2008 MINI Cooper S problems
The 2008 MINI Cooper S has 197 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (61%) concerns engine. Next are air bags (16%) and electrical system (4%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 197 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 61% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 1 and 12
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 54,000 miles 177 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 | 16 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 45 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 46 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 34 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 18 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 12 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 177 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 54,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 52,000 miles (113 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 1 complaint mentions a crash; 12 complaints mention a fire; 3 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the MINI Cooper S with enough data (114 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 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.
I was in a bad car accident in which my car was rear ended. I was in the very most right hand lane on the highway, at a stop in stop and go traffic. The vehicle behind me did not stop, hitting me at approximately 75 MPH. As a result, my car spun out to the right and hit the guard rail on the side of the highway head on. The car then bounced off of the guard rail, and spun about 180 degrees to the left, where the rear end of the car then hit the same guard rail and finally stopped.
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.
We purchased a 2008 mini cooper for my daughter. Last night while she was putting things in the trunk, her leg glanced the tailpipe and she received a pretty significant burn. On looking at cars in a parking lot, I see that the mini cooper's tail pipes are very exposed and not even slanted back...I see this as a huge danger. Pic received 10/0708 add picture *121108 cw updated 12/11/08
Leaving from work around 5:00 pm (car had been in the parking lot since 7:20 am), I drove for a mile or less when at a red light the car by my side told me about smoke coming from the under the hood. I drove to the closet parking lot, opened the hood (there was a lot of smoke) and I could see 2 wires red hot. I went to try to get a fire extinguisher and luckily and ambulance on duty (could not help me because he had a patient) gave me a small bottle of water.
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).