What 73 owners told NHTSA about the 2012 Mini Cooper Hardtop

On Sunday, [XXX] I drove my car 34 miles to [XXX] . I parked right around 9:30am. Around 3:30pm we were getting ready to leave the track and we noticed smoke coming from my car. A friend told me to pop the hood but when I reached down to pull the release the area was in flames. Safety teams and the fire department were able to get the fire out before it got completely out of control. The car was towed to the Mini dealer in Madison, WI and the insurance adjuster said it was an electrical defect not covered by insurance. As I did more checking on things, I found that my make and model car had a recall for the same issue, only in Canada. I really don't understand how it could be recalled there, but not here (especially in WI where the road/weather conditions are basically the same as in Canada). I now have a dead car with an estimate for $30K worth of work that the insurance company, nor Mini will do anything about. I have owned the car since it was brand new and have kept it in great condition, making sure to follow the service and maintenance schedules. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ODI 11614846

The car just randomly caught on fire while off in my driveway. Noticed a weird sound outside looked out and noticed the windshield wipers were going even though the car was off and I hadn't driven it. Opened the door to bellows of smoke coming out. fire department was called and had to rip it apart to get to the fire which was under the steering wheel in the left side

NHTSA ODI 11524794

BOUGHT MINI FROM CARVANA A JANUARY 2020 AND HAVE HAD TOO MANY PROBLEMS. CAR OVERHEATED ON 48, HAD 2 NEW CYLINDERS PUT IN, 2 WEEKS LATER, DUE TO MANY NOTABLE PROBLEMS THIS CAR HAS HAD, ALL COOLANT LEAKED OUT AND WAS QUOTED BY MINI DEALERSHIP $9,000 TO FIX A PROBLEM THAT WAS CAUSED BY A RECALL NOT LISTED FOR MY YEAR

NHTSA ODI 11366813

VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY AND, AFTER GOING OVER SEVERAL POT HOLES, THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. THE ENGINE POWER WAS REDUCED, AND THE ENGINE FAILURE LIGHT ALSO APPEARED. THIS IS WHEN I PULLED OVER INTO THE OFF RAMP, AND THE VEHICLE CAME TO A SPUTTERING STOP. I PLACED THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND PUSHED IT TO THE DIRT SIDE LANE OF THE OFF RAMP. I OPENED THE HOOD, SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING, AND SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. I COULD SEE BURNT CIRCUITS, BURNT PLASTIC, AND COOLANT LEAKING ALL OVER THE ENGINE AND EXPOSED WIRING. HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR IMMEDIATELY EXITING ONTO THE OFF RAMP, THE VEHICLE WOULD HAVE STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT WARNING. I COULD HAVE ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF THE FIRE; THIS FAULTY ENGINEERING BY BMW/MINI HAS ALREADY TAKEN THE LIFE OF A DRIVER IN SOUTH KOREA. BMW ISSUED A RECALL OF THE 2012 MINI COOPER S ROADSTER, BUT WHEN I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO ONE OF THEIR SERVICE CENTERS, THE TECHNICIANS WERE UNAWARE OF THIS MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND STATED THAT THE REPAIR PARTS ARE UNAVAILABLE. I SEE THAT MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN RECALLED, BUT WHEN I TYPE IN MY VIN, NO RECALL IS ATTACHED TO MY VEHICLE. BMW/MINI IS TAKING NO ACTION; THEY ARE HARMING AND KILLING DRIVERS OF ITS VEHICLES.

NHTSA ODI 11120057

VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY AND, AFTER GOING OVER SEVERAL POT HOLES, THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. THE ENGINE POWER WAS REDUCED, AND THE ENGINE FAILURE LIGHT ALSO APPEARED. THIS IS WHEN I PULLED OVER INTO THE OFF RAMP, AND THE VEHICLE CAME TO A SPUTTERING STOP. I PLACED THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND PUSHED IT TO THE DIRT SIDE LANE OF THE OFF RAMP. I OPENED THE HOOD, SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING, AND SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. I COULD SEE BURNT CIRCUITS, BURNT PLASTIC, AND COOLANT LEAKING ALL OVER THE ENGINE AND EXPOSED WIRING. HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR IMMEDIATELY EXITING ONTO THE OFF RAMP, THE VEHICLE WOULD HAVE STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT WARNING. I COULD HAVE ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF THE FIRE; THIS FAULTY ENGINEERING BY BMW/MINI HAS ALREADY TAKEN THE LIFE OF A DRIVER IN SOUTH KOREA. BMW ISSUED A RECALL OF THE 2012 MINI COOPER S ROADSTER IN SOUTH KOREA, BUT WHEN I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO ONE OF THEIR SERVICE CENTERS, THE TECHNICIANS WERE UNAWARE OF THIS MANUFACTURING DEFECT AND STATED THAT THE REPAIR PARTS ARE UNAVAILABLE. I SEE THAT MY VEHICLE HAS BEEN RECALLED, BUT WHEN I TYPE IN MY VIN, NO RECALL IS ATTACHED TO MY VEHICLE. BMW/MINI IS TAKING NO ACTION; THEY ARE HARMING AND KILLING DRIVERS OF ITS VEHICLES.

NHTSA ODI 11120060

VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION ON A HIGHWAY AND AFTER GOING OVER SEVERAL POT HOLES THE ENGINE TEMPERATURE WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. THE ENGINE POWER WAS REDUCED AND AN ENGINE FAILURE LIGHT ALSO APPEARED. THIS IS WHEN I PULLED OVER INTO THE OFF RAMP AND THE VEHICLE CAME TO A SPUTTERING STOP. I PLACED THE CAR IN NEUTRAL AND PUSHED IT TO THE DIRT SIDE LANE OF THE OFF RAMP. I OPENED THE HOOD, SMELLED SOMETHING BURNING, AND SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. I COULD SEE BURNT CIRCUITS, BURNT PLASTIC, AND COOLANT LEAKING ALL OVER THE ENGINE AND EXPOSED WIRING. HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR IMMEDIATELY EXITING ONTO THE OFF-RAMP, THE VEHICLE WOULD HAVE STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY WITHOUT WARNING.

NHTSA ODI 11119998