2014 Mini Cooper S: problems, recalls and reliability
4 recalls and 13 owner complaints on record; most reports concern power train.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Nov 2015
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 13 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“Passenger airbag sensor issue, I have seen this reported in other mini coopers that were recalled but my specific model was not. I want to be sure all applicable vehicles are included in the recall for the safety of myself and other mini owners. I have no airbag function right now and both my driver and passenger side airbag lights are on. My mechanic stated that I would need to replace the passenger seat sensor at the least.”Owner report · Air Bags · Dec 2020
“First gear pops out randomly, when it's beginning to move or after it started moving. It can go days without happening then it will happen multiple times in one day.”Owner report · Power Train · Nov 2020
“I was driving, making a right turn when I hit a rock on the road with my front right tire. After this, I would hear a thumping sound while turning. Then we learned that the mounting kit of the front strut cracked; the service department at our dealership mentioned that it's a common issue among my make and model of car.”Owner report · Suspension · Oct 2018
Show 4 more owner reports
“Tl* the contact owns a 2014 mini cooper s. While accelerating from a stop light, the contact's vehicle crashed into the preceding vehicle. The driver side air bag deployed. The contact blacked out due to the deployment and was not able to provide further details. A police report was filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was taken to an auto body repair shop where the body damages were repaired, but the cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 25,000.”Owner report · Air Bags · Dec 2016
“Experienced a loud rattle in the car, took it to the dealer, they replaced the rear shocks, but the rattle still has not been illuminated. I emailed the dealer and told him that replacing the shocks did not illuminate the problem, he said that mini engineering is going to work on this problem, that evidently is occurring in this year and model.”Owner report · Unknown Or Other · Jan 2016
“When accelerating with transmission in first gear from a stop it will on occasion jump out of gear causing a loss of power to the driving wheels. Car has a six speed manual transmission. *tr”Owner report · Power Train · Apr 2015
“Oil filter housing failed during commute and lost all oil. Needed to have the car towed for repair. Received the car back next day. Failed part is currently subject of recall, but my car did not fall into the scope of the recall so I never received a notice. Two days after repair for the oil filter housing, the vanos system failed. Entire vanos system needed to be replaced, took a total of 6 days for repair. *tr”Owner report · Power Train · Jan 2015
When filing, owners marked a crash in 1 of these complaints and injuries in 0 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 4 campaigns
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper two-door vehicles, 2015-2016 MINI John Cooper Works and MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper four-door vehicles and 2014-2015 BMW i3 vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the passenger frontal air bag may not deploy properly in a low speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Remedy: MINI and BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on November 25, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 and BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 door vehicles manufactured February 25, 2014, to May 16, 2015, 2014-2015 MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2 door vehicles manufactured March 28, 2014, to May 9, 2015, 2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 4 door vehicles manufactured October 17, 2014, to June 2, 2015, and 2015 MINI Cooper S Hardtop 4 door vehicles manufactured November 24, 2014, to June 11, 2015. During a service appointment, the affected vehicles received replacement front passenger seat cushions (which contain integral Capacitive Interior Sensing (CIS) functions). The CIS functions may have been incorrectly calibrated, and if so, would cause impaired occupant classification and thus inappropriate air bag activation/deactivation.
Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the front passenger seat cushion, free of charge. The recall began on December 28, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 .
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles and 2015 MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop 2 Door vehicles. The affected vehicles do not meet the side impact performance requirements for the rear seat passengers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 214, "Side Impact Protection."
Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will install additional energy absorption material between the rear interior side panels and the exterior vehicle body, free of charge. The recall began on September 4, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525. Note: this recall supersedes 14V-815.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door, and Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles manufactured January 6, 2014, to October 17, 2014. During service appointments, dealers may have inadvertently reprogrammed the transmission control unit with software that may allow drivers to exit the vehicle when the transmission is not in Park. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention."
Remedy: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the transmission control module with the correct software, free of charge. The recall February 4, 2015. Owners can contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
How other years compare
Check your exact Cooper S by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2014 Mini Cooper S reliable?
NHTSA has 13 owner complaints and 4 recall campaigns on record for the 2014 Mini Cooper S. The most complained-about area is power train.
Does the 2014 Mini Cooper S have open recalls?
4 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.