Model year record

2006 MINI Cooper

1 recall campaign on file for this model year. 248 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.

Component	Complaints	Median mileage
Air bags	109	64,300 mi
Steering	54	76,204 mi
Power train	15	79,000 mi
Seats	12	64,300 mi
Electrical system	10	88,170 mi
Engine	10	72,000 mi
Engine and engine cooling	6	46,996 mi
Seat belts	5	90,000 mi
Power train: automatic transmission	3	62,000 mi
Unknown or other	3	82,000 mi
Air bags: frontal	2	40,000 mi
Vehicle speed control	2	70,000 mi
Air bags: frontal: sensor/control module	1	48,500 mi
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification	1	170,000 mi
Air bags: sensor: occupant classification: front passenger	1	170,000 mi
Engine and engine cooling: cooling system	1	—
Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system	1	47,000 mi
Engine and engine cooling: exhaust system: manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe	1	100,000 mi
Equipment	1	47,000 mi
Equipment adaptive/mobility	1	129,000 mi
Exterior lighting	1	36,363 mi
Power train: clutch assembly	1	28,000 mi
Power train: manual transmission	1	47,000 mi
Seats: front assembly: recliner	1	54,000 mi
Service brakes	1	60,000 mi
Structure: body	1	141,342 mi
Suspension	1	—
Visibility/wiper	1	45,000 mi
Wheels	1	—

The 2005 model has about half as many complaints as this one. The 2007 model has about 1.5 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.