2003 MINI Cooper problems
NHTSA has received 388 complaints about the 2003 MINI Cooper, and 42% of them involve steering. Next are transmission (15%) and drivetrain & axles (8%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 388 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 42% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 3 and 33
- Injuries and deaths
- 3 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 73,000 miles 337 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 | 27 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 16 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 66 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 92 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 53 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 45 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 24 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 6 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 4 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 2 |
| 200k+ miles | 2 |
What the data shows
Of the 337 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 72,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 80,000 miles (152 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 3 complaints mention a crash; 33 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 2003 ranks 1st most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the MINI Cooper with enough data (147 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 2 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.
Car impacted the rear end of a jeep at low rate of speed (was braking to avoid crash in the front). Upon impact the car burst into flames. The air bag deployed. Luckily the occupant of the vehicle was able to get out of car. Within minutes the car was totally in flames. No one was killed or seriously injured but if the occupant did not get out when they did the occupant would have died due to smoke or flame injury.my complaint is that this low front end impact should not have resulted in immediate fire and large…
Tl*- the contact's vehicle was involved in a crash on 12-28-06 while driving at 55 MPH, and the air bags did not deploy. The contact's vehicle was hit on the driver's side, the car then spun, and hit the guard rail head on and went into the left lane. . The contact has pictures and a police report. The contact stated that injuries were sustained during the crash because the air bags did not deploy.
While driving 10 MPH a fire started in the dashboard. Consumer managed to pull over, and put out the fire out. Then had the vehicle towed. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
This car is less than a year old. So far the air bag indicator light malfunctioned, the radio was replaced, the passenger window motor was replaced, the navigation system display is about to be replaced, and two red marks on the takometer no longer light up.
Parked my 2003 mini cooper on the street. Smoke started billowing out of the engine. Popped the hood and saw the smoking continuously emanating from the engine compartment. Had the car towed to the mini dealership in princeton. They told me that the power steering pump failed; that it leaked and melted the engine harness and power supply cable and power steering fan connectors. Also, the main coolant fan was not functioning properly; and there was another leak in my valve cover gasket.