2010 MINI Cooper S

In a January 10, 2012 letter to NHTSA, BMW of North America, LLC. (BMW) submitted a Defect Information Report (DIR) identifying a defect in the electric auxiliary water pump in approximately 88,911 model year (MY) 2007-2011 Mini Cooper vehicles manufactured from November 14, 2006 through January 18, 2011 (Recall 12V-008).According to BMW, the auxiliary water pump on vehicles equipped with 4-cylinder turbocharged engines may overheat.Electro-migration can cause the pump electronic circuit board to overheat resulting in smoldering of the water pump. If smoldering occurs, it may lead to an engine compartment or vehicle fire.The pump supplier, Pierburg Pump Technology GmbH, redesigned the pump to address factors that may contribute to circuit board overheating.The redesigned pumps were completely implemented in production vehicles by January 2011.Recall 12V-008 was the third recall initiated by BMW to address electric auxiliary water pump fires in vehicles equipped with Pierburg pumps.In two October 20, 2011 letters to NHTSA, BMW submitted DIRs for similar auxiliary water pump defect conditions in approximately 32,084 MY 2008-2011 BMW 5-Series, 7-Series, X5 and X6 models equipped with 8- and 12-cylinder engines and manufactured from May 2008 through December 2010 (Recall 11V-521); and for approximately 589 MY 2010 Rolls-Royce Ghost vehicles manufactured from September 2009 through September 2010 (Recall 11V-522).In three separate April 5, 2012 letters to NHTSA, BMW submitted amendments to Recalls 11V-521, 11V-522 and 12V-008.The amendments all described a common defect condition related to a manufacturing process deviation in a certain production range of the redesigned Pierburg water pumps that could result in cracks in the pump housing, which may allow coolant to enter and contact the pump?s circuit board.BMW indicated that further analysis identified a specific machine process error at the sub-supplier that manufactures the water pump housing.Pump housing cracks may cause the circuit board to overheat and lead to smoldering of the water pump.Recall 12V-008 was, thus, amended to include approximately 1,457 MY 2011 Mini Cooper vehicles manufactured from March 31, 2011 through April 22, 2011, when pumps manufactured with the suspect manufacturing process may have been used in vehicle assembly.The amendment to Recall 11V-521 was assigned a new recall number, Recall 12V-161, and covered approximately 2,846 MY 2011-2012 BMW 5-Series, 6-Series, 7-Series, X5, and X6 vehicles manufactured from April 1, 2011 through August 1, 2011.The amendment to Recall 11V-522 was assigned a new recall number, Recall 12V-166, and covered approximately 69 MY 2011 Rolls-Royce Ghost vehicles manufactured from April 7, 2011 through June 2, 2011.The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) analyzed complaint data provided by BMW as well as complaints submitted to ODI from consumers. In total, there were 30 unique Mini Cooper reports indicating engine fire.In addition, BMW provided warranty data showing 493 claims for replacement of the subject component on Mini Cooper vehicles.Owners of the recalled vehicles are notified to take their vehicle to a BMW dealer, who will replace the auxiliary water pump to prevent any incidents related to this issue.This preliminary evaluation is closed.The ODI reports cited above can be viewed at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchNHTSAID under the following identification numbers (ODI Nos.):10286597, 10286663, 10289793, 10310677, 10314796, 10342365, 10394808, 10394192, 10403982, 10418325, 10422646, 10429003.

The contact owns a 2010 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal clicking sound coming from the engine compartment, after which the vehicle lost motive power. The contact was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway, where the vehicle was able to be restarted. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

NHTSA ID

11649587

Incident

Mar 20, 2025

THE PASSENGER AIRBAG SENSOR/PASSENGER SEATBELT SENSOR ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN REPORTED AND FIXED IN LOTS OF OTHER MINI COOPER MODEL YEARS IS SEEMINGLY AN ISSUE WITH 2010 MODELS TOO AND NEEDS TO BE CORRECTED VIA RECALL. THE SENSOR BEING FAULTY IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN, AND RUNS CLOSE TO $1200 TO REPAIR. MY SENSOR WAS INTERMITTENTLY OFF AND ON AND IS NOW FULL TIME WARNING ABOUT THE AIRBAG BEING OFF. THIS HAPPENS NO MATTER THE STATUS OF THE VEHICLE - AS SOON AS THE MOTOR IS RUNNING THE WARNING LIGHTS ARE LIT UP.

NHTSA ID

11378369

Incident

Dec 4, 2020

Mileage

86,000 mi

THE CAR COMPLETELY QUITS RUNNING WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING IT. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON BUT CAR HAS ALREADY DIED. HAVE TO COAST TO A STOP WITH NO POWER STEERING SINCE THE ENGINE HAS DIED. CAR WILL NOT ALWAYS RESTART. SOMETIMES IT WILL CRANK BUT NOT TURN OVER. SOMETIMES IT WILL RESTART. TODAY IT DIED WHILE I WAS GOING 65MPH ON THE INTERSTATE A D I HAD TO DODGE ACROSS 3 LANES OF TRAFFIC TO GET TO THE SHOULDER. HAVE HAD THIS EXACT ISSUE BEFORE. 3 YRS AGO I REPLACED THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP FOR THIS EXACT SAME PROBLEM. THIS WAS A $1500 REPAIR COST. MINI COOPER SAID THAT 2010 MINI COOPERS WERE NOT COVERED. ONLY MINIS UP TO TNE YEAR 2009 WERE COVERED IN THAT SAFETY RECALL SO I PAID OUT OF POCKET. HOWEVER, MINI COOPER USED THE SAME PART THAT HAD BEEN RECALLED ON MY 2010. IT FAILED IN 2017 AND THE REPLACEMENT PART HAS NOW FAILED AGAIN. MINI COOPER CALLED IT A "KNOWN" ISSUE, BUT WOULD NOT COVER THE REPLACEMENT COST IN 2017. REPAIR ORDER NUMBER WITH MINI COOPER DEALER: 262724 AND PART NUMBER 13-51-7-588-879

NHTSA ID

11373045

Incident

Nov 4, 2020

Mileage

100,000 mi

MI VEHCULO MINI COOPER S 2010, ESTANDO ESTACIONADO EN EL GARAGE POR MS DE 12 HORAS Y SIN PRENDER EL MOTOR EN NINGN MOMENTO COMENZ A INCENDIARSE SIN NINGN MOTIVO. POR FORTUNA HABA PERSONAS QUE ALERTARAN DE LO OCURRIDO Y PUDE APAGAR EL FUEGO EN EL VEHCULO, AUNQUE YA HABA CONSUMIDO PARTES ELCTRICA, DE MOTOR Y COFRE, ETC. CABE MENCIONAR QUE ESTO SUCEDI EN LA CIUDAD DE MXICO, NO EN EUA, PERO USTEDES TIENEN MEJOR INFORMACIN AL RESPECTO. SALUDOS.

NHTSA ID

11310103

Incident

Feb 18, 2020

Mileage

64,000 mi

HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP NEEDS REPLACED @ 30,000 MILES

NHTSA ID

11289322

Incident

Dec 14, 2019

Mileage

30,000 mi

AIRBAG AND SEATBELT WARNING LIGHTS COME ON FOR PASSENGER SEAT AND WILL NOT TURN OFF. IT INDICATES THAT THE PASSENGER AIRBAG WILL NOT ACTIVATE IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT WITH AN OCCUPANT IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. FRONT PASSENGER WILL NOT HAVE AIRBAG PROTECTION IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH.

NHTSA ID

11287864

Incident

Dec 20, 2018

Mileage

119,000 mi

MINI COOPER SEAT OCCUPATION SENSOR OC3 IS FAULTY CAUSING AIRBAG NOT TO WORK PROPERLY.

NHTSA ID

11266192

Incident

Oct 3, 2019

Mileage

45,000 mi

THE HIGH PRESSURE FUEL PUMP HAD THE WARRANTY EXTENDED TO 10 YEARS OR 120000 MILES DUE TO FEDERAL EMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS ON ALL YEARS EXCEPT THE 2010. M01 01 16 [SI] JULY 2016 SHOWS THE 2011 AND 2012 AND A LETTER FROM MINI SHOWS 2007 -2009. NOBODY AT MINI CORPORATE UNDERSTANDS WHY THE 2010 WAS LEFT OUT, BUT ALL AGREE IT IS THE SAME PUMP AND I HAVE FOUND THOUSANDS OF COMPLAINTS ONLINE SAYING THE DEALER DID NOT HONOR THE WARRANTY BECAUSE IT WAS THE WRONG THE YEAR. THESE PUMPS FAIL AND THE VEHICLE FAILS EMISSIONS TESTING. THE PUMP IS 1300 DOLLARS PLUS LABOR AND CAN ONLY BE DONE AT THE DEALER.

NHTSA ID

11246085

Incident

Aug 2, 2019

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 reason, a battery replacement will permanently eliminate the problem only in the rarest of cases. The energy diagnosis test module helps to localize these causes. This document covers important information for the dealer on how to handle “discharged battery” complaints. Without performing the energy diagnosis test plan, the root cause of a discharged battery cannot be identified. In order to properly repair the vehicle the first time, it is very important that the diagnostic test plan is performed to completion; with all results taken into consideration.

New RDC wheel electronics will be introduced with future generation MINI models. The new wheel electronics are identified as Huf Generation 5. These new wheel electronics will need to be programmed using the new tool when replaced or when depressurized (0 psi) for more than 2 minutes.

OC3 SEAT OCCUPANCY MAT - LIMITED WARRANTY EXTENSION TO 10 YEARS/120,000 MILES: Component-Specific Limited Warranty Extension For the above-referenced vehicles, MINI USA, a division of BMW of North America, LLC (MINI USA) is extending the limited warranty for the front passenger's OC3 seat occupancy mat (shown) to: 10 years/120,000 miles as determined by the vehicle's original in-service date.

CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT: N14 HIGH-PRESSURE FUEL PUMP (HDP) SERVICE BENEFIT CLASS VEHICLES: The MINI vehicle may experience a sudden engine operational failure reduced or loss of power while driving and the malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) may be illuminated along with high-pressure fuel pumprelated faults stored in the Engine Control Module (DME). PROCEDURE Perform the corresponding diagnosis/vehicle test and run the test plans to completion as applicable.

"Cooper S with N14: Diagnosis for Misfire Faults. The Service Engine Soon (MIL) lamp is illuminated and/or the customer complains that the engine runs rough (engine cold or warm) with any of the following misfire faults stored in the DME: * 2771, 2772, 2773, 2775, 2776, 2777, 2779, 277A, 277B, 277D, 277E, 277F - "Combustion misfire, cylinder 1..4", sometimes together with: * 2781, 2782, 2783 - "Combustion misfire, multiple cylinders." On rare occasions, the Service Engine Soon lamp may not be illuminated (with misfire faults still stored in the DME) when the vehicle is brought to the workshop. Multiple causes related to electrical and mechanical engine components, or poor fuel quality in combination with unfavorable driving behavior (low loads and short driving distances). This condition may lead to possible clogging of the injector tips, causing a disturbance of the fuel spraying pattern or excessive carbon deposits on the intake valves/ports, resulting in reduced air flow into the combustion chambers."

Air Conditioning System Leak Testing. The customer complains of poor or no air conditioning cooling. After further diagnosis, the system is found to be low or empty of a refrigerant charge, but when using an electronic leak detector, no leak can be found. CAUSE: In most cases, an electronic leak detector is not sufficient for identifying small leaks in the system. Electronic leak detectors can give false alarms and can lead to an improper diagnosis of small leaks. A leak cannot be located exactly if accessibility is impaired (in the case of the expansion valve, evaporator or condenser).