RoadVitals

2021 MINI Cooper

Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data

Data refreshed

Owner complaintsComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
7
Latest Dec 10, 2024
Safety recallsA safety recall is issued when a manufacturer or NHTSA determines that a vehicle has a safety-related defect or does not comply with a federal motor vehicle safety standard. Recall repairs are free. Whether a specific vehicle is covered depends on its VIN — a recall listed for a model year does not necessarily apply to every vehicle of that year.
2
Latest Jul 21, 2021
InvestigationsNHTSA opens an investigation to examine whether a safety defect may exist. An open investigation is not a determination that a defect exists, and many investigations close without a recall. Investigations can, however, lead to one.
0
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
2
2 injuries, 0 deaths reported

Overview

Our database contains 7 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2021 MINI Cooper, most frequently naming the electrical, airbags and fuel system categories. 2 safety recalls have been issued covering this model year; and 46 manufacturer communications are on file.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

What owners report

Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded

  • Electrical342.9%
  • Airbags114.3%
  • Fuel system114.3%
  • Steering114.3%
  • Tires & wheels114.3%

Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.

Safety recalls

2 campaigns cover this model year

Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.

Check a VIN on NHTSA.gov
21V554000

SEAT BELTS

Jul 21, 2021
21,537 units potentially affected
The defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 2 Series (230i, 230i xDrive, M240i, M240i xDrive), 330e, 330e Xdrive, 4 Series Coupe (430i, 430i xDrive, M440i xDrive) M4 Coupe, M4 Competition Coupe, BMW 4 Series Convertible (430i, M440i), BMW X1 sDrive28i, xDrive28i, 2 Series Gran Coupe (228i, 228i xDrive, M235i xDrive), M2 Competition Coupe, 330i, 330i xDrive, M340i, M340i xDrive, M3, M3 Competition, 530i, 530i xDrive, 540i, 540i xDrive, MINI Hardtop 2 Door (Cooper, CooperS, JCW), X2 sDrive28i, X2 xDrive28i, X2 M35i, Z4 sDrive30i, Z4 M40i, MINI Hardtop 2 Door (Cooper SE), MINI Convertible (Cooper, Cooper S, JCW), MINI Clubman (Cooper S, Cooper S All4, JCW), MINI Countryman (Cooper, Cooper All4, Cooper S, Cooper S All4, JCW All4), Rolls Royce Ghost, MINI Countryman (Cooper S E All4), Rolls Royce Phantom, Rolls Royce Cullinan, and Toyota Supra vehicles. The passenger seat belt Automatic Locking Retractor (ALR) may deactivate early, before the webbing fully retracts. As such, these assemblies fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
The risk: During a crash, a seat belt retractor that does not function as intended increases the risk of injury.
The remedy: Dealers will inspect the seat belt retractors (including the seat belts) and, if necessary, replace the retractors, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 3, 2021. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417; 1-866-825-1525 (MINI); 1-877-877-3735 (Rolls Royce); and 1-888-270-9371 (Toyota).
BMW of North America, LLCView on NHTSA.gov
20V283000

AIR BAGS; AIR BAGS: AIR BAG/RESTRAINT CONTROL MODULE; AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW:CURTAIN

May 20, 2020
76 units potentially affected
The defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2020 X1 xDrive28i, X1 sDrive28i, X2 xDrive28i and X2 sDrive28i, 2020 MINI Clubman Cooper S All4, 2021 MINI Hardtop 2 Door (Cooper, Cooper S, John Cooper Works and Cooper S E) and MINI Hardtop 4 Door (Cooper and Cooper S) vehicles. Due to a problem with the rollover sensor within the air bag control unit, in the event of a rollover crash, the head air bag, seat belt pretensioners and other safety systems, may not activate.
The risk: If the safety systems do not deploy as intended in a roll over crash, it may increase the risk of injury.
The remedy: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag control unit, free of charge. The recall began July 17, 2020. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417 or MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
BMW of North America, LLCView on NHTSA.gov

Recent owner complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words

Fuel system
Filed Dec 10, 2024

No incident occurred. On October 18th we received a high voltage battery recall notice for this car. Apparently there were some thermal events (fires) and BMW has released software to help protect the car from such an event. We have been trying to get in touch with MINI, and just recently found that the dealer closed. They left their answering machine online for about a month after. The local BMW dealer says that they cannot perform the update (MINI USA requested we ask them). MINI USA now says that the car must be trucked 300 miles away to the closest dealer. The car cannot even be driven that far because it has about 100 miles of range, the roads are 75+, and there is limited charging infrastructure. We feel that this presents an undue time and financial burden since the dealer closed down, and this is a manufacturing defect. I have repeatedly been in touch with MINI but have received very little support or advice other than spending an enormous amount of money to have the vehicle shipped out of state.

NHTSA ID
11629967
Incident
Dec 10, 2024
Electrical
Filed Feb 11, 2024

Digital instrument cluster of electric Mini SE (includes speedometer and battery/range information) turns off without warning while driving and does not turn back on until car is powered down for over half an hour. This has happened more than ten times. Vehicle was inspected by MINI dealer locally and no obvious equipment defect was identified, although they were able to replicate it happening. After disassembly and reassembly by dealer, issue stopped for about two weeks after car was returned to owner. Now it has begun again, to the point of turning off within a few minutes of driving every day, rendering car unusable as driver has no other speedometer in vehicle. After sitting for half an hour, the instrument cluster will turn on when the car is turned on next, only to go out again after a few minutes of driving. Other electronics in car do not appear affected and car operates normally.

NHTSA ID
11571293
Incident
Feb 9, 2024
Steering
Filed Apr 27, 2023

The car completely lost steering in traffic. I brought it back to the Mini dealership, they informed me this is a known issue for Mini Coopers equipped with the click-and-play system, and they needed to re-wire the click-and-play to fix it. However Mini decided this should not be a recall. I strongly disagree with Mini's assessment considering losing steering on the road could cause severe accidents.

NHTSA ID
11519216
Incident
Apr 22, 2023
Electrical
Filed Dec 29, 2022
Fire reported

After work, I started the car in a parking lot. Before leaving, a fire started under the hood behind the passenger side headlight. After using the jaws of life to take off the hood, the fire department contained the fire. No injuries. There was extensive damage to the right front. The contents were all smoke damaged. Neighboring cars were not damaged. The car has been totaled.

NHTSA ID
11499386
Incident
Dec 13, 2022
Airbags
Filed Nov 10, 2022
Crash reported2 injuries reported

On October 4, 2022, the Mini Cooper hardtop 4 door was hit in a head-on collision by a driver who was going at least 40 MPH, possibly more. The car that hit the Cooper was a Toyota Prius. All the Prious' airbags deployed. No airbags deployed on the Mini Cooper hardtop 4 door. None. The Mini Cooper, after assessment, was considered to be a total loss.

NHTSA ID
11493154
Incident
Oct 4, 2022
Tires & wheels
Filed Aug 22, 2022

Tire model is: Hankook Ventus S1 Evo Z 225/35R18 87Y. Failure started when vehicle turned the "CHECK TIRE PRESSURE" alert on while driving. Pressure started to drop from 32 lbs to 16 lbs in about 15 minutes. Worth to note: no pot hole or any other object was hit during the day of the incident; or even previous days. After stopping, I noticed that the failure occurred in the inner face of the tire. Inner face was pretty degraded and inner treads were visible. A 15 inch long breakage line was visible. Car has 18k miles on it. When comparing the tire that failed to the rest, its degradation was much higher.

NHTSA ID
11480654
Incident
Aug 21, 2022
Electrical
Filed Oct 26, 2021

The night of October 24th, while I was driving my CID back screen went to black and there were messages displayed in white color. Bootloader 11.035.000/ FFW 1.8.3 Dec 5 2017 Next line is displayed HWEL:42E5 2.1.5 Followed by a large white bar This display stays on even after lock the car. The morning of October 25th, There are warnings came on “ Battery discharged start engine” and “Increased Battery drain while stopped” After a while, I’ve noticed the instrument panel light were off. I had a day time running lights on, but lights weren’t on, only the fog lights. And when I unlock and lock the doors, those lights weren’t flushing. The morning of Oct 26th,my battery was dead.

NHTSA ID
11438250
Incident
Oct 24, 2021

Manufacturer communications

A bulletin sent by a manufacturer to its dealers. Not a recall, and repairs are not necessarily free.

M840226

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Once the Telematics Module (TCB2) enters sleep mode, a MINI Data Services trigger for Remote Services(remote engine start, lock/unlock/climate conditioning) will not be able to reactivate the TCB2. Due to this issue, Remote Services will not function in the vehicle when parked and locked.

M010324

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

EVAP PURGE (VENT) VALVE EXT LTD WTY (ELW) 15 YRS/150,000 MLS

M010124

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM

EVAP PURGE (VENT) VALVE EXT LTD WTY (ELW) 15 YEARS/150,000 MILES

M310424

SUSPENSION

During inspection and/or diagnosis there is noticeable dirt/grease buildup on the axles near the inner and/or outer CV boots.

M511616

STRUCTURE

Cavity protection applied to underside of the hood is leaking out onto the wheel arch trim and grille.

M610607

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 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.

Manufacturers file copies of the bulletins they send to dealers with NHTSA. These often describe diagnostic or repair procedures for a known condition. They are not recalls: repairs described in a bulletin are usually only free if the vehicle is still under warranty or the manufacturer has extended coverage.

Compare model years

Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model

MINI Cooper by model year
YearComplaintsRecallsInvestigationsIssue Index
2026210—
2025130—
2024100—
2023700—
2022600—
2021Viewing720—
2020720—
2019122045.5
2018800—
2017283055.1
2016281047.9
2015556256.9
2014347262.9
2013471034.0
2012661048.0
2011831043.0
2010922053.6
20091511044.9
20081151044.5
20071151044.5
20062001042.1
20053724257.0
20042824258.2
20033204560.9
20021875559.3
2001600—

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.