2008 MINI Cooper S engine problems
121 complaints about engine have been filed for the 2008 MINI Cooper S, which is 61% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.
At a glance
- Complaints
- 121 61% of this year's complaints
- Typical mileage
- 52,000 miles 113 complaints with mileage
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 8
- Injuries and deaths
- 2 and 0
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
When engine problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 9 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 30 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 36 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 21 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 11 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 113 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 52,000 miles, and 66% were reported before 60,000 miles.
These complaints mention 8 fires, 2 injuries.
What owners wrote
I borrowed my friend's mini cooper s for the week to test drive it. As I was unloading cargo from the trunk, my leg was burned when it touched the exhaust tip. Yesterday, I read about an investigation into the same problem on edmunds.com.
Loud knocking noise upon starting the car. It was very loud so I took it to the dealer. A metal piece from the housing for the timing chain broke off and caused damage that cost $2239 to repair. The service rep seemed to know about this problem. I asked the service rep for my old parts which I have kept and upon inspection the parts looked good (timing chain and tensioners (plastic parts).
Other problems reported for the 2008 MINI Cooper S
- Air bags 31 complaints