Problems · by component
2002 MINI Cooper visibility problems
31 owner complaints to NHTSA about the 2002 MINI Cooper cite visibility, 12% of all 269 complaints for this model year.
Complaints
31
12% of all complaints
Crashes
0
Reported by owners
Fires
0
Reported by owners
Injuries
0
Reported by owners
What owners say about the visibility
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
“BOTH PASSENGER AND DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW MOTOR FAILURE (WITH WINDOW IN UP POSITION). PROBLEM WAS INTERMEDIATE OVER THE PAST THREE OR FOUR YEARS WITH FAILURE TWO OR THREE TIMES A YEAR. CURRENTLY DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW HAS NOT WORKED FOR WEEKS. *TR”
“2002 MINI COOPER WITH <55,000 MILES (SAME OWNER) THE SHIFT CABLE DETACHED FROM THE TRANSMISSION SHIFT LINKAGE WHILE I ATTEMPTED TO CHANGE GEARS. GEAR CHANGES ARE NO LONGER POSSIBLE AND THE TRANSMISSION REMAINS IN THE LAST GEAR SELECTED! PRIOR TO THIS -BUT WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS, ALL THE WINDOW MOTORS DIED SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE FAN BELT WOULD NOT SHUT OFF, THE ENGINE CONTINUALLY OVERHEATED (DESPITE REPEATED SERVICE BY BMW), THE HORN FUSE WOULD NOT SHUT OFF (UNTIL IT BLEW), AND THE TRANSMITION IS SLOWLY DYING. 1) THE FAN BELT WOULD NOT TURN OFF -CONTINUOUSLY, DRAINING THE BATTERY. 2) TIMING BELT WAS REPLACED 3) THE TRANSMISSION IS GOING 4) THE POWER WINDOWS *TR”
“SEVERAL, THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT HAS ILLUMINATED MORE THEN TEN DIFFERENT TIMES, EACH TIME IT WAS REPAIRED BY THE DEALER (WESTCHESTER BMW/WESTCHESTER MINI) THE LAST FIX WAS AFTER THE NORMAL WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED AND REQUIRED MUCH FUSS TO GET IT REPAIRED FOR FREE. THE POWER STEERING PUMP SUDDENLY STOPPED WORKING WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THE RADIATOR FAN WAS REPLACED TWO TIMES BY ME (CAR OUT OF WARRANTY) EVEN THOUGH I COMPLAINED TO THE DEALER WHEN THE CAR WAS STILL QUITE NEW ABOUT THE FREQUENCY OF THE FAN MOTOR'S STARTING AND STOPPING WHICH WILL SEVERELY SHORTEN THE LIFE OF ANY ELECTRIC MOTOR. THE WINDSHIELD STRESS CRACKED WHILE UNDER WARRANTY AND WAS REPAIRED. THE WINDSHIELD WIPED MOTOR HAS JUST FAILED DURING AN INCREDIBLE RAINSTORM. *JB”
“THE FRONT WINDSHIELD ON MY 2002 MINI COOPER S AUTO CRACKED SUDDENLY (WITH A POP) WHILE I WAS DRIVING ALONG THE FREEWAY, WITH NO APPARENT CAUSE--NO IMPACT SITE ON THE CRACK. THE CRACK ORIGINATES IN THE LOW/MIDDLE AREA OF THE WINDSHIELD, GOES UP ABOUT 2 INCHES, THEN SNEAKS TO THE PASSENGER SIDE ABOUT 5 INCHES. *JB”
“WINDSHIELD WIPERS FAILED WHILE DRIVING IN RAIN. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED PROBLEM AS WIPER MOTOR FAILURE. I NOTICED THAT THE WIPER MOTOR WAS EXPOSED DIRECTLY TO THE WEATHER AND MOISTURE BECAUSE IT IS LOCATED DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH THE COWL INTAKE AND I FELT THAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. IT'S EXPOSED TO RAIN, SNOW, AND WINTER ROAD SALT SPRAY - EVEN WHEN THE VEHICLE IS NOT BEING DRIVEN. I OBTAINED THE REPLACEMENT PART AND NOTICED THAT IT HAD A PLASTIC SHIELD INSTALLED TO PROTECT THE MOTOR INDICATING THE MANUFACTURER DOES KNOW ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND HAS IMPLEMENTED CORRECTIVE ACTION. WHEN I CONTACTED BMW, THEY CLAIMED TO BE UNAWARE OF THE PROBLEM. BMW INSISTS ON CHARGING FOR THE REPAIR ($465.00) AND HAS NOT YET RECOGNIZED THE FACT THAT THERE IS A SAFETY DEFECT WITH THE VEHICLE. THERE IS ALSO A HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT THERE ARE OTHER VEHICLES THAT COULD EXPERIENCE THE SAME FAILURE RESULTING IN LOSS OF LIFE. *NM”
“8" CRACK IN FRONT WINDSHIELD. CRACK IS LOCATED ON LOWER RIGHT HAND (PASSENGER) SIDE OF VEHICLE THAT STARTS BELOW THE WINDSHIELD SEAL. THE GOES UP 3" THEN CURVES LEFT AND TRAVELS FOR 5". CRACK APPEARED AFTER THE CAR WAS PARKED IN A SECURE GARAGE FOR 3 DAYS, AND HAS GROWN ABOUT 1" A WEEK.”
Showing 6 of 31 reports. Read every report on NHTSA.gov.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 28, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.