2017 Mini Cooper problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (5) · Exterior Lighting (4) · Engine (3)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Mini Cooper model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Exterior Lighting:brake Lights 2017-03-31 · campaign 17V222000 · 16,883 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2016-2017 MINI Cooper Clubman, Cooper S Clubman and JCW Clubman vehicles. When the affected vehicles are braking and the turn signals are on, the inner, bumper-mounted, brake light will go out. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: If the brake light does not illuminate when a turn signal is activated, other drivers may be confused, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the vehicle to correct the brake lighting, free of charge. The recall began May 22, 2017. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
Air Bags 2016-12-20 · campaign 16V914000 · 3,506 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2017 BMW 640i, 640i xDrive, 650i, 650i xDrive, M6, 535i, 535i xDrive, 430i, 430i xDrive, 440i, 440i xDrive, M4, X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, i3, i8, Rolls-Royce Dawn, Mini Clubman Cooper, Clubman Cooper S, Cooper All4, Cooper S All4, Mini 4-Door Cooper, Cooper S, Mini 2-Door Cooper, Cooper S, John Cooper Works and 2016 BMW 528i, 528i xDrive, 535i, 535i xDrive, 550i, 550i xDrive, M5 and 535d vehicles. The affected vehicles have seat-
Risk: If the air bag inflator initiator fails to ignite, the seat-mounted air bag will not deploy, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag modules, free of charge. The recall began February 6, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Seat Belts:front:retractor 2016-10-17 · campaign 16V747000 · 15,455 vehicles
Defect: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, MINI Hardtop 4 Door Cooper, Mini Hardtop 4 Door Cooper S, MINI Cooper Clubman, and Cooper S Clubman, 2017 Rolls-Royce Ghost, and 2016 528i vehicles. The vehicle-sensitive locking mechanism of the seat belt Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) for the driver's seat may not lock as designed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F
Risk: In the event of a crash where heavy braking is applied, the Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) may activate when the occupant is more forward in the seat, possibly increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 3, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Service bulletins (273)
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 2026-02-05 · InVeh-InApp-Comm · Over The Air
it was determined that the integrated supply module is not strong enough over the service life of the vehicle which may cause the engine to not start. the integrated supply module needs to be replaced.
Power Train 2025-07-30 · M010424 · Warranty Program/Extension
the automatic transmission limited warranty for the vehicle selector lever magnetic shift interlock mechanism (gearshift lug assembly portion) has been extended to 10 years/120,000 miles, as determined by the vehicle’s original in-service date, when a gearshift lug repair kit installation procedure
Fuel/Propulsion System 2024-10-07 · M010224 · Service Campaign
evap purge (vent) valve ltd wty ext (elw) 10 years/120,000 miles
Power Train 2024-08-12 · M010424 · Warranty Program/Extension
for the eligible vehicles listed above, the limited warranty for the vehicle’s selector lever magnetic shift interlock mechanism (gearshift lug assembly portion) has been extended to: 10 years/120,000 miles as determined by the vehicle’s original in-service date, when a gearshift lug repair kit (ite
Power Train 2024-07-09 · M010424 · Warranty Program/Extension
for this vehicle, the automatic transmission limited warranty for the vehicle selector lever magnetic shift interlock mechanism (gearshift lug assembly portion) has been extended to 10 years/120,000 miles, as determined by the vehicle’s original in-service date, when a gearshift lug repair kit insta
Suspension 2024-03-04 · M310424 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
during inspection and/or diagnosis there is noticeable dirt/grease buildup on the axles near the inner and/or outer cv boots.
Showing the 6 most recent of 273 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-05-29 · Power Train“my vehicle has active vanos failure codes (131401 and 130304). these codes are preventing my car from passing the new york state safety and emissions inspection, rendering it legally unable to be used on the road. bmw/mini corporate is refusing to honor their national extended component warranty bulletin because they are conditioning the repair on…”
2025-07-30 · Engine“the motor mounts have been replaced twice in the last six years and per the dealer, this is normal which i find very hard to believe on a 2017 mini coop of convertible, with 90,000…”
2025-07-09 · Electrical System · 55,000 mi“the contact owns a 2017 mini cooper. the contact stated when the vehicle was started, the vertical aim headlights malfunctioned. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was confirmed that rodents had chewed through the insulation around and the electrical wires. the contact was informed that the insulation was made of soy, which attracted the …”
2025-04-03 · Engine“my 2017 mini coupe has 70,000 miles on it. i’ve had it 11 months… i was in a drive-through and it started making a hard knock sound no engine light or any other lights came on the vehicle. i had it towed to a shop where they informed me my engine was blown and it would cost $16,000 to replace the engine. my oil level was perfect. i reached out to c…”
2025-03-10 · Unknown Or Other“there is a leak which affected the control unit fuel pump. the leak is ongoing throughout many of these cars yet there has not been a recall to fix it. more than $3k in damages. it's something a modern car should not be facing.…”
2024-08-21 · Power Train“2017 mini cooper - selector lever magnetic shift interlock mechanism…”
2023-10-30 · Air Bags · 💥 crash“driver left the roadway to the outside of a curve to the left, sideswiping a telephone pole and spinning at least one time back onto and off the roadway again before coming to rest. impact to the passenger front wheel, and entire passenger side, without impacting front or rear end of the vehicle. c pillars deployed, as well as seatbelt pretensioner…”
2023-10-09 · Tires“driver side front tire collapsed on side wall while driving. 4 days later the passenger side tire also collapsed while driving almost causing accident. tires are relatively new installed in may 2022 and have only 14,500 miles of use. losing two (2) tires the same week for sidewall failure is very very odd and pissible indicator of tire defect b…”
2023-06-12 · Back Over Prevention · 35,000 mi“the contact owns a 2017 mini cooper. the contact stated that while operating the vehicle a round quarter sized image was displayed in the in the center of the customer display screen and while the backup camera was activated the image caused a visibility hazard to the driver. the cause of the failure was not yet determined. the local dealer and man…”
2023-04-13 · Service Brakes“1. (lighting) the front lights of the car kept turning off and on. we would always go to the repair shop every time the lights began to malfunction. (engine) the oil was sticky which was not normal and the water entered inside. (brakes) when you turned on the car, noises came from the brakes which were concerning and risky to drive in. 2. this car …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.