3.1

definitely annoying
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
44,807 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.

2005 Mini Cooper S seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2005 Mini Cooper S Owner Comments

problem #15

May 012013

Cooper S

  • miles

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

Passenger airbag light has been on since 2013. Mechanics tell me that it is a weight-sensing mat on the seat. MINIrecalled 2005 MINIs but this one is not included in the recall. This is a very common problem with this year for this car.

- Carlisle, PA, USA

problem #14

Jun 302015

Cooper S

  • miles
The contact owns a 2005 MINICooper S convertible. The contact received a notification for NHTSA campaign number: 15V205000 (air bags); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure.

- Sebastopol, CA, USA

problem #13

May 012015

Cooper S

  • 80,000 miles
Notified that MINIwould recall due to faulty sensor for airbag on May 1. now 4 months later, and still no recall. MINIsays they are gathering data on the affected cars, no info on when recall and repair will actually happen.

- San Carlos, CA, USA

problem #12

Apr 202015

Cooper S

  • miles

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

On April 20, 2015, I took my 2005 MINIS convertible to MINIof fairfield county in darien, ct because the air bag light was on. I received a verbal quote of approximately $1200 to repair. Later that day I received an email from the shop foreman stating that MINIwas aware of an issue with the passenger seat sensor and that MINIwas looking into a course of action. A few days later the press reported that a recall was being done for this issue and I called again, when I was told that a letter would come from MINIwith details. Sometime between then and June 15, I received a letter (dated "June 2015") stating that a recall was going to be issued, and I should not carry passengers if the light was on (it had been on since April), and again called MINIof fairfield county, where they reiterated the info in the letter that I would have to wait for yet another letter. I called MINIcustomer care both on June 15 and August 25 to request information on the timing, and they were unable to provide any information beyond what the dealer told me. It is now August 25, and over four months that I've been unable to safely carry a passenger in this vehicle. I feel that this meets the standard noted in the recall letter "if your MINIdealer is unable to remedy the defect without charge or within a reasonable amount of time", especially when I was given a verbal quote in April to fix the issue. MINIhas also declined to provide a loaner vehicle while mine is disabled. I request that NHTSA investigate whether MINIintends to properly carry out this recall (15V-205).

- Ridgefield, CT, USA

problem #11

Mar 012012

Cooper S

  • 20,000 miles
The passenger side air bag sensor turns off even though a passenger is in the seat. This issue should be covered by the latest recall notice but MINIusa has not included my vehicle.

- Seattle, WA, USA

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problem #10

Mar 112015

Cooper S

  • 100,811 miles
The passenger detector on my passenger seat has failed. This is a known issue in MINIcoopers and bmws of this age. The fix is complete $1500 seat replacement at the dealer. BMW has already recalled the parts for all the bmws where this occurs, but not the minis.

- Sunderland, MA, USA

problem #9

Sep 012014

Cooper S 4-cyl

  • 40,000 miles

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

Passenger seat occupancy sensor/mat fails which results in the passenger seat airbag being disabled. This is dangerous because the airbag will not deploy for the passenger if there is an accident. This is a common problem that costs over $1300 to fix but MINIwill not issue a warranty claim for it. There are thousands of other vehicles that have had this same problem but MINIwill not stand behind their product. This is the exact same problem as the recall issued by BMW (NHTSA campaign 13V564000).

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #8

Sep 052014

Cooper S 4-cyl

  • 70,685 miles
Saw on the web that MINIrecalled and then extended warranty recall on an airbag malfunction. The light came on a few days ago, but I can not find any information as to the truth in that statement. Supposedly 10 years or 150,000 miles.

- Harrisburg, PA, USA

problem #7

May 012012

Cooper S 4-cyl

  • 69,000 miles
Airbag sensor light is on, indicating a problem with the passenger airbag. This is a common problem with minis and certain bmws. MINIhas voluntarily repaired the defect in some vehicles but is refusing to repair others. MINItold me to take it to a dealer, pay for a diagnostic and they'd think about a repair. I have no faith in their willingness to provide a repair since ether have refused the repair repeatedly to other consumers. This is a common safety issue, and appears to clearly be a defect rather than an expected wearing out of the vehicle.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #6

May 152013

Cooper S 4-cyl

  • 32,000 miles
I was told the following about my passenger airbag system. Basically the computer failed and I had a crack in the passenger seat sensor. This car has only 32,000 miles and was mostly driven with no one in the passenger seat. This should not have failed with such minimal use.: replace mrs module and program, encode (mrs module failure, internal short circuit) fail $774.06 replace passenger seat occupancy mat (passenger seat occupancy mat has micro crack on mat fault 0071)fail $874.55.

- Reno, NV, USA

problem #5

Oct 262012

Cooper S 4-cyl

  • 42,611 miles

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

Airbag warning lamp illuminates intermittently in dash and passenger airbag "off" illuminates above rear view mirror in my 2005 MINICooper S convertible. When some sits in the seat it comes on intermittently. When you check the connectors under the seat it goes off with wiggling. Diagnosed by MINIcooper dealership as "cracked seat occupancy sensor" inside the seat. Not repairable only replaceable. Airbag will not go off if passenger in the seat. MINIcooper has covered this for other models, but my car is not covered. Incurring me a $1600 quote for make my car safe for passengers.

- Santa Barbara, CA, USA

problem #4

Jun 152011

Cooper S

  • 38,000 miles
The contact owns a 2005 MINICooper S convertible. The contact stated that the passenger side air bag warning light illuminated at engine start up. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the dealer confirmed to the contact that the occupancy sensor failed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 38,000 and the current mileage was 41,000.

- Merrimac, MA, USA

problem #3

Jun 012009

Cooper S 4-cyl

  • 32,000 miles
Passenger seat air bag sensor malfunction. Sensor doesn't work therefore causing the passenger air bag to be disengaged. This is a none problem and well documented with this year, however, MINIdoesn't have a recall. The only recall is for after this year model.

- Aldie, VA, USA

problem #2

Aug 012011

Cooper S 4-cyl

  • 75,000 miles
Unexpectedly, the airbag malfunction light came on. I've seen other reports of this occurring on the web. I have not had this serviced yet. It is not covered by MINIs warranty.

- Cedar Park, TX, USA

problem #1

Jul 082011

Cooper S 4-cyl

  • 72,000 miles
When someone is sitting in the seat. Also, the light which indicates the passenger side airbag is off comes on when someone is sitting in the passenger seat. I used the same write-up on a previous complaint as the symptoms are accurate for my 2005 MINICooper S convertible, with approximately 72,000 miles.

- San Antonio, TX, USA

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