2004 MINI Cooper problems
NHTSA has received 330 complaints about the 2004 MINI Cooper, and 75% of them involve steering. Next are electrical system (5%) and transmission (4%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 330 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Steering 75% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 5 and 17
- Injuries and deaths
- 1 and 1
- Typical mileage
- 71,000 miles 291 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 | 10 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 23 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 68 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 68 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 60 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 27 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 20 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 9 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 2 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 3 |
What the data shows
Of the 291 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 71,000 miles. For steering specifically, the median reported mileage is about 75,000 miles (220 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 5 complaints mention a crash; 17 complaints mention a fire; 1 injury reported; 1 death reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2004 ranks 5th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the MINI Cooper with enough data (61 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.
My wife was driving our 2004 mini cooper home traveling uphill on a steep paved mountain roadway traveling a maximum of 15 MPH when for some unknown reason the vehicle left the roadway; struck a tree with its left front and burst into an exploding fire killing my wife who was not able to escape the burning vehicle. The nc state police are investigating the cause of the fire and death.
Vent fan in motor compartment spontaneously caught fire causing damage to various electrical components and smoke damage.
I had driven 2004 mini for about 30 minute, then parked it in driveway. Within 15 minutes I looked over to see smoke coming from the engine. I opened the compartment and got help. We pushed it into a nearby field and called the fire dept. If it had stayed in the drive, it would have also ignited 2 cars, the house and a boat. Who know about people and animals. I almost got run over trying to stop the mini as it was pushed. After the car was out, we had it towed to inskip auto in warwick ri.
I am the original owner of a 2004 mini cooper s, now with a power steering problem. The power steering repeatedly fails for no detectable reason--this according to my mini/bmw mechanic. I drive the car for approximately 15 miles and the power steering fails. I shut the car off, let it cool and restart it. It returns to normal and then again fails after a few miles. The on-board computer records the failure, but does not explain it in a way that would suggest a solution.
Backing out of parking space and upon shifting from reverse to drive and starting forward power steering went out. Very difficult to operate car due to difficulty steering.