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
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Electrical system28
- Air bags15
- Engine11
- Fuel/propulsion system6
- Power train5
- Seat belts4
- Exterior lighting4
- Seats3
- Wheels2
- Electronic stability control (esc)2
- Visibility/wiper2
- Vehicle speed control2
- Tires1
- 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
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
3
2
1
7
4
7
4
2
1
4
12
17
5
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 3 |
| 2014 | 2 |
| 2015 | 1 |
| 2016 | 7 |
| 2017 | 4 |
| 2018 | 7 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 4 |
| 2023 | 12 |
| 2024 | 17 |
| 2025 | 5 |
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.
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-”
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”
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.”
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”
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.”
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"”
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.