2013 Mini Cooper Roadster

Routine

Owners filed 3 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the air bags. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Air Bags2
000
Unknown or Other1
000

What owners reported

Newest filings
Air Bags
Filed Oct 2, 2023FL

The passenger side air bag seat sensor has failed rendering the air bags in the car inoperable. This is a common complaint that many Mini Cooper and BMW owners are having. This problem has been known about by the manufacturer for many years and at one point they were repairing this issue at no charge for most models. I have and many other Mini Cooper and BMW owners have tried to have this issue repaired by the manufacturer and they are refusing. I filled out one of these forms a while ago and have seen no response from you about the status of this issue. This is a life safety system that is failing in many cars due to a design flaw that needs to be fixed.

Air Bags
Filed Jul 21, 2023FL

The passenger side air bag seat sensor has failed. I don't know if that means the passenger air bag will not work or if it will activate incorrectly injuring a passenger due to air bag detonation. This sensor failure is common. Yes this vehicle can be inspected. The air bag warning light periodically turns on and off. I contacted mini cooper customer relations and they informed me that there was a time that they would repair this issue if reported to a dealer free of charge but that offer expired when the car turns 10 years old. Our mini is a little over 10 years old. Mini has been aware of this problem for many years and claims to have sent notification of warranty extension to all owners. I am unable to find any correspondence regarding this issue. Our vehicle has not been inspected by mini or anyone else. Mini knew what I was talking about without a question as they are familiar with this issue. The air bag warning light started coming on maybe a year ago and has become more common in the past approximately 6 months. We are not exactly sure the first time the wanrng light illuminated as it wil turn off after a while. This issue is not speed dependent, It seems to be activated when someone is sitting on the seat but not 100% sure that is the only time.

Unknown or Other
Filed Oct 6, 201970,000 milesFL

THE WINDOW CAME UNGLUED SOMEHOW. IT HAD BEEN SITTING IN THE SAME SPOT FOR 2 WEEKS AND IT WAS HOT OUTSIDE, BUT THAT SHOULD NOT BE A REASON FOR A WINDOW TO JUST POP IN LIKE THAT. IT WASN'T BROKEN, IT JUST FEEL IN AND I HADN'T EVEN DRIVE IT FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS.

3 of 3 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2013
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
2013 — this page3000Routine
20122000Routine

Compare every Cooper Roadster year →

Reading this record

No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.