Known Recalls

Model year record

2006 MINI Cooper Convertible

1 recall campaign on file for this model year. 38 owner complaints on file.

Recalls

Recall campaignNHTSA 15V205000

Air bags: frontal

Component
Air bags: frontal
Manufacturer
BMW of North America, LLC
Vehicles affected
91,800
Reported to NHTSA
2015-04-06
Owners notified
2015-10-12

Defect description

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2005-2006 MINI Cooper and Cooper S vehicles manufactured January 5, 2005, to November 28, 2006, and 2005-2008 MINI Cooper Convertible and Cooper S Convertible vehicles manufactured January 5, 2005, to July 31, 2008. Due to manufacturing, installation, and exposure issues, the front passenger seat occupant detection mat may not function properly and, as a result, the front passenger air bag may not deploy in a crash.

Safety risk

An improperly functioning mat may cause the passenger frontal air bag to be inactive when the seat is occupied, and in the event of a crash, the air bag will not deploy, increasing the passenger's risk of injury.

Manufacturer remedy

MINI will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger seat occupant detection mat, free of charge. The recall began on October 12, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.

Owner complaints

A complaint is one person's report to a federal agency. It is not a finding.

ComponentComplaintsMedian mileage
Air bags1242,000 mi
Steering1078,000 mi
Electrical system528,000 mi
Seats543,001 mi
Power train: automatic transmission278,000 mi
Air bags: frontal140,000 mi
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification: front passenger1125,000 mi
Engine and engine cooling118,350 mi
Power train1168,367 mi

The 2005 model has about a third as many complaints as this one. The 2007 model has 5 times as many complaints as this one. These figures reflect raw complaint counts, not failure rates. Higher-selling model years naturally receive more complaints.

Safety recall repairs are provided free of charge by franchised dealers, regardless of vehicle age or mileage. This page displays aggregated data for the model year. To check recall status for a specific vehicle, search its VIN at nhtsa.gov.