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What 36 owners told NHTSA about the 2011 Mini Cooper S Hardtop

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (36)Crash / fire / injury (6)Electrical system (17)Engine (17)Airbags (3)Fuel system (3)Engine & cooling (2)Body & structure (1)Interior Lighting (1)Lights (1)Speed control (1)Transmission & drivetrain (1)

1 of 36 complaints match · Body & structure · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Dec 28, 2016Body & structureEngineFire

AFTER COMING HOME FROM A ROUTINE DRIVE. I PARKED MY CAR IN THE DRIVE WAY. ABOUT 30 MINUTES LATER I SMELT SOMETHING BURNING AND NOTICED MY HOOD OF MY CAR SMOKING. I IMMEDIATELY RAN OUTSIDE AND STARTED HOUSING OF THE BUBBLING HOOD WITH A GARDEN HOSE. I MANAGED TO POP THE HOOD AND PUT OUT THE FIRE WHICH HAD COVER MOST OF THE ENGINE AT THAT TIME.

NHTSA ODI 10937963

Working with the data? Download all 36 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 27, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2011 Mini Cooper S Hardtop verdict →