10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 6
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
32,397 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2012 Mini Cooper engine problems

engine problem

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2012 Mini Cooper Owner Comments

problem #20

Mar 272023

Cooper

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Nothing has failed yet, however, the oil stick is completely illegible. On a car that fails to have an electronic dipstick and likes to burn oil, as well as has a very small oil capacity (Around 5 liters or less) this design is going to cause the engine to run out of oil without the driver knowing. It is a seriously bad design, especially combined with BMW recommending a 10,000 mile oil change, the car will burn off all the oil it has and operator will have no idea due to the faulty design of the dipstick. I generally like BMWS engineering and designs, but this one is just atrocious and I have no idea how it got approved. Running a car out of oil usually causes the engine seize unless you shut it off at the right time, which, most people will not do. Imagine if your engine seizes on the highway" No it hasn't been inspected, I can send pictures of it, if you want? Or a video" I have not had this problem yet (knock on wood) but I have read the only warning sign, is the sound of an engine without oil and the oil pressure light comes on (which at that point you have maybe 3s to pull over and shut off the engine before it toasts the engine) I have also read about the engines consuming the entire oil capacity if you follow the BMW recommended schedule. It all just seems like a huge oversight for a company that usually has few issues.

- Rochester, MN, USA

problem #19

Jul 012021

Cooper

  • miles
This car was maintained, by Mini and BMW authorized mechanics and only had OEM parts installed and followed management of vehicle as directed by manufacturer, throughout its history. It was always driven and kept in moderate weather conditions, no extreme heat, cold, wet, or speeds. Used almost daily for 30-60 minute commutes. Just after 100K miles, total engine failure was suddenly experienced on the freeway, due to combustion in two valves, damaging two cylinders and sudden leaking of the exhaust system under the hood. The manufacturer, BWM, has been shown evidence of malfunctioning of the four cylinder engine and will not show evidence of their grounds for why they will not take responsibility.

- Los Altos Hills, CA, USA

problem #18

Aug 252020

Cooper

  • miles
Bought MINIfrom carvana a January 2020 and have had too many problems. Car overheated on 48, had 2 new cylinders put in, 2 weeks later, due to many notable problems this car has had, all coolant leaked out and was quoted by MINIdealership $9,000 to fix a problem that was caused by a recall not listed for my year

- Elizabeth, PA, USA

problem #17

Nov 062019

Cooper

  • 70,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The car stalled while driving on freeway once and high pressure fuel pump was replaced by MINIcooper and again second time on inner roads driving at 20 miles an hour....without any warning

- Santa Clara, CA, USA

problem #16

Dec 232019

Cooper

  • miles
My mother who owns this 2012 MINICooper has suddenly now started having issues with her water pump leaking. I took it to the dealership and was treated with this rude employee by christopher guzman whom had a very unprofessional and no empathy. Very short with responses and sarcasm.keep in mind my mother is elderly and knows nothing about cars. So I log into to your site and see there is a recall on water pumps but my mother's is not one of them. And guess what her warranty just expired March 2019. Go figure. So if something would have happened to my mother because of defective water pump. And how funny how my moms car was not a recall. I would qualify for that action lawsuit. How does a 2012 water pump just give up with very low mileage 24 000 I would like to escalate this further and an explanation how this could have happened!! look at the milage!

- El Paso, TX, USA

problem #15

Dec 122018

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 53,000 miles
While driving for about 30 minutes on the highway, my MINICooper shut off completely, I was able to pull onto the shoulder and that is when smoke started coming from the engine, within 6 minutes my whole engine was engulfed in flames, car totaled. Insurence inspectors couldn't figure out a cause. One of the fire fighters said it looks like it started near the water pump. There are recalls on other models for this problem, but not mine. My MINIhasn't been worked on since last year when I got new tires, I also keep up with every oil change.

- Shrewsbury, PA, USA

problem #14

Aug 132018

Cooper

  • 56,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Vehicle was in motion on a highway and, after going over several pot holes, the engine temperature warning light came on. The engine power was reduced, and the engine failure light also appeared. This is when I pulled over into the off ramp, and the vehicle came to a sputtering stop. I placed the car in neutral and pushed it to the dirt side lane of the off ramp. I opened the hood, smelled something burning, and saw smoke coming from the engine. I could see burnt circuits, burnt plastic, and coolant leaking all over the engine and exposed wiring. Had it not been for immediately exiting onto the off ramp, the vehicle would have stopped in the middle of the highway without warning. I could have almost died because of the fire; this faulty engineering by BMW/MINIhas already taken the life of a driver in South Korea. BMW issued a recall of the 2012 MINICooper S roadster in South Korea, but when I had the car towed to one of their service centers, the technicians were unaware of this manufacturing defect and stated that the repair parts are unavailable. I see that my vehicle has been recalled, but when I type in my VIN, no recall is attached to my vehicle. BMW/MINIis taking no action; they are harming and killing drivers of its vehicles.

- Upland, CA, USA

problem #13

Aug 132018

Cooper

  • 56,000 miles
Vehicle was in motion on a highway and, after going over several pot holes, the engine temperature warning light came on. The engine power was reduced, and the engine failure light also appeared. This is when I pulled over into the off ramp, and the vehicle came to a sputtering stop. I placed the car in neutral and pushed it to the dirt side lane of the off ramp. I opened the hood, smelled something burning, and saw smoke coming from the engine. I could see burnt circuits, burnt plastic, and coolant leaking all over the engine and exposed wiring. Had it not been for immediately exiting onto the off ramp, the vehicle would have stopped in the middle of the highway without warning. I could have almost died because of the fire; this faulty engineering by BMW/MINIhas already taken the life of a driver in South Korea. BMW issued a recall of the 2012 MINICooper S roadster, but when I had the car towed to one of their service centers, the technicians were unaware of this manufacturing defect and stated that the repair parts are unavailable. I see that my vehicle has been recalled, but when I type in my VIN, no recall is attached to my vehicle. BMW/MINIis taking no action; they are harming and killing drivers of its vehicles.

- Upland, CA, USA

problem #12

Aug 132018

Cooper

  • 56,000 miles
Vehicle was in motion on a highway and after going over several pot holes the engine temperature warning light came on. The engine power was reduced and an engine failure light also appeared. This is when I pulled over into the off ramp and the vehicle came to a sputtering stop. I placed the car in neutral and pushed it to the dirt side lane of the off ramp. I opened the hood, smelled something burning, and saw smoke coming from the engine. I could see burnt circuits, burnt plastic, and coolant leaking all over the engine and exposed wiring. Had it not been for immediately exiting onto the off-ramp, the vehicle would have stopped in the middle of the highway without warning.

- Upland, CA, USA

problem #11

Oct 302017

Cooper

  • miles
Temperature sensor in radiator hose leaking. Needs upper radiator hose, and thermostat with harness to correct. Discovered during a routine oil brakes etc inspection by the dealership. I was told there was a change in the harness and the new one has a "computer" and would cost $1450 to fix. This is an upper hose and I looked online and found the replacement harness has tow separate connectors, one for coolant temp sensor and the other for the coolant thermostat. I hd checked my fluids two days before on a cold engine and they were fine and water overflow was at the proper level. I checked my coolant overflow tank the day after visiting the dealership on a cold engine and the overflow tank was low... I added water... it has not gone down for several days. I have heard there is corrosion that happens and the thermostat may not employ and you can have an overheated engine.

- Santa Cruz, CA, USA

problem #10

Sep 022017

Cooper

  • 105,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

These 2012 MINICooper clubman are having the timing guides brake and sometimes ruin the engine. In my case I think I caught it on time, I called MINIhere locally and my warranty runs out this September 2017 or 100,000. But my car just hit 105,000, this is an issue that MINIhave had for quite a few years and I saw a recall up to 2011 but haven't seen anything for 2012 MINIclubman. It's hard to believe that BMW/MINIwent with plastic guides instead of some other material that could withstood more beating, specially for this area. Thank you for any help, because I'm having to fork out any wheres between $1500'to $3000!to get this fixed. I was driving when I heard the noise and now it sits in my driveway.

- Cleveland, TN, USA

problem #9

Aug 052016

Cooper

  • 20,670 miles
Check engine light-- coolent thermostat sticking per alldata shows thermostat housing w/thermostat, sensor etc, shows recall for these parts updated.

- Sarasota, FL, USA

problem #8

Jul 142016

Cooper

  • 45,500 miles
Water pump failure. Began to notice small amount of liquid under car in April 2016, thought it was condensation from A/C. leak worsened and called MINIin June 2016 to check it out. Water pump failure on vehicle with 45,500 miles. Class action lawsuit settlement agreed in California in March waiting on final approval of terms due in November 2016. BMW knows this is a defective part. Water pump failure from defective part could have catastrophic effects if automobile is in motion at any speed.

- Round Rock, TX, USA

problem #7

Jun 212016

Cooper

  • 24,239 miles
Driving 45 mph on busy city four-lane road, I braked gradually in approach to red light, which is my normal braking style. Car did not come to a complete stop--brakes only worked to a point but did not completely stop car; simultaneously engine revved to very high RPM. I threw transmission into park and turned off ignition lest my car Ram car ahead of me. Very frightening. At previous two lights I had noticed that brakes were acting funny, not bringing car to a complete stop but I had left plenty of braking distance and was able to let car roll to a stop, in spite of brakes not effecting a complete stop. At those two lights the runaway engine (high RPM) did not occur or I would have pulled over right then. However, engine revving to high RPM has also occurred occasionally when pulling into garage but I had not given this a lot of thought because I have quickly turned off ignition. Now I know it's very dangerous situation. Of course I am not driving it but am having it towed to dealer for repair. The car has been serviced regularly at dealer and has 24,239 miles on it. There has never been a necessity for repairs on this MINICooper clubman.

- Walnut Creek, CA, USA

problem #6

Apr 042016

Cooper

  • 10,800 miles
The contact owns a 2012 MINICooper. While the vehicle was undergoing an oil change, the technician diagnosed that there was a leakage on the oil control valve. As a result, the technician stated that the oil control valve needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 10,800.

- Jacksonville, FL, USA

problem #5

Mar 282016

Cooper

  • 0 miles
Engine rattling noise (timing chain and tensioner) at all times, vehicle has only 50,000 miles

- Canovanas, PR, USA

problem #4

Nov 152015

Cooper

  • 55,000 miles
The contact owns a 2012 MINICooper. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 mph, the engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the turbo charger and the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,000. The VIN was not available.

- Fairburn, GA, USA

problem #3

Jul 142015

Cooper

  • 66,000 miles
The contact owned a 2012 MINICooper. While driving approximately 20 mph, the contact crashed into the preceding vehicle after it stopped without warning. The vehicle was merged into a parking lot, where the contact noticed some minor damage to the front of the vehicle and smoke appeared under the hood as a fire started. The fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was destroyed. There were no injuries. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 66,000. The VIN was not available.

- Tampa, FL, USA

problem #2

May 202014

Cooper

  • 20,705 miles
Check engine light came on. Cause: Heating fault code in diagnosis(thermostat activation). Thermostat, housing, and adapter replaced. Removed and replaced coolant, checked cooling system for leaks. 06/17/2015 check engine light has come on again, and after taking to dealership it appears to be the thermostat again.

- Webster, TX, USA

problem #1

Oct 142013

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 9,030 miles
Purchased a certified pre-owned MINInext 2012 clubman 6-speed with 6,498 miles on it 08/2013. * 10/14/2013 around 9K miles lost power on the highway and went into limp mode, maneuvered to side of highway and called roadside assistance. Towed car in to dealer who replaced 4 spark plugs said all was ok. * 10/17/2013 I pick the car up, get 3 miles from dealer on interstate and the car does it again so I maneuvered off the closest exit and called roadside assistance. Towed back into dealer and they kept car until 26th. They said the dme was bad and replaced it and 4 fuel injectors. * 10/30/2013 car did it again and I drove home in limp mode, car was shaking and sounded like a 1970 VW beetle, nearly died at every idle, rough, acceleration and I called roadside assistance and they had car towed from my driveway back to dealer./5/2013 dealer still has car.

- Alto, GA, USA

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