2021 Mini COOPER

Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report

Excellent Reliability

Quick Summary

The 2021 Mini COOPER has 7 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 0.1x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is electrical problems (43% of all complaints), specifically: the night of october 24th, while i was driving my cid back screen went to black and there were messages displayed in white color. bootloader 11.035.000/ ffw 1.8.3 dec 5 2017 next line is displayed hwel:42e5 2.1.5 followed by a large white bar this display stays on even after lock the car. the m. ⚠️ 1 fire report filed.

1 fire report 1 crash report 2 injuries

Total Complaints

Recalls Issued

—/5

Safety Stars

0.1x

vs Segment Avg

Known Problems

ELECTRICAL

3 complaints

43%

• The night of October 24th, while I was driving my CID back screen went to black and there were messages displayed in white color. Bootloader 11.035.000/ FFW 1.8.3 Dec 5 2017 Next line is displayed HWEL:42E5 2.1.5 Followed by a large white bar This display stays on even after lock the car. The m
• After work, I started the car in a parking lot. Before leaving, a fire started under the hood behind the passenger side headlight. After using the jaws of life to take off the hood, the fire department contained the fire. No injuries. There was extensive damage to the right front. The contents were
• Digital instrument cluster of electric Mini SE (includes speedometer and battery/range information) turns off without warning while driving and does not turn back on until car is powered down for over half an hour. This has happened more than ten times. Vehicle was inspected by MINI dealer locally a

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500🔥 1 fire reports

“The night of October 24th, while I was driving my CID back screen went to black and there were messages displayed in white color. Bootloader 11.035.000/ FFW 1.8.3 Dec 5 2017 Next line is displayed HWEL:42E5 2.1.5 Followed by a large white bar This display stays on even after lock the car. The m”

— NHTSA complaint filing

TIRES

1 complaints

14%

• Tire model is: Hankook Ventus S1 Evo Z 225/35R18 87Y. Failure started when vehicle turned the "CHECK TIRE PRESSURE" alert on while driving. Pressure started to drop from 32 lbs to 16 lbs in about 15 minutes. Worth to note: no pot hole or any other object was hit during the day of the incident; or e

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“Tire model is: Hankook Ventus S1 Evo Z 225/35R18 87Y. Failure started when vehicle turned the "CHECK TIRE PRESSURE" alert on while driving. Pressure started to drop from 32 lbs to 16 lbs in about 15 minutes. Worth to note: no pot hole or any other object was hit during the day of the incident; or e”

— NHTSA complaint filing

AIR BAGS

1 complaints

14%

• On October 4, 2022, the Mini Cooper hardtop 4 door was hit in a head-on collision by a driver who was going at least 40 MPH, possibly more. The car that hit the Cooper was a Toyota Prius. All the Prious' airbags deployed. No airbags deployed on the Mini Cooper hardtop 4 door. None. The Mini Cooper,

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500💥 1 crashes

“On October 4, 2022, the Mini Cooper hardtop 4 door was hit in a head-on collision by a driver who was going at least 40 MPH, possibly more. The car that hit the Cooper was a Toyota Prius. All the Prious' airbags deployed. No airbags deployed on the Mini Cooper hardtop 4 door. None. The Mini Cooper, ”

— NHTSA complaint filing

STEERING

1 complaints

14%

• The car completely lost steering in traffic. I brought it back to the Mini dealership, they informed me this is a known issue for Mini Coopers equipped with the click-and-play system, and they needed to re-wire the click-and-play to fix it. However Mini decided this should not be a recall. I strongl

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“The car completely lost steering in traffic. I brought it back to the Mini dealership, they informed me this is a known issue for Mini Coopers equipped with the click-and-play system, and they needed to re-wire the click-and-play to fix it. However Mini decided this should not be a recall. I strongl”

— NHTSA complaint filing

FUEL SYSTEM

1 complaints

14%

• No incident occurred. On October 18th we received a high voltage battery recall notice for this car. Apparently there were some thermal events (fires) and BMW has released software to help protect the car from such an event. We have been trying to get in touch with MINI, and just recently found t

Typical onset: 50K miles Est. repair: $500

“No incident occurred. On October 18th we received a high voltage battery recall notice for this car. Apparently there were some thermal events (fires) and BMW has released software to help protect the car from such an event. We have been trying to get in touch with MINI, and just recently found t”

— NHTSA complaint filing

Estimated Repair Costs

ELECTRICAL(~50K mi)

$500

TIRES(~50K mi)

$500

AIR BAGS(~50K mi)

$500

STEERING(~50K mi)

$500

FUEL SYSTEM(~50K mi)

$500

Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.

🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist

Based on 7 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:

☐
ELECTRICAL: The night of October 24th, while I was driving my CID back screen went to black and there were messages displayed in white color. Bootloader 11.035.000/ FFW 1.8.3 Dec 5 2017 Next line is displayed HWEL:42E5 2.1.5 Followed by a large white bar This display stays on even after lock the car. The m
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
TIRES: Tire model is: Hankook Ventus S1 Evo Z 225/35R18 87Y. Failure started when vehicle turned the "CHECK TIRE PRESSURE" alert on while driving. Pressure started to drop from 32 lbs to 16 lbs in about 15 minutes. Worth to note: no pot hole or any other object was hit during the day of the incident; or e
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
AIR BAGS: On October 4, 2022, the Mini Cooper hardtop 4 door was hit in a head-on collision by a driver who was going at least 40 MPH, possibly more. The car that hit the Cooper was a Toyota Prius. All the Prious' airbags deployed. No airbags deployed on the Mini Cooper hardtop 4 door. None. The Mini Cooper,
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
STEERING: The car completely lost steering in traffic. I brought it back to the Mini dealership, they informed me this is a known issue for Mini Coopers equipped with the click-and-play system, and they needed to re-wire the click-and-play to fix it. However Mini decided this should not be a recall. I strongl
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
☐
General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)