2004 Mini Cooper S: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 279 complaints
279
Total Complaints
74,271mi
Median Mileage
STEERING
Top Issue
7
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

56,000 25th Percentile
74,271 Median Mileage
101,643 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STEERING
202
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
18
AIR BAGS
8
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
8
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST:PUMP
6
STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
4
VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS
3
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
3
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
3
WHEELS:LUGS/NUTS/BOLTS/STUDS
2

Severity Assessment

7
Crashes
8
Fires
4
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"04 MINI COOPER S HAD A CRACK IN WINDSHIELD OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN (PROBABLY STRESS). HAD FIXED 2 WEEKS AGO UNDER WARRANTLY. NEW CRACK HAS DEVELOPED ALREADY. IN THE PROCESS OF RESOLVING CURRENT DEFECT. *AK THESE VEHICLES HAVE A DESIGN FLAW. YOU GUYS NEED TO ADD MINI TO THE LIST OF YOUR CARS. I AM ..."
"OUR MINICOOPERS, 2004, RECEIVED A VERY SMALL CHIP. THE NEXT MORNING HALF OF OUR WINDSHIELD CRACKED FROM THIS CHIP. MY HUSBAND SPOKE WITH STEVE, A MINI REP IN HOUSTON, AND WAS TOLD THE WINDSHIELD HAD BE RECALLED DUE TO LARGE AMOUNTS OF STRESS ON THE WINDSHIELD. HE TOLD STEVE THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAS ..."
"FIRST OCCASION - WINDSHEILD CRACKED ADJACENT TO VIN # LOCATION. SEPERATED FROM VEHICLE BODY. DEALERSHIP REPLACED BUT TOOK 5 TO 6 WEEKS. EXCUSE WAS SUPPLIER CHANGED. SECOND OCCASION - ROCK CHIP ON INTERSATE. RESULT. SURFACE CHIP AND LAMINANT CRACK (1/4" TO 1/2" LONG). HAVE NOT REPLACED WINDSHI..."

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