2014 MINI Cooper recalls and problems

The 2014 MINI Cooper has 7 recalls and 34 owner complaints on file with NHTSA; the most reported problem area is engine.

How the 2014 compares

Average

Fewest complaintsMost complaints

Average complaint count among 26 Cooper model years — 14th most.

7recalls

34complaints

1crashes

2fires

2injuries

9,000median miles

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA, not verified and not adjusted for sales. Ranking compares this model's own years only.

Does your car have an open recall?
Recalls apply to specific vehicles. Only a VIN lookup on NHTSA's official site shows whether yours is affected and still unrepaired.

Check your VIN →

7 recalls

Air Bags

Nov 9, 2015 · NHTSA campaign 15V739000 · 38 vehicles

Problem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 door vehicles manufactured February 25, 2014, to May 16, 2015, 2014-2015 MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2 door vehicles manufactured March 28, 2014, to May 9, 2015, 2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 door vehicles manufactured October 17, 2014, to June 2, 2015, and 2015 MINI Cooper S Hardtop 4 door vehicles manufactured November 24, 2014, to June 11, 2015. During a service appointment, the affected vehicles received replacement front passenger seat cushions (which contain integral Capacitive Interior Sensing (CIS) functions). The CIS functions may have been incorrectly calibrated, and if so, would cause impaired occupant classification and thus inappropriate air bag activation/deactivation.

Risk: Inappropriate air bag activation/deactivation can increase the risk of occupant injury in the event of a vehicle crash.

Remedy & notes

MINI will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the front passenger seat cushion, free of charge. The recall began on December 28, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 .

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Air Bags

Oct 7, 2015 · NHTSA campaign 15V628000 · 6,073 vehicles

Problem: 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."

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.

Remedy & notes

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.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Structure

Jul 17, 2015 · NHTSA campaign 15V450000 · 30,456 vehicles

Problem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles and 2015 MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop 2 Door vehicles. The affected vehicles do not meet the side impact performance requirements for the rear seat passengers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 214, "Side Impact Protection."

Risk: If the side impact performance requirements are not met, rear seat passengers may be at a higher risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy & notes

MINI will notify owners, and dealers will install additional energy absorption material between the rear interior side panels and the exterior vehicle body, free of charge. The recall began on September 4, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525. Note: this recall supersedes 14V-815.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Equipment

Jan 26, 2015 · NHTSA campaign 15V034000 · 13,130 vehicles

Problem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop two door vehicles manufactured December 1, 2013, to December 14, 2014. The affected vehicles may have been manufactured with an incorrect maximum capacity weight stated on the Tire Information Placard. Thus, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 110, "Tire Selection and Rims and Motor Home/Recreation Vehicle Trailer Load Carrying Capacity Information for Motor Vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less."

Risk: The maximum weight listed on the label is incorrect (too low) and therefore does not comply with Federal Regulations.

Remedy & notes

MINI will notify owners, and dealers will replace the incorrect labels with corrected labels, free of charge. Owners were mailed interim notification on March 18, 2015. The recall began on October 15, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Power Train

Dec 15, 2014 · NHTSA campaign 14V789000 · 1,928 vehicles

Problem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door, and Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles manufactured January 6, 2014, to October 17, 2014. During service appointments, dealers may have inadvertently reprogrammed the transmission control unit with software that may allow drivers to exit the vehicle when the transmission is not in Park. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."

Risk: If the driver exits the vehicle without the transmission being in Park, the vehicle could roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.

Remedy & notes

MINI will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the transmission control module with the correct software, free of charge. The recall February 4, 2015. Owners can contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Tires

Oct 3, 2014 · NHTSA campaign 14V619000 · 5,805 vehicles

Problem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2-door vehicles manufactured January 7, 2014, to July 21, 2014. The spare wheel may have been attached under the car with a nut that is not self-locking.

Risk: Vibrations from driving may cause the nut to loosen, allowing the wheel to separate from the car. If the spare wheel separates from the vehicle, it could become a road hazard and increase the risk of a crash.

Remedy & notes

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the spare wheel securing nut with a self-locking nut, free of charge. The recall began on November 20, 2014. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-275-6464.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Air Bags

Jul 14, 2014 · NHTSA campaign 14V422000 · 27 vehicles

Problem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling a certain model year BMW i3 vehicle manufactured March 31, 2014, and certain 2014 MINI Cooper Hardtop vehicles manufactured February 2, 2014 to May 30, 2014. The affected vehicles may have been manufactured with an air bag inflator that was not assembled correctly. This could cause the air bag to not deploy properly in the event of an accident.

Risk: If the air bag deploys improperly in the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the air bags, the seat occupant may be at an increased risk of injury.

Remedy & notes

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger side air bag, free of charge. The recall began in September 2014. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Recall text as published by NHTSA and the manufacturer.

What owners complain about

Engine10

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA; one complaint can name several areas. Not verified by NHTSA.

Complaints by year filed

NHTSA investigations

BMW Safety Act Violations

AQ15004 · opened Sep 24, 2015 · closed Oct 2, 2017

Summary

In a Consent Order executed on December 17, 2015, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) admitted that it violated the Safety Act by: failing to conduct a timely recall for Recall No. 15V-450; failing to file certain quarterly recall reports in a timely manner; failing to timely notify vehicle owners of the existence of a defect or noncompliance; failing to promptly advise NHTSA of delays with the beginning or completion dates for mailing owner or dealer notifications; and failing to timely submit copies to NHTSA of communications relating to recalls.As part of the Consent Order, NHTSA imposed a total civil penalty of $40 million against BMW NA for its violations of the Safety Act.The civil penalty consists of a cash payment, monetary performance obligations, and stipulated penalties.BMW NA paid the $10 million cash penalty on February 12, 2016.Failure to comply with the terms of the Consent Order or the Safety Act will result in portions of the stipulated penalties coming due.The Consent Order required BMW NA to appoint an independent safety consultant to assist BMW NA in developing best practices for complying with the Safety Act and evaluating safety issues under consideration by BMW NA.BMW NA was also required to develop a program to train dealers on the importance of complying with the prohibition on selling unremedied vehicles under recall, improve dealers' access to information necessary to maximize completion of open recalls, and invest in a pilot program to determine whe…

International Autos, Inc. / Mini Recall

AQ15003 · opened Aug 18, 2015 · closed Aug 23, 2016

Summary

The Safety Act requires, among other things, that a manufacturer notify its dealers of defects related to motor vehicle safety and non-compliances with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and, in turn, that a dealer not sell and deliver a new vehicle subject to a recall unless the recall remedy has been performed (49 U.S.C. ?? 30112(a), 30120(i)).NHTSA opened AQ15-003 to determine whether International Autos, Inc. of West Allis, Wisconsin complied with the requirements of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act, 49 U.S.C. Chapter 301 (Safety Act). NHTSA received information that International Autos sold and delivered at least one new model year (MY) 2015 Mini Cooper 2-door hardtop vehicle to a customer without having had all required safety recall repairs performed on that vehicle. NHTSA opened this investigation and then issued an information request (IR) to International Autos on August 20, 2015.A copy is of this request is in this investigation's file, together with a public copy of International Autos' response.A careful review of the information supplied confirm that International Autos sold and delivered at least eleven new vehicles with outstanding safety recalls on them. Under a Settlement Agreement dated April 26, 2016, International Autos committed to take concrete actions to improve its processes for verifying that prior to sale and delivery of any new vehicle International Autos has confirmed that the vehicle is not subject to an un-remedied recall. I…

2014 vs. other MINI Cooper years

Owner complaints by model year; the darker bar is the 2014. Click a bar to switch year.

Questions

Does the 2014 MINI Cooper have recalls?

Yes — NHTSA lists 7 recall campaigns covering the 2014 MINI Cooper, the latest from Nov 9, 2015 (air bags). A recall applies to specific vehicles: enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see whether yours is affected and still open.

What are the most common problems with the 2014 MINI Cooper?

Owner complaints filed with NHTSA most often mention engine (10), electrical system (8), power train (8). Complaints are consumer reports and are not verified by NHTSA.