KnownCarProblems2015 Mini Cooper Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 56 complaints with NHTSA about the 2015 Mini Cooper, most often about the engine (25% of complaints, typically around 37,500 miles). It is 12th of 26 Cooper model years by number of complaints and has 6 recalls.
Most common 2015 Mini Cooper problems
Engine
14 complaints · 25%Half of these problems showed up before 37,500 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
12/19/19 I brought my vehicle to have 2 front tires replaced had them mount and balanced and a front alignment done. The dealer also completed multi point vehicle check. I get home. The car sits still saturday. I start it saturday at 1:30pm and get ready to pull out of drive way. Warning light comes on dash stating…
Excessive carbon build up on engine intake ports at 35k miles. Car purchased new, has oil changes by dealer every 5k miles, and is filled with 92 octane gas. Lots of people posted on internet over last 7-8 years that minis are prone to this issue and bmw hasn't resolved it. When asked if this should be routine…
Fuel system
11 complaints · 20%Excessive carbon build up on engine intake ports at 35k miles. Car purchased new, has oil changes by dealer every 5k miles, and is filled with 92 octane gas. Lots of people posted on internet over last 7-8 years that minis are prone to this issue and bmw hasn't resolved it. When asked if this should be routine…
Transmission
10 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 25,000 miles.
The contact owns a 2015 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while the vehicle was in park, the gear shifter failed to engage properly. Secure gear roll- a-way warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the gear box needed to be…
While in bumper to bumper traffic car lunged while accelerating. Was at a complete stop then lifted off brake and began to feed in gas when the transmission shifted from first to second (automatic transmission) the car lunged or jumped forward. The action was so severe my first action after hitting brakes was to check…
Electrical
10 complaints · 18%Half of these problems showed up before 15,000 miles. Parts named most often: horn.
The contact owns a 2015 Mini Cooper. While attempting to unlock the trunk with key fob, the trunk failed to unlock. The contact started the vehicle in the hope that it would unlock the trunk. When the contact began to walk towards the rear of the vehicle, it began to roll despite the emergency brake being activated.…
The service manager informed me that standing water from the cup holder had spilled down into the shifter control box and ruined the assembly. Furthermore, because this was deemed to be 'external forces' the repair would not be covered under warranty and will cost me over $1100.00 to fix it . I couldn't imagine that I…
Brakes
8 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 4,000 miles.
I made a right turn from the main street, into the parking lot of a strip mall, then an immediate left turn, and another right turn into the right angle parking slot. All the while having my foot on the brakes, I started to shift into park, when it was in the right spot. The Mini instead coming to a stop, revved up…
Coming up to an intersection, the car started to slow normally. Then the ABS kicked in and the car did the shudder like when the ABS is active. Then the ABS turned off and the brakes went spongy. The car rolled into the intersection through the stop sign. This happened several more times. We brought the car to Mini of…
Other or unspecified
4 complaints · 7%Visibility and wipers
4 complaints · 7%Parts named most often: rearview mirrors/devices.
The rear view mirrors on the doors are both mounted too low for over half of the seat height adjustments. You can not see cars approaching as mirror is blocked by the door for anyone under 5ft 9inches or so.
The contact owns a 2015 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear convertible glass suddenly separated from the convertible compartment and fell on the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or local dealer. The contact stated that while…
Suspension
3 complaints · 5%The contact owns a 2015 Mini Cooper. While driving at highway speeds, the contact noticed an abnormal roaring noise from the rear driver side of the vehicle. When making a turn or driving over bumps and dips in the road, the tires lost traction with the road and caused the vehicle to skip. The vehicle was taken to the…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2015 Mini Cooper recalls
Air bags: occupant classification
Risk: Inappropriate air bag activation/deactivation can increase the risk of occupant injury in the event of a vehicle crash.
Fix: 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 .
Full defect summary
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.
Air bags: inflator module
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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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."
Body and structure: body
Risk: If the side impact performance requirements are not met, rear seat passengers may be at a higher risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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."
Equipment: labels
Risk: The maximum weight listed on the label is incorrect (too low) and therefore does not comply with federal regulations.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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."
Transmission: control module (tcm/pcm/tecm)
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.
Fix: 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.
Full defect summary
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."
Seats
Risk: If the seatback adjustment mechanism is not fully engaged, the seatback may fold during a rear impact collision, increasing the risk of injury to the seat occupant.
Fix: Mini will notify owners, and dealers will re-align and re-tighten the seatback adjustment mechanisms, free of charge. The recall began december 29, 2014. Owners can contact mini customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
Full defect summary
Bmw of north america, llc (bmw) is recalling certain model year 2015 mini cooper hardtop 2 door vehicles manufactured august 12, 2014, to september 2, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the driver and front passenger seatback adjustment mechanism may not be fully engaged.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Bmw safety act violations
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 pena
International autos, inc. / mini recall
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 hardt
Questions about the 2015 Mini Cooper
- What are the most common problems with the 2015 Mini Cooper?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: engine (14 complaints, typically around 37,500 miles); fuel system (11 complaints); transmission (10 complaints, typically around 25,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2015 Mini Cooper have?
- 6 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from November 9, 2015 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2015 a bad year for the Mini Cooper?
- It is 12th of 26 Cooper model years by number of complaints, with 56 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.