2002 MINI Cooper problems
NHTSA has received 220 complaints about the 2002 MINI Cooper, and 29% of them involve steering. Next are transmission (15%) and wipers, windshield & visibility (13%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 220 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 29% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 7 and 9
- Injuries and deaths
- 15 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 60,000 miles 185 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 | 36 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 20 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 36 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 32 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 21 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 15 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 17 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 5 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Of the 185 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 60,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 76,000 miles (60 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 7 complaints mention a crash; 9 complaints mention a fire; 15 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2002 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the MINI Cooper with enough data (100 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.
I just found this web site and after reading through the various issues other people are having with their mini, I decided I should also go ahead and share my issues as well. Back in april of 2004, I was hit on the front passenger side by a honda accord traveling about 50 miles an hour and my airbags failed to deploy. I never had a check engine light or an airbag light for that matter but it's a scary thought not having your airbags deploy, especially at such a high speed of impact.
I was exiting from 35th street in newport news, va onto the warwick blvd off ramp in traffic, coasting with the brakes at about 5 MPH, when I was rear ended by a navy operated flat nose school bus, which forced my vehicle into a late model chevy trailblazer. My air bags (front and side) did not deploy, and when I came to rest my seat back had reclined against my child's car seat (child was not in vehicle). The right rear unibody was creased due to the impact from the bus. I suffered neck, back, and spine trauma.
I am the second owner (both older ladies), of a 2002 automatic mini cooper with 46,000 miles. Yesterday while driving home from work the tranny failed. It downshifted or something and the ep warning light came on, which means transmission failure and I was two feet away from being rear ended! I could have been killed. After researching on line, I have read great amounts of consumers with the same complaint.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 BMW mini cooper. The contact stated the steering failed while driving at a low speed and had to be held with force with both hands in order to turn it, or keep the vehicle under control. There were no warning lights before or after the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who performed a diagnostic test that located the failure in the power steering pump. The vehicle was not repaired.