Vehicle Data Hub

2015 MINI Cooper problems

NHTSA has received 76 complaints about the 2015 MINI Cooper, and 20% of them involve engine. Next are fuel system (14%) and drivetrain & axles (13%).

At a glance

Complaints
76 filed with NHTSA
Most reported
Engine 20% of complaints
Crashes and fires
10 and 0
Injuries and deaths
3 and 0
Typical mileage
15,000 miles 40 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%.

  • Engine 20%
  • Fuel system 14%
  • Drivetrain & axles 13%
  • Electrical system 13%
  • Brakes 12%
  • Wipers, windshield & visibility 5%
  • Suspension 4%
  • Cruise control 3%
  • Steering 3%
  • Air bags 1%

When problems show up

Complaints by mileage, 2015 MINI Cooper Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 15,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 23 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 8 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 3 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 5 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 0 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 0 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 0 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 1 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 0 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 0 complaints 200k+ miles: 0 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 15,000 miles
Based on 40 complaints that include mileage. 85% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles23
20k to 40k miles8
40k to 60k miles3
60k to 80k miles5
80k to 100k miles0
100k to 120k miles0
120k to 140k miles0
140k to 160k miles1
160k to 180k miles0
180k to 200k miles0
200k+ miles0

What the data shows

Of the 40 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 14,000 miles. For engine specifically, the median reported mileage is about 44,000 miles (12 complaints with mileage).

Safety-related details: 10 complaints mention a crash; 3 injuries reported.

Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2015 ranks 8th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the MINI Cooper with enough data (42 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 6 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 2015 mini cooper 4 door hardtop was parked in my garage. I started it but had not put it into gear yet. I opened the door and got out (car didn't budge) and as I walked back towards the rear, the car lurched out of park and reversed which caused it to pin me in between the car and the garage beam as it continued to roll quickly backwards as if someone was accelerating. When contacting mini, they had one of their inspectors come (no documentation provided to me).

Reported at 800 miles, August 2015 CrashInjury

I made a right turn from the main street, into the parking lot of a strip mall, then an immediate left turn, and another right turn into the right angle parking slot. All the while having my foot on the brakes, I started to shift into park, when it was in the right spot. The mini instead coming to a stop, revved up, jumped the curb and hit the store in the front. The air bags deployed. I had my foot on the brakes really hard, all the time but the brake pedals were locked up. It would not move up or down.

Reported at 4,000 miles, November 2016 Crash

The contact owns a 2015 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the rear convertible glass suddenly separated from the convertible compartment and fell on the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or local dealer. The contact stated that while searching online, he became aware that the failure had been a very well-known failure since 2017 with similar vehicles.

Reported at 62,000 miles, June 2024

Other model years of the Cooper

Best and worst years for the MINI Cooper