE SMOKE STOPPED. ABOUT 9 MONTHS LATER, I WAS PARKED WITH THE CAR ON. THE RUBBER SMELL AND SMOKE APPEARED AGAIN. I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC WHO SAID IT WAS THE COOLANT PUMP FOR THE TURBO. HE SAID THERE HAD BEEN A RECALL FOR IT. I LOOKED UP THE RECALL, BUT MY VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED. MY CAR IS HAVING THIS EXACT PROBLEM AND MINI WILL NOT FIX IT. IT COSTS $3300 FOR ME TO FIX, WHEN CLEARLY, IT IS A MINI MANUFACTURING PROBLEM.

NHTSA complaint 11130503. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire

Fire observed starting in the engine compartment from a red hot glowing spot on the auxiliary water pump, an electric powered pump on the front of the engine. The purpose of the auxiliary water pump is to continue to pump coolant through the turbocharger even after the engine was shut off. The vehicle was totaled by the insurance company after the inspection by the dealer created an estimate too high for the repairs to be made. Report of this incident to the phone no of BMW/MiniCooper customer service had no favorable response. They blamed the US Government for not including this VIN in the recalls for this fire caused by the auxiliary water pump.

NHTSA complaint 11461975. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

fire

I had been having trouble with my Footwell Module since the fall, but for months, I didn’t know what was going on!! The first time, October 2024, I went to Advance Auto Parts to get help bc it was raining and my windows were down, and I needed headlights, not to mention, the signals weren’t working. The second time it happened in January 2025, I didn’t go to Advance, I just disconnected the battery myself for a few hours. The third time it happened, first week of April 2025, I got home that night, cut my engine off, and noticed a light in my dash I hadn’t seen before. It was a fog lamp bulb, but the car was off, and it wasn’t like normal, it was an error light. When I walked around to the

NHTSA complaint 11660554, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
Airbag light and seatbelt light are on continuously no matter if someone is in the seat or not.

NHTSA complaint 11710137. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
I purchased a 2012 MINI Cooper Countryman from LA Motorsports (703 1st Ave N, Windom, MN 56101) in November 2024. Prior to purchase, I specifically asked whether any open recalls remained, and the dealership assured me all had been completed. After the vehicle failed within 60 days, a certified MINI technician inspected it and confirmed the presence of stop leak and catastrophic internal engine damage. The technician also confirmed that the auxiliary water pump—subject to NHTSA Recall 18V-248, a federal Stop-Sale recall—was still actively leaking at the time of inspection, and that the recall was still open at the time of sale. This indicates the dealer sold the vehicle without completing

NHTSA complaint 11673034, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
We have had issues with every single door lock actuator assembly in this vehicle the passenger door will not latch shut at all! I'm sure how you could see this as a safety concern!

NHTSA complaint 11668418. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

125,000 miles

The contact owns a 2012 Mini Cooper S Countryman. The contact stated that on several occasions while in reverse(R) and the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle failed to stop immediately. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic twice and a dealer once however, the failure could not be duplicated. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 125,000.

NHTSA complaint 11607530. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Oil keeps leaking back into motor and many car repair companies keep saying this is common and they won’t repair it because it’s not worth it also on another side the hood latch keeps breaking

NHTSA complaint 11606209. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the MINI Cooper S Countryman

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2011 17 2 —

Other 2012 MINI models

Cooper 66 Cooper Countryman 53 Cooper S 23

Every MINI on this site — 29 vehicles, 45 recall campaigns and 0 open investigation s.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

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