- Vehicles
- 91,800
- Built between
- Jan 2005 – Jul 2008
- Models
- 4
- Recall type
- Vehicle
- Initiated by
- Manufacturer
- Owners notified
- 12 October 2015
- Repaired
- 37%
- Unrepaired
- 54,129
Does this affect my vehicle?
This recall covers vehicles built between January 2005 and July 2008. If yours was built outside that window, it is not part of this recall.
- 2005-2006 Mini CooperBuilt January 2005 to November 2006
- 2005-2008 Mini Cooper ConvertibleBuilt January 2005 to July 2008
- 2005-2006 Mini Cooper SBuilt January 2005 to November 2006
- 2005-2008 Mini Cooper S ConvertibleBuilt January 2005 to July 2008
Repair progress
54,129 of 91,800 vehicles in this recall had still not been repaired as of Q1 2017.
37% repaired — 33,603 of 91,800 reported
- Owners not reachable
- 3,315
- Scrapped or exported
- 753
Manufacturers file these figures with NHTSA each quarter. Vehicles the manufacturer could not trace, or that have been scrapped or exported, are counted separately and are not included in the unrepaired figure.
What the defect is
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2005-2006 MINI Cooper and Cooper S vehicles manufactured January 5, 2005, to November 28, 2006, and 2005-2008 MINI Cooper Convertible and Cooper S Convertible vehicles manufactured January 5, 2005, to July 31, 2008. Due to manufacturing, installation, and exposure issues, the front passenger seat occupant detection mat may not function properly and, as a result, the front passenger air bag may not deploy in a crash.
What could happen
An improperly functioning mat may cause the passenger frontal air bag to be inactive when the seat is occupied, and in the event of a crash, the air bag will not deploy, increasing the passenger's risk of injury.
What gets fixed
MINI will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger seat occupant detection mat, free of charge. The recall began on October 12, 2015.
Timeline
- Vehicles builtJanuary 2005 to July 2008
- Recall reported to NHTSA6 April 2015
- Owners notified12 October 2015
- Latest repair reportQ1 2017 — 37% repaired
Your rights
A safety recall repair is free. Under US federal law the manufacturer must fix a safety defect at no cost to you — no charge for parts, labor or diagnosis — whether or not you are the original owner. A dealer cannot charge you for recall work, and cannot require you to have bought the vehicle from them.
That entitlement is not unlimited. It applies where the vehicle was first sold less than 15 years before the recall was announced — 5 years for tires. Past that a manufacturer may still do the repair free of charge, and many do, but they are no longer obliged to. This recall was reported on 6 April 2015.
To arrange the repair, contact any franchised dealer for the brand. If a dealer refuses the work or tries to charge for it, you can report that to NHTSA at nhtsa.gov/recalls or on 1-888-327-4236.
Manufacturer contact
Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
Official source
- Recalling manufacturer
- BMW of North America, LLC
- Recall initiated by
- MFR
Everything on this page — the models listed, the build dates and the repair figures — comes from the manufacturer's filing to NHTSA and describes the vehicle line as a whole, not any individual car. Only the manufacturer can confirm whether a specific vehicle is affected, and whether its recall work has already been carried out. Check yours by VIN and read the official notice at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Additional notes
Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.
Check your own vehicle
This page describes the recall, not any one car. To see which recalls cover a specific vehicle, search by make, model and year.
A VIN lookup here identifies your vehicle and shows recalls issued for that make, model and year. It cannot tell you what is still open on your individual car - only the manufacturer knows that. Search by VIN instead, or check your VIN at nhtsa.gov for whether a recall is still open on your individual car.