Problems · NHTSA complaints

2013 MINI Cooper S problems

Owners filed 69 complaints about the 2013 MINI Cooper S with NHTSA between Aug 2013 and May 2025. The most-cited component is electrical system (28).

Complaints
69
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
2
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
3
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Electrical system28
  2. Air bags15
  3. Engine11
  4. Fuel/propulsion system6
  5. Power train5
  6. Seat belts4
  7. Exterior lighting4
  8. Seats3
  9. Wheels2
  10. Electronic stability control (esc)2
  11. Visibility/wiper2
  12. Vehicle speed control2
  13. Tires1
  14. Service brakes1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 29, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20133
20142
20151
20167
20174
20187
20194
20202
20211
20224
202312
202417
20255

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Electrical system

28 reports1 related recall
“Water apparantly was going thru the sunroof and clogging the drains-- No water seeped into the car or from the roof-- It went through the interior of the car nor did it ever get into the vehicle floor so no way to even be aware of car accumlating water- This interior water damage nd destroyed the electronic system of the vehicle- Insured driver - my daughter was driving when car alarm and back door released while driving-- Windshield wipers stopped working and beeping noises continuelly came on! Damage to car 8K-- The same two door model and same year was in fact recalled for the same issue this year-”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 7, 2025Electrical system, Unknown or otherODI 11659572

Air bags

15 reports2 crashes
“Passenger occupancy sensor malfunctions all the time and there are hundreds of claims regarding this issue but was never addressed by the manufacturer The same issue prompted a recall in older models but has not been corrected in newer ones”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 24, 2024Electrical system, Air bags, SeatsODI 11621760

Engine

11 reports
“The contact called on behalf of the owner of the 2013 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the passenger’s side window was inoperative. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed and determined that the body control module and the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired under an unknown recall. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 62,137.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Apr 30, 2025Engine, Electrical systemODI 11657794

Fuel/propulsion system

6 reports
“Yes my Mini Cooper 2013 I was just driving normal speed 35 to 40 miles per hour and all the sudden my engine has just quit and stopped running I was not in any danger or in a crash I was able to move my car off to the side of the road and unfortunately this was only the first time the second time was actually on the highway I was scared to death because I was actually came to a halt on the freeway but I was able to push my car off to the side and be out of Harm's Way my car is now parked in front of my house due to engine failure and I don't know what else to do but I saw this recall and I thought I would give you guys a shout and tell you what's wrong and the only thing I replace so far was a new fuel pump and unfortunately that was not the issue my car was still not run or start and now I noticed there is a broken seal in the air intake that looks like it needs to be replaced”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 14, 2024Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11619586

Power train

5 reports
“Freeze plug randomly popped out while driving causing vehicle to stall in the middle of traffic almost causing a major accident and or death. Research indicates there has been numerous complaints by Mini Cooper owners experiencing the same issue of a premature unexplained failure with no action taken from Mini to mitigate this safety issue. I’m lucky to be alive.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Mar 1, 2024Power train, Engine, Fuel/propulsion systemODI 11574805

Seat belts

4 reports
“As per NHTSA there was a recall the replace OC3 SEAT OCCUPANCY MAT but I never received recall notice and just passed 10 years with 40K millage and started getting air bag light, dealer is not replacing it under warranty, if they was a recall they should have replaced my seat earlier so that I would not have this issue today. is there a way to extend warranty to longer time or recall all the cars and replace them so that we do not have to spend 2k to replace it? "01 11 16_OC3 SEAT OCCUPANCY MAT: LIMITED WARRANTY EXTENSION TO 10 YEARS/120,000 MILES"”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Sep 28, 2024Air bags, Seat belts, SeatsODI 11617003
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 29, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.