"How reliable is the 2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible?"

"Based on 71 NHTSA complaints, the 2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible has a median complaint mileage of 67437 miles. The most common issue is STEERING."

"What are common problems with the 2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible is STEERING, accounting for a significant portion of the 71 total complaints filed."

2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 71 complaints

Total Complaints

67,437mi

Median Mileage

STEERING

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

42,152 25th Percentile

67,437 Median Mileage

79,347 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STEERING

AIR BAGS

POWER TRAIN

STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

STRUCTURE:BODY

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION

SEATS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"2005 MINI COOPER 'S' CONVERTIBLE. THE POWER STEERING WILL OCCASIONALLY STOP WORKING WHILE DRIVING MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO STEER. IF YOU SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTART THE CAR IT RESETS AND WORKS AGAIN. IT NORMALLY HAPPENS WHEN SLOWING FOR A STOP OR MAKING A TURN, WHICH YOU DON'T NOTICE UNTIL YOU ST..."

"POWER STEERING QUIT UNEXPECTEDLY. I WAS IN A PARKING LOT, JUST STARTED THE CAR, AND HAD NO POWER STEERING. I DROVE IT A FEW MILES DOWN THE ROAD TO A GAS STATION, TURNED IT OFF, AND WHEN TURNED BACK ON AGAIN IT WORKED FINE. ORIGINALLY HAPPENED ON 2/12/11 AND HAS NOT RECURRED AS OF 2/22/11. *TR"

"I OWN A 2005 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE & NOTICED MY POWER STEERING STARTING TO MAKE NOISE ABOUT A WEEK AGO. NOW IT IS WORKING VERY INTERMITTENTLY. I HAVE NOTICED IN DOING SOME RESEARCH THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AN THEY WANT TO REPLACE MY POWER STEERING PUMP WHIC..."

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