2015 Mini Cooper S problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Exterior Lighting (3) · Structure:body (2) · Fuel/Propulsion System (2)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Mini Cooper S model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (4)
Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification 2015-11-09 · campaign 15V739000 · 38 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 door vehicles manufactured February 25, 2014, to May 16, 2015, 2014-2015 MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2 door vehicles manufactured March 28, 2014, to May 9, 2015, 2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 door vehicles manufactured October 17, 2014, to June 2, 2015, and 2015 MINI Cooper S Hardtop 4 door vehicles manufactured November 24, 2014, to June 11, 2015. During a service appointment, the affected vehicles received
Risk: Inappropriate air bag activation/deactivation can increase the risk of occupant injury in the event of a vehicle crash.
Fix: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the front passenger seat cushion, free of charge. The recall began on December 28, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 .
Air Bags:frontal:passenger Side:inflator Module 2015-10-07 · campaign 15V628000 · 6,073 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper two-door vehicles, 2015-2016 MINI John Cooper Works and MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper four-door vehicles and 2014-2015 BMW i3 vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the passenger frontal air bag may not deploy properly in a low speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Risk: In the event of a vehicle crash, an air bag that does not deploy properly increases the risk of injury to the front seat passenger.
Fix: MINI and BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on November 25, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 and BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Structure:body 2015-07-17 · campaign 15V450000 · 30,456 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles and 2015 MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop 2 Door vehicles. The affected vehicles do not meet the side impact performance requirements for the rear seat passengers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 214, "Side Impact Protection."
Risk: If the side impact performance requirements are not met, rear seat passengers may be at a higher risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will install additional energy absorption material between the rear interior side panels and the exterior vehicle body, free of charge. The recall began on September 4, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525. Note: this recall supersedes 14V-815.
Power Train:automatic Transmission:control Module (Tcm/Pcm/Tecm) 2014-12-15 · campaign 14V789000 · 1,928 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door, and Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles manufactured January 6, 2014, to October 17, 2014. During service appointments, dealers may have inadvertently reprogrammed the transmission control unit with software that may allow drivers to exit the vehicle when the transmission is not in Park. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
Risk: If the driver exits the vehicle without the transmission being in Park, the vehicle could roll away as the driver and other occupants exit the vehicle or anytime thereafter. A vehicle rollaway increases the risk of injury to exiting occupants and bystanders.
Fix: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the transmission control module with the correct software, free of charge. The recall February 4, 2015. Owners can contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
Service bulletins (376)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Electrical System 2023-10-25 · M610607 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
mini electrical systems have continued to develop over the past few years. as a result, the demand on the batteries has increased. breakdowns due to an empty battery or problems in the vehicles electrical system can have various causes, most of which are not due to the battery itself. for this rea
Structure:body:roof And Pillars 2023-08-01 · M540123 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
?the panoramic roof sunblind does not close, or jams while closing.
Communication:manufacturer Telematics 2023-08-01 · M110323 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
?bmw ag has issued a delivery stop: replace charge air line.
Electrical System 2023-03-01 · M840322 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the 3g network in the us has been shut down. this means that only the 4g network will be available. in the 4g network, voice calls will be transferred via voice over lte (volte) function. for this purpose, the sim card must perform an ims registration in the mobile communication network. due to a pr
Exterior Lighting 2023-03-01 · M610223 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
the buttons on the gear selector switch (gws) do not work, or the function indicator lighting has failed.
Electrical System:12v/24v/48v Battery 2023-03-01 · M610123 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
oscillations in the electric drive can occur. as a result, the 12 v positive battery cable may rub against the battery box cover.
Showing the 6 most recent of 376 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-01-03 · Structure:body“the rear windshield fell out of the top of my convertible. there was no accident or foul play involved. the glue that bonds the window to the top became unglued. this happened at 70,000 miles. the top is made of fabric and the window is made out of glass. have to you replace the entire top to repair it. not sure why this is not a recall. it is a w…”
2025-10-09 · Fuel/Propulsion System“the fuel filling nozzle turns off repeatedly (as if already full) while filling the fuel tank. about 1/4 to 1/3 of a gallon of fuel will go in before it turns off, backs up, and the gas overflows onto the outside of the car and onto the concrete. it happens regardless of the pump being used. it started happening occasionally a few months ago if t…”
2025-07-29 · Structure:body“the back window comes unglued to the convertible top when the car is parked outside in warm weather. ive seen this in several other mini cooper roadsters within the past few weeks. this causes the car to have a hole in the convertible top and leaves the glass hanging from the sensor. to fix it you need to buy a whole new top. this has to be a desig…”
2025-01-23 · Service Brakes“while driving in the rain (light rain) front right and rear left brakes locked up. no warning lights came on, it was a very dangerous situation. the car is currently at a repair shop getting looked at, i had to have it towed there because those wheels will not turn while in neutral even. reading forums this is a common problem, very serious and dan…”
2025-01-22 · Air Bags“defect in passenger frontal airbag-the front passenger seat occupancy detection mat is not functioning correctly. this was recalled but not for my vin and needs to be part of the recall.…”
2023-10-13 · Air Bags · 80,000 mi“the contact owns a 2015 mini cooper s. the contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the front passenger’s side air bag warning light remained illuminated stating that the air bag was turned off. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the seat mat needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufact…”
2022-08-03 · Fuel System, Gasoline · 67,000 mi“the contact owns a 2015 mini cooper s. the contact stated that the vehicle previously had the fuel carbon filter replaced; however, the failure recurred while attempting to refuel the vehicle. the fuel tank dispersed the gasoline outward, spilling on the vehicle. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the fuel tank need…”
2021-04-22 · Unknown Or Other · 44,000 mi“car started leaking oil everywhere out of nowhere while both moving and stationary. two different mechanics said it was the oil filter housing and related parts. replaced housing, oil pressure sensor and the bottom screw. works again. car had under 45,000 miles at time of incident. similar problems with the oil housing have been reported for other …”
2020-12-11 · Exterior Lighting · 15,250 mi“driver side rear brake light has a short/over heats and melts connector to the brake light housing. notification prompts you that you have a brake light malfunction. the vehicle was in motion on a city street. the vehicle has 15k miles on it.…”
2020-08-15 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 53,000 mi“fuel filling nozzle shuts off repeatedly while refueling. upon gassing up, valve clicks immediately and pump shuts off like it's full no matter which gas station or pressure i exert. i saw a bulletin "si m16 01 15" which affected minis produced in 2014 but did not include my 2015 cooper s. a comment from the bulletin had a temporary solution which …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.