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MINI · NHTSA safety record

2016 MINI Cooper S

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

9

Complaints

1

Crashes

2

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2016 MINI Cooper S have filed 9 safety complaints with NHTSA between May 2017 and July 2025. The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 4 of them (44%). The typical failure was reported at 42,000 miles, the median across the 6 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 3 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (3)

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:BRAKE LIGHTS

17V222000 · March 31, 2017

The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2016-2017 MINI Cooper Clubman, Cooper S Clubman and JCW Clubman vehicles. When the affected vehicles are braking and the turn signals are on, the inner, bumper-mounted, brake light will go out. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
The risk
If the brake light does not illuminate when a turn signal is activated, other drivers may be confused, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
MINI will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the vehicle to correct the brake lighting, free of charge. The recall began May 22, 2017. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 16,883 vehicles across all model years covered

SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR

16V747000 · October 17, 2016

The defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, MINI Hardtop 4 Door Cooper, Mini Hardtop 4 Door Cooper S, MINI Cooper Clubman, and Cooper S Clubman, 2017 Rolls-Royce Ghost, and 2016 528i vehicles. The vehicle-sensitive locking mechanism of the seat belt Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) for the driver's seat may not lock as designed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
The risk
In the event of a crash where heavy braking is applied, the Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) may activate when the occupant is more forward in the seat, possibly increasing the risk of injury.
The remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 3, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 15,455 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

15V628000 · October 7, 2015

The defect
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."
The risk
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.
The 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.

BMW of North America, LLC · up to 6,073 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 9.

ENGINE 4 44%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 22%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 1 11%
POWER TRAIN 1 11%
SEAT BELTS 1 11%
STEERING 1 11%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2017 at 2.

2017 2025
2017 to 2025

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 · 41,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNED 2016 MINI COOPER S. CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE HIS WIFE WAS DRIVING AT 40 MPH, WITHOUT WARNING AN SMOKE APPEARED ON THE FRONT PASSENGER SIDE UNDER THE HOOD. THE CONTACT STATED HIS WIFE PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND EXITED THE VEHICLE BEFORE THE WHOLE VEHICLE WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FLAMES AND A FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT WAS FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A SALVAGE LOT AND DEEMED A TOTALED LOST. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND SENT A FIELD INSPECTOR WHOM COULD NOT DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE DEALER MOTOR CITY MINI (29929 TELEGRAPH RD. SOUTHFIELD, MI 48034) WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT FIRE WAS NOT

NHTSA complaint 11322865, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STEERING

fire · 57,085 miles

I PURCHASED THIS MINI COOPER S ON MARCH 16, 2016 AND IT HAD 47,282 MILES ON IT. I ALSO BOUGHT A LIMITED 90 DAY WARRANTY OFFERED BY BUDDY'S AUTO SALES OF SPRINGFIELD, MO. I TRAILERED THE CAR TO PHOENIX WHERE MY SON WAS TO ATTEND A MOTORCYCLE MECHANIC SCHOOL IN OCTOBER. ON OCTOBER 07, 2016 WE UNLOADED IT FROM THE TRAILER AND PARKED IT AT A HOTEL. THE NEXT MORNING MY SON (A CERTIFIED MECHANIC) WENT OUTSIDE TO CHECK ON THE CAR AND THE BRAKE LIGHT WAS ON. ASSUMING SOMEONE WAS IN THE CAR, HE RAN TO IT AND FOUND THAT IT WAS FULL OF SMOKE AND SMELLED OF MELTING WIRES/METAL. HE GOT A PAIR OF PLIERS FROM THE HOTEL AND UNHOOKED THE BATTERY BEFORE THE CAR COULD BURN ITSELF TO THE GROUND. AS SOON AS WE

NHTSA complaint 10985774, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

crash · 18,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 MINI COOPER S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED ON A HILL OF A DRIVEWAY, FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER THE VEHICLE SHIFTED OUT OF PARK AND ROLLED AWAY. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE CRASHED THROUGH THE CONTACT'S GARAGE DOOR. THERE WAS NO POLICE REPORT FILED AND NO INJURIES REPORTED. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE APPLIED. THE DEALER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 18,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.

NHTSA complaint 11245046. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

towed · 43,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2016 MINI COOPER S. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE AND OIL WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. ALSO, THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ALERTED THE CONTACT TO SHUT OFF THE ENGINE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE OIL DIPSTICK SHOWED THAT THERE WAS NO OIL IN THE ENGINE. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO MINI OF FT. MYERS (LOCATED AT 13880 S TAMIAMI TRAIL, FORT MYERS, FL 33908, (239) 205-7816) WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE OIL CONSUMPTION WAS NORMAL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 43,000.

NHTSA complaint 11182358. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
Front passenger side motor mount failed pretty terribly, the rubber completely slipped off the engine side mount leaving a severe engine vibration. The mount is very under engineered. Ours failed at 27,0000 miles.

NHTSA complaint 11675501. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

EXTERIOR LIGHTING

34,000 miles

The contact owns a 2016 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "Left brake lamp and Tailgate light malfunction" was displayed and while depressing the brake pedal the driver’s side rear brake light failed to illuminate. Additionally, the left turn signal was blinking quickly while activated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who replaced the rear brake light bulbs, but the failure persisted. The vehicle was then taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the driver’s side brake sensor wiring harness was melted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact was informed that the VIN was not included in NHTSA

NHTSA complaint 11652098, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
There have been thousands upon thousands of failures of the oil cooler/oil filter housing on all BMW/MINI B46/B48 2.0T engines. This problem dates back to 2014 when BMW issued a stop sale order and recall on the 2014 MINI Cooper with both the 1.5L I3 (B38) and 2.0L I4 (B48) engines. Since 2014, the engine has been installed in over two million vehicles sold in the United States under the BMW, MINI, Karma, and Toyota brands. There is a defect with the oil cooler/oil filter housing that leads to coolant and oil leaks due to the plastic housing failing after being heat cycled a certain number of times. It has gotten so bad that numerous aftermarket metal replacement parts exist to try and

NHTSA complaint 11626962, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

67,000 miles

WHILE DRIVING HOME THURSDAY NIGHT I RECEIVED LEFT TAIL LIGHT MALFUNCTION WARING ON MY DASH PANEL WITH THE TURN SIGNAL BLINKING EXTREMELY FAST. AFTER ARRIVING HOME I CHECKED THE LIGHT AND FOUND THAT THE TAIL LIGHT INOPERATIVE AND THE TURN SIGNALS WERE EXTREMELY DIM. THE NEXT MORNING I CALLED TUCSON MINI AND TOLD THEM THE PROBLEM. THE SA STATED TO BRING THE CAR IN AND THEY WOULD CHECK OUT THE PROBLEM. UPON INSPECTION THEY FOUND THAT THE L/H TAIL LIGHT GROUND CONNECTOR AND THE BULB CONNECTOR MELTED. I ASK THE SA WHAT WOULD CAUSE THIS PROBLEM AND SHE COULD NOT ANSWER THIS PROBLEM. BUT SHE DID MAKE A COMMENT THAT SHE HAD SEEN HUNDREDS OF THESE PROBLEMS. SOME WHICH CAUSED ENOUGH DAMAGE THAT

NHTSA complaint 11396364, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the MINI Cooper S

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2015 18 4 —
2014 13 4 —
2013 24 1 —
2012 23 2 —
2011 31 3 —
2010 59 4 —

Other 2016 MINI models

Cooper 28 Clubman 18

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.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst