2004 Mini Cooper: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 330 complaints
330
Total Complaints
71,331mi
Median Mileage
STEERING
Top Issue
5
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

54,320 25th Percentile
71,331 Median Mileage
90,750 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STEERING
229
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
15
POWER TRAIN
12
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
10
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:PUMP
6
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
5
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
5
POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
4
ENGINE
4
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
3

Severity Assessment

5
Crashes
17
Fires
1
Injuries
1
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"I WAS DRIVING NORMAL. I WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN ON MY 2004 MINI COOPER (AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION) THE CAR MOVE A LITTLE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THE CAR STALLED. THE CAR BEHIND ME WAS HONKING AND I QUICKLY SHIFT TO N AND TRIED STARTING AND THE CAR STARTED. MY CAR HAS ONLY 1650 MILES. I CALLED MINI THE NEXT..."
"WHILE DRIVING NORMALLY A VERY VERY SMALL PEBBLE SIZE STONE HITS UNDERNEATH THE WINDSHIELD WIPER ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE. THE WINDSHIELD IMMIDEIATLY SPIDERS ALL OVER THE WINDOW. I'VE BEEN TOLD ALL THE PROBLEMS WITH THE BMW WINDSHIELDS WERE CORRECTED, BUT I'VE HEARD FROM OVER 20 FELLOW MINI OWNERS OF ..."
"THE WINDSHIELD IN THE CONSUMER'S 2004 MINI COOPER CRACKED ABOUT 4 INCHES TO THE LEFT OF THE VIN NUMBER. THE CRACK STARTED AT THE EDGE AND MOVED UP TO THE RIGHT. *NM THE DEALER STATED IT WAS A STRESS CRACK. *JB"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28