2003 MINI Cooper S problems
The 2003 MINI Cooper S has 258 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (52%) concerns steering. Next are wipers, windshield & visibility (13%) and engine (6%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 258 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 52% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 16 and 28
- Injuries and deaths
- 11 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 70,000 miles 211 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 | 32 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 25 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 33 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 43 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 30 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 23 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 13 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 10 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 211 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 70,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (123 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 16 complaints mention a crash; 28 complaints mention a fire; 11 injuries reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2003 ranks 4th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the MINI Cooper S with enough data (106 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 safety recall campaigns.
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.
Consumer wants to know if there are any recalls for 2003 mini cooper s. Consumer states that her son was killed while driving his mini cooper s back in july 2008. The consumer was told her son lost control of the vehicle. The consumer discovered recall 03v086000 and wanted to know could the recall have been a contributing factory.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. While driving 40 MPH and attempting to make a turn, the power steering failed. As a result, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. A police report was filed. The contact sustained contusions to the face and lost a tooth. The occupants of the other vehicle sustained unknown injuries. Medical attention was not required. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure.
Consumer's vehicle was involved in a rear end collision. The vehicle that rear ended consumer's vehicle pushed it into the vehicle that was parked in front. None of the airbags deployed. The repair shop reported the seat being broken. Consumer noted the seat hit the back of the calves and bruised them. Hit the steering wheel, fractured nose and received a concussion. Vehicle totaled with front end damage and a cracked windshield. Consumer was wearing her seat belt and was sitting pretty far back.
2003 mini cooper s with low 70 thousand miles cough fire on january 31 2011 around 4 am in the morning. It was seen to start on the passenger side under airbag and car was completely on fire the front end under the hood and under passenger dash was told failure was ABS
Cracked windhsield on mini cooper s. One of probably thousands suffered by min owners owing to the glass being too thin and the windshield too upright. This ia a design and safety issue. My windshield cracked monday april 14. A small stone may have hit it, but the crack did no begin until the next morning. Random cracks due to stones and rocks are to be expected from time to time. But the occurrence of cracks on the miji cooper s is epidemic and widely known.