2011 MINI Cooper S problems
The 2011 MINI Cooper S has 46 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (37%) concerns engine. Next are electrical system (35%) and air bags (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 46 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Engine 37% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 0 and 9
- Injuries and deaths
- 4 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 60,000 miles 33 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 | 3 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 5 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 7 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 7 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 2 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 33 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 60,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 60,000 miles (15 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 9 complaints mention a fire; 4 injuries reported. Its complaints are more severe on average than those of 92% of model years in our database.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2011 ranks 10th most-complained-about out of 12 model years of the MINI Cooper S with enough data (18 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 3 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.
My mini cooper was parked in my garage for over two weeks. On august 10, 2017 I moved it out of the garage to get to some things in my garage. When I backed it back in, I heard a pop and within minutes I saw smoke coming from the hood. When we were able to open the hood the engine was on fire. We had to call 911 and they told us we could not leave the car in the garage because of the fire incident.
I owned a 2011 mini cooper s ("mini") vehicle that caused a fire and injuries at our home. The fire was discovered while the mini was parked in our garage with the ignition off. The fire destroyed our residence, personal property and two vehicles, including the aforementioned mini. Fire authorities determined that the fire originated in the mini's engine compartment and a subsequent investigation yielded that the cause of the fire was an electrical failure to an electrical connection for the circuit board on the…
Tl* the contact owns a 2011 mini cooper s. While driving 70 MPH, there was an abnormal noise coming from the front passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the timing chain fractured and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 47,000. Updated 06/15/16
Leaking thermostat replacement. The mini dealership notified me after repairing the vehicle that nearly every mini in this model year is coming in for a thermostat replacement. I was tipped off to this after questioning an adapter that was invoiced. Mini knows about this issue of defective thermostats but is avoiding a recall.