Home · 2013 Mini Cooper Paceman · Complaints
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.
3 of 46 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · clear filters
Freeze plug randomly popped out while driving causing vehicle to stall in the middle of traffic almost causing a major accident and or death. Research indicates there has been numerous complaints by Mini Cooper owners experiencing the same issue of a premature unexplained failure with no action taken from Mini to mitigate this safety issue. I’m lucky to be alive.
NHTSA ODI 11574805
64,000 MILES - WINTER 2017 MY 2013 MINI COOPER PACEMAN SALL4 WAS TAKING ON WATER IN THE BOOT- DIDNT KNOW IF IT WAS FROM MELTING SNOW ETC. IN CAR. DRIED OUT. WATER CAME BACK AND FLOODED BACK SEAT FLOOR. BROUGHT TO MINI- THEY TOLD ME I HAD A TAILLIGHT SEAL LEAK WHICH CAUSED WATER TO GET DOWN INTO THE CAR WHICH FRIED A COMPUTER SYSTEM THAT CONTROLLED MY AWD AND OTHER THINGS. AWD IS NOT OPTIONAL WHERE I LIVE. MY WARRANTY HAD JUST ENDED. THE QUOTE FOR THE WORK WAS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. I CONTACTED MINI CORPORATE THEY OFFERED TO COVER 15% OF THE BILL. I DENIED THAT AND CLAIMED IT ON MY INSURANCE WHICH NOW SHOWS NEGATIVELY AGAINST MY CAR. I DIDNT EVEN KNOW A TAILLIGHT SEAL COULD LEAK? THEN TO HAVE A COMPUTER GET FRIED AS A RESULT OF IT. THIS IS A MINI DEFECT, I SHOULD NOT HAVE HAD TO PAY FOR IT. NOT TO MENTION MY CAR WAS IN THE SHOP FOR SEVERAL WEEKS OF REPAIR. THEY HAD TO COMPLETELY TAKE THE CAR APART TO DRY EVERYTHING OUT, ORDER PARTS AND REPLACE IT ALL.
NHTSA ODI 11120591
I JUST BOUGHT A BRAND NEW 2013 MINI COOPER LAST YEAR ON NOVEMBER 2012. SOMETIME DURING LAST WEEK SEPTEMBER 18, 2013, I DROVE HOME FROM WORK TURN OFF MY CAR BUT THE KEY WOULDN'T RELEASE. I HAVE TO PRESS MANY TIMES FOR IT TO RELEASE. THE NEXT DAY HEADING OUT TO WORK, START THE CAR BUT THE GEAR SHIFT GOT STUCK. IT WOULDN'T SHIFT TO REVERSE. I CALL THE DEALER TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO SEE WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE CAR. THE MINI DEALER CALLED TO NOTIFY THAT THEY WILL NEED TO STAY OVERNIGHT AS IF THEY SAID THEY ARE WAITING FOR ONE PART TO COME IN. THE NEXT DAY THE DEALER CALL ME TO ADVISED THAT COFFEE HAD LEAKED INTO THE GEAR SHIFTER AND CAUSE THE FAILURE. AND TOLD ME IT WILL CAUSE $1,500 FOR PARTS AND LABOR TO FIX IT. THEY TOLD ME THAT THE WARRANTY WON'T COVER IT, IT WILL COME OUT FROM MY POCKET. SO I TOLD THEM NOT TO DO ANYTHING, THAT I WILL COME AND PICK UP THE CAR. *JS
NHTSA ODI 10545544
Working with the data? Download all 46 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 27, 2026