2003 MINI COOPER — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-21 310 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (146 complaints · 47.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 26
  • Injuries 2
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2002 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution STEERING appears in 146 of 310 owner complaints (47.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 146 complaints, 47.1% of reports STEERING 146 · 47.1% · 18 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 79 complaints, 25.5% of reports POWER TRAIN 79 · 25.5% ENGINE: 20 complaints, 6.5% of reports ENGINE 20 · 6.5% · 3 fire reports VISIBILITY: 19 complaints, 6.1% of reports VISIBILITY 19 · 6.1% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 15 complaints, 4.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 · 4.8% · 1 crash reports 4 fire reports AIR BAGS: 8 complaints, 2.6% of reports AIR BAGS 8 · 2.6% · 1 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 4 complaints, 1.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 · 1.3% · 1 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 3 complaints, 1.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 3 · 1.0% · 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 3 complaints, 1.0% of reports SUSPENSION 3 · 1.0% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 107 complaints, 34.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 107 · 34.5% · 4 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
STEERING 146 47.1% 0 crashes · 18 fires
POWER TRAIN 79 25.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 20 6.5% 0 crashes · 3 fires
VISIBILITY 19 6.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 4.8% 1 crashes · 4 fires
AIR BAGS 8 2.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 4 1.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 3 1.0% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 3 1.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 107 34.5% 0 crashes · 4 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, none on file, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 2003. 2003-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 2003-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2008-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q2: 12 owner reports 12 2008-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 2008-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2009-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2009-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2010-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2010-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2010-Q4: 11 owner reports 11 2011-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 2011-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 2011-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2011-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2012-Q1: 12 owner reports 12 2012-Q2: 14 owner reports 14 2012-Q3: 9 owner reports 9 2012-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2013-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2013-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 2013-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2013-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2014-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2021-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2025-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Apr 2003 Apr 2025 Investigation DP05006 ● Investigation DP05006 Investigation PE05053 ● Investigation PE05053 Investigation PE07022 ● Investigation PE07022 Investigation EA07011 ● Investigation EA07011 Investigation EA11005 ● Investigation EA11005
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2003-Q2 Owner reports 4
2003-Q3 Owner reports 8
2003-Q4 Owner reports 6
2004-Q1 Owner reports 6
2004-Q2 Owner reports 3
2004-Q3 Owner reports 3
2004-Q4 Owner reports 3
2005-Q1 Owner reports 2
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q4 Owner reports 3
2007-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q3 Owner reports 4
2007-Q4 Owner reports 8
2008-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q2 Owner reports 12
2008-Q3 Owner reports 14
2008-Q4 Owner reports 10
2009-Q1 Owner reports 4
2009-Q2 Owner reports 4
2009-Q3 Owner reports 6
2009-Q4 Owner reports 2
2010-Q1 Owner reports 11
2010-Q2 Owner reports 4
2010-Q3 Owner reports 10
2010-Q4 Owner reports 11
2011-Q1 Owner reports 9
2011-Q2 Owner reports 16
2011-Q3 Owner reports 9
2011-Q4 Owner reports 10
2012-Q1 Owner reports 12
2012-Q2 Owner reports 14
2012-Q3 Owner reports 9
2012-Q4 Owner reports 6
2013-Q1 Owner reports 3
2013-Q2 Owner reports 7
2013-Q3 Owner reports 10
2013-Q4 Owner reports 2
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 3
2014-Q3 Owner reports 6
2014-Q4 Owner reports 4
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 4
2015-Q3 Owner reports 3
2015-Q4 Owner reports 3
2016-Q1 Owner reports 6
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 1
2019-Q3 Owner reports 2
2020-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2021-Q3 Owner reports 2
2021-Q4 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2023-Q4 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 2
2025-Q2 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 DP05006
Defect investigation 1 PE05053
Defect investigation 1 PE07022
Defect investigation 1 EA07011
Defect investigation 1 EA11005

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA records.

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 310 complaints · page 1 of 13

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources