2008 MINI Cooper Clubman problems
NHTSA has received 38 complaints about the 2008 MINI Cooper Clubman, and 29% of them involve engine. After that come air bags (26%) and electrical system (16%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 38 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 4
- Injuries and deaths
- 0 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 79,000 miles 34 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 5 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 4 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 2 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 10 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 4 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 0 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 2 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 34 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 79,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (11 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 4 complaints mention a fire.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 2nd most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the MINI Cooper Clubman with enough data (10 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
My 2008 mini cooper clubman has a speedometer that reads 4-6 MPH greater than what it is really going. This is problematic since then my odometer reading and gas mileage is incorrect (it will be inaccurately high). Min seems to be aware of this but will do nothing. My dealer didn't think it was an issue and wouldn't deal with it.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper clubman. The contact stated that the vehicle began pulling and drifting abnormally. She was able to regain control of the vehicle and after a minute, the vehicle resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who was unable to duplicate the failure and stated that the failure was probably due to road crown. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 23,000 and the current mileage was 26,000.
I have the s (turbo) model. When it's cold outside (less than 40 degrees) and the engine is cold (sitting overnight) it sounds like a diesel engine at start up. The first 60 seconds of idle is awful. The engine clatters like a diesel and there is a buzz as well. Like a loose heat shield or something. I have had many cars and trucks in my life and I have never had a vehicle sound like this at idle when it's cold. The engine oil is full and I have synthetic oil in it. So oil viscosity cannot be an issue.
The front passenger seat occupancy airbag sensor has failed. Consequently the front passenger airbag is turned off even if the seat is occupied. This is an ongoing problem with previous mini's and bmw's and warrants a safety recall. This is an expensive repair and previous older model mini's and bmw's have been recalled to fix this issue.
My power steering intermittently goes out. I have to stop the vehicle and turn off the engine. When I turn the car back on, the power steering comes back. When the power steering goes out, it is extremely difficult to steer the car. This has happened multiple times over the last month.