NHTSA lists 314 complaints for the 2005 Mini Cooper S, 6 of them mention a crash and 17 mention a fire. 2 complaints mention an injury, with 3 injuries and 1 deaths reported.
Data build 2026-10-08.
NHTSA lists this vehicle as MINI COOPER S.
At a glance
Complaints
314
With crash
6
With fire
17
With injury (complaints)
2
Injuries
3
Deaths
1
Recalls
2
Do not drive recalls
0
Park outside recalls
0
Recall potential units (maximum)
91,800
Investigations
2
Open investigations
0
Manufacturer communications
43
Complaints per 100k sold unavailable. No sales source is available for this record.
Where the complaints are
Top systems
System
Complaints
Share of this vehicle's complaints
STEERING
212
67.5%
AIR BAGS
71
22.6%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
23
7.3%
POWER TRAIN
13
4.1%
ENGINE
8
2.5%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
8
2.5%
SEATS
8
2.5%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
6
1.9%
STRUCTURE
4
1.3%
SUSPENSION
3
1.0%
Top subsystems
System
Subsystem
Complaints
AIR BAGS
FRONTAL
12
STEERING
ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
5
STEERING
HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST
5
SUSPENSION
FRONT
3
AIR BAGS
SENSOR
2
AIR BAGS
SIDE/WINDOW
2
STRUCTURE
BODY
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
12V/24V/48V BATTERY
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
IGNITION
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
COOLING SYSTEM
1
One complaint can name several systems, so shares can add to more than 100 percent.
Model-generated complaint tags: This model year has not been tagged.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2002-2005 MINI Cooper and Cooper S vehicles and 2005 Cooper and Cooper S Convertible vehicles. The affected vehicles may experience temporary or permanent loss of the electro-hydraulic steering assistance.
Consequence: If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, potentially increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the electro-hydraulic power steering system, replacing the components and wiring, as necessary, free of charge. Interim notices were mailed to owners on December 10, 2015. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2005-2006 MINI Cooper and Cooper S vehicles manufactured January 5, 2005, to November 28, 2006, and 2005-2008 MINI Cooper Convertible and Cooper S Convertible vehicles manufactured January 5, 2005, to July 31, 2008. Due to manufacturing, installation, and exposure issues, the front passenger seat occupant detection mat may not functi (excerpt)
Consequence: An improperly functioning mat may cause the passenger frontal air bag to be inactive when the seat is occupied, and in the event of a crash, the air bag will not deploy, increasing the passenger's risk of injury. (excerpt)
Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger seat occupant detection mat, free of charge. The recall began on October 12, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525. (excerpt)
Do not drive: No. Park outside: No.
Investigations
2 investigations; 0 open.
EA11005
Opened: 2011-05-04. Closed: 2016-01-05.
Loss of power steering assist
The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) originally opened the investigation of loss of power steering assist in model year (MY) 2004 and 2005 Mini Cooper as Preliminary Evaluation PE10-038.The investigation was upgraded to Engineering Analysis EA11-005 in May, 2011.During EA11-005 the scope was expanded to include MY 2002 and 2003 vehicles that use the same steering system.The subject vehicles n
ODI has received 339 complaints alleging an unexpected loss of power steering assist while driving the vehicle.When the power steering assist stops working, drivers experienced difficulty in steering and/or controlling the vehicle.According to BMW drivers may experience either a temporary or permanent loss of power steering assist.BMW further advised that a temporary loss of power steering assist
Systems: STEERING.
Linked campaign numbers: None listed.
Manufacturer communications
43 manufacturer communications.
Communications by system
System
Count
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
11
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
9
EQUIPMENT
9
STEERING
8
ENGINE
6
POWER TRAIN
4
AIR BAGS
2
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
2
10244507
Date: 2023-10-25. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.
MINI electrical systems have continued to develop over the past few years. As a result, the demand on the batteries has increased. Breakdowns due to an empty battery or problems in the vehicles electrical system can have various causes, most of which are not due to the battery itself. For this rea
10162443
Date: 2019-07-12. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, POWER TRAIN.
Programming a Replacement EGS Module with ISTA/P. Programming a replacement electronic transmission control module (EGS) with ISTA/P requires the manual entry of the correct target basic and programmed part numbers. Programming concept.
10145311
Date: 2018-06-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: EQUIPMENT.
NAVIGATION SYSTEM HAS MISSING OR INCORRECT ROAD MAP DATA: The route guidance is inaccurate and therefore irritating to the customer; or it is not possible to locate certain addresses, for instance:
10143579
Date: 2018-05-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, EQUIPMENT.
NAVIGATION SYSTEM HAS MISSING OR INCORRECT ROAD MAP DATA: The route guidance is inaccurate and therefore irritating to the customer; or it is not possible to locate certain addresses, for instance:
10134994
Date: 2018-02-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: POWER TRAIN.
AISIN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISISON: RIGHT SIDE OUTPUT SHAFT SEAL REPLACEMENT
10151228
Date: 2016-03-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: STEERING.
This Service Information bulletin supersedes SI 32 02 14 dated August 2014. SUBJECT Installation of Right-Hand Drive Steering Spindle in Left-Hand Drive Vehicle is No Longer Required. Left-hand drive steering spindles are currently available.
10059098
Date: 2015-07-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.
MINI: DIFFERENT FAULTS ACTIVATES ENGINE MALFUNCTION AND OIL WARNING. *MA
10059112
Date: 2015-07-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.
MINI: BECAUSE OF THE DME SOFTWARE, AND A DAMAGED CLUTCH, THE DRIVETRAIN MALFUNCTION CHECK MESSAGE APPEAR. *MA
10059111
Date: 2015-06-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.
MINI: DUE TO FAULTY DME SOFTWARE, THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHTS COMES ON, INCLUDING THE CHECK CONTROL MESSAGE FOR MOTOR FORCE DECREASE. *MA
10059113
Date: 2015-06-01. Type: Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions. Systems: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE.
MINI: FAULTY SOFTWARE CAUSES THE CHECK CONTROL AND ENGINE POWER REDUCED LIGHT TO APPEAR. *MA
Notes on this record
Complaints from the API and bulk file are merged and deduplicated by ODI number; the API alone misses records.
System and subsystem counts are numbers of distinct complaints, recalls or communications that name them. One record can name several systems, so shares across systems can add to more than 100 percent; a single share never exceeds 100 percent.
Recalls are counted once per campaign, investigations once per action and manufacturer communications once per NHTSA id, even when NHTSA lists several model names for the same record.
A sales denominator is a calendar-year proxy, not the population of vehicles still in use. Rates are copied from verified pipeline output.