10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
4 / 1
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
54,129 miles

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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #53

Apr 042016

Cooper

  • 61,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 MINICooper. The contact stated that the front passenger side air bag light remained illuminated. The dealer diagnosed that the front passenger seat occupant detection malfunctioned and/or was faulty. The VIN was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 15V205000 (air bags). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 61,000.

- Moorpark, CA, USA

problem #52

Jul 212016

Cooper

  • 39,000 miles
The contact owns a 2007 MINICooper S. while driving 20 mph, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the front passenger side mat sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact was aware of NHTSA campaign number: 15V205000 (air bags). The failure mileage was 39,000.

- Makawao, HI, USA

problem #51

Apr 192016

Cooper

  • 98,000 miles
2007 MINICooper S, hatchback. The passenger airbag (off) light, indicating the passenger airbag is disarmed, is on at all times regardless of passenger. Additionally, the dashboard warning lights for my airbag system and seatbelt are illuminated at all times. The codes identified by the MINIdealership in honolulu indicate the passenger seat occupancy sensor has a fault. Looking under the seat, it could be a faulty wiring harness or faulty connecter as they appear vulnerable to seat movement forward or backwards. The MINIdealership also stated the obnoxiously expensive part was on national back-order.

- Kailua, HI, USA

problem #50

May 132016

Cooper

  • 98,150 miles
While driving on the street with my wife the "passenger air bag off" light came on and would not go off immediately. Since then it happens sporadically without any notice. I took it into the dealer and they said it was the passenger seat airbag sensor and it would cost $1300 to repair it. I know there was a recall for the 2007 Cooper S but not for the 2007 MINICooper. It seems to me the same part could be have been used in the same model year car.

- Dana Point, CA, USA

problem #49

Apr 042015

Cooper

  • 69,721 miles
The passenger seat air bag light is illuminated and cannot be reset due to a faulty occupation sensor. According to the service technician this will cause the air bag to malfunction if an accident were to occur. This is a common problem with these cars and costs over $1000 to repair and is not covered by the manufacturer.

- Mount Vernon, KY, USA

problem #48

Apr 182016

Cooper

  • miles
I was informed by my MINIservice department that the passenger side air bag sensor located under the passenger seat was malfunctioning and needed to be replaced. This exact part has been the cause of a recall for minis made the same year as mine, but my car is not included in the recall. This is obviously the same problem that generated the recall. I cannot afford to make this repair myself, and neither the MINIdealer nor MINIcorporate has been helpful in resolving this issue. I feel that my car should be included in this recall and therefore should be repaired at no cost to me. I'd like to request that my car be included in the recall officially, so that I can complete these repairs. Otherwise, I risk driving unsafely, without the function of the passenger side airbag.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #47

Oct 012015

Cooper

  • 79,000 miles
Air bag light came on after the passenger side seat was moved forward to allow entry to the rear seat. This problem is well documented by numerous other owners on the internet and BMW has recalled cars older and newer than my car and convertibles from the same year.

- Easton, PA, USA

problem #46

Feb 012016

Cooper

  • 56,000 miles
Passenger airbag warning light is illuminated and cannot be fixed. Paasenger seat weight wiring harness is defective. The replacement parts cannot be purchased (6 month backlist). This is a very dangerous defect.

- Honolulu, HI, USA

problem #45

Nov 122015

Cooper

  • 31,000 miles
I moved the passenger seat forward to let someone into the back seat. The passenger air bag sensor light started to go on and off later that day indicating that that the air bag was not on for the passenger seat. Now the light is on constantly. I saw on the internet that over 90,000 of these sensors have been recalled including the 2007 MINIconvertible, but not my hardtop. Why is my model not included in the recall? this is a little car and I am afraid to have anyone sit in the passenger seat with the airbag disengaged.

- Gainesville, FL, USA

problem #44

Nov 092015

Cooper

  • miles
2007 MINICooper with 31,000 miles. I am usually the only one in the car. On this day my husband and a friend were with me. We moved the passenger seat up to allow the third person to get in the back seat. Later in the day the light on the dash which signifies that the passenger airbag is turned off started going on and off. I thought maybe there was a loose wire under the seat, but was told by a mechanic that I needed a new airbag sensor. The part costs $1100 and was ordered two months ago. I am still waiting. The light is on all the time now. Apparently, MINIhas recalled over 90,000 cars with this same problem. The cars made in 2006 are included in the recall as well as 2007 convertibles. How many people have to report this problem for all 2007's to be included in the recall? this is an especially alarming problem because the MINIis such a small car. Luckily, we have two cars and I do not have to put anyone in the passenger seat until this is fixed.

- Gainesville, FL, USA

problem #43

Feb 022015

Cooper

  • miles
My vehicle is a 2007 MINICooper S. the yellow "passenger airbag off" light on the overhead console is always on. The airbag light and the buckle light are always on. These lights are on regardless whether there is a front passenger. The car was never in any kind of accidents and the airbags were never deployed. I bought the car used in Nov 2013 and the lights came on permanently during early 2015. As I found out recently, a faulty airbag sensor is a very serious safety issue. These days and the past year, without knowing the danger of a faulty airbag sensor, I have been driving my wife and sometime my mother around. I can not imagine involving in an accident with someone sitting on the passenger seat. I hope BMW/MINIcan address this issue asap.

- Union City, NJ, USA

problem #42

Dec 012014

Cooper

  • 0 miles
Passenger side airbag sensor is faulty. It shows airbag off and there is no way to turn it back on. I see recalls for the same issue on MINICooper S and clubman of the same year, but not the base model that I have.

- Panama City, FL, USA

problem #41

Jan 212016

Cooper

  • 23,000 miles
Passenger seat air bag light stays on most of the time. Local dealership diagnosed passenger seat sensor mat defective and must be replaced. On January 12, 2016, I prepaid the cost of the replacement part at nearly $1,400 dollars. On January 21, 2016, the dealership informed me that the part is on national back order. Estimated time of arrival is May 2016. With last year's recall of 2005 and 2006 MINICooper hardtops and 2005- 2008 convertibles for this defective safety part, I am shocked and disappointed there is a back order and such a long wait time for the replacement part to arrive.

- Makawao, HI, USA

problem #40

Jan 122016

Cooper

  • 23,000 miles
Front passenger seat air bag indicator light stayed on for long periods and sometimes went off. Yesterday BMW/MINIdealership diagnosed seat sensor mat sending fault code. Dealership would not let me have copy of diagnostic report and I asked several times to have a copy. Part must be defective. My out of pocket cost to replace defective sensor mat is $1,371 for the part which I had to prepay before dealership would order it. Labor to install and program new passenger seat sensor mat is estimated at $505. Mileage at time of failure around 22,000. Car is on an island where you cannot drive long distances. I must replace the sensor mat now, at my own expense, in order to pass state of Hawaii annual automobile safety inspection. MINICoopers manufactured in 2005 and 2006 were recalled last year for defective passenger seat sensor mats. I think the 2007 MINICoopers should also be recalled for same defect. MINICooper 2007 convertibles were recalled for defective passenger seat mat sensor. Why omit 2007 MINICooper hard tops from that recall" if my car is recalled in the future for this defect, will I be reimbursed by BMW/MINIfor my out of pocket expenses?"

- Makawao, HI, USA

problem #39

Dec 202015

Cooper

  • 60,000 miles
I have been told that my MINICooper airbag system has had a mechanical failure which has caused the car to disable the airbag system. There is currently a recall however my VIN number isn't included- I would suggest perhaps looking into where mine was produced to see if those are also affected by this recall. An airbag system shouldn't just disable itself- that definitely seems like a manufacturer defect.

- Minneapolis, MN, USA

problem #38

May 202015

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 125,000 miles
Airbag light will not go out, all these [xxx] MINIcoopers have problems with airbags, this is pretty important...MINIwants $1500 to repair a known issue...how many people need to die before MINIis forced to do the right thing and repair these [xxx] cars"???????????????" information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Black Hawk, CO, USA

problem #37

Sep 072015

Cooper

  • 97,000 miles
Air bag light turned on. Performed a fault survey and found there is 1 related fault code in the mrs control unit. Passenger seat occupancy sensor, not currently present, occurred 12 times. Need to replace the seat occupancy sensor and re program the mrs control unit. Total replacement cost: $1,164.47 called MINIheadquarters and was told there was no warranty or recall for my specific car. However, they told me that the 2005, 2006 MINICooper had a recall for the seat sensor. This is a major problem and should be recalled for the 2007 model as well.

- Tuckahoe, NY, USA

problem #36

Jun 292015

Cooper

  • 60,000 miles
Having exact same symptoms as detailed in a similar recall (NHTSA campaign number: 15V205000 -- front passenger seat occupant detection mat), in addition to having got a 93C3 fault code (seat-occupancy detector, passenger). Seems obvious that the defect is the same despite the sub-model not being the same (mine is a 2007 R56 MINIclubman, closest recalled model is 2007 R52 MINIconvertible).

- Montreal, Quebec, Canada, NY, USA

problem #35

Sep 262014

Cooper

  • 78,000 miles
Air bag light turned on. Performed a fault survey and found there is 1 related fault code in the mrs control unit. Passenger seat occupancy sensor, not currently present, occurred 12 times. Need to replace the seat occupancy sensor and re program the mrs control unit. Total replacement cost: $1,164.47 called MINIheadquarters and was told there was no warranty or recall for my specific car. However, they told me that the 2005, 2006 MINIcooper had a recall for the seat sensor. This is a major problem and should be recalled for the 2007 model as well.

- Bellevue, WA, USA

problem #34

Jan 012014

Cooper

  • 62,000 miles
Front passenger air bag detection mat became inoperable at about 60,000 miles. My car is mfg 4 months outside of the recall time frame yet this very same mfg date is well within the "convertible models" recall date. I feel the "non-convertible models" recall time frame should be re-evaluated because there are too many of us with this very same problem. When I took my car to MINIto be fixed they told me they've seen many vehicles outside of the official recall dates with this problem.

- Johnstown, CO, USA

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