2006 MINI Cooper S problems
The 2006 MINI Cooper S has 243 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (29%) concerns air bags. Next are steering (20%) and electrical system (9%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 243 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 16
- Injuries and deaths
- 12 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 56,000 miles 217 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 | 31 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 21 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 65 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 50 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 25 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 13 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 6 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 4 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 217 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 56,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 55,000 miles (64 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 16 complaints mention a fire; 12 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the MINI Cooper S with enough data (93 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.
Brand new mini cooper convertible (1 week old). I was driving on a freeway in the left most lane. While I was checking the possibility to change to the right lane, the freeway curved in the right direction. The car entered slightly into the shoulder lane on the left. The speed was 65 MPH. The moment part of the car entered the shoulder lane, it lost control and hit the shoulder. As a result, the car flipped over and dragged for about 5 seconds before coming to a stop.
Driving on highway about 60 MPH. Extremely loud screeching burst of sound occurred. Sound was similar to smoke detector test sound, lasting about a second, but horribly loud, especially in a small enclosed area with the windows up. Nearly had an accident. Our ears hurt badly (I still feel some soreness a day later, as I now write. Similar occurrences for mini cooper noted in web forums, referencing a possible stereo amplifier problem. Our radio was not on.
My 2006 BMW mini coopers passenger air bag light is showing that it is deactivated regardless if there is a full sized adult or no one in the passenger seat this has been a problem for about 4 months. It appears to be a problem in the seat sensor or wiring because it will go out at times when I hit a bump or move the seat then it will come back on.
Airbag passenger seat sensor is bad $1500 to repair and no guarantee it will work correctly in the future. Why hasn't this been recalled??? BMW who owns mini cooper recalled this sensor for their cars but why not the coopers? I'm so angry that they could care less about my families safety. Automobiles are required to have airbag systems but they aren't required to work properly??