Total Complaints
12 filings
MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE · model year
2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE
12 NHTSA complaints, and 1 active recall for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2008MINICOOPER S CONVERTIBLE carries 12 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 1 fire, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 2008 COOPER S CONVERTIBLE is seats with 3 filings, followed by air bags (3) and engine and engine cooling (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability. This model year has 1 active recall campaign, which means the manufacturer is obligated to remedy the covered defect at no charge for the life of the vehicle — the full NHTSA campaign numbers are listed below.
NHTSA currently has 9 investigation files overlapping the 2008 COOPER S CONVERTIBLE. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
12
Complaints
0
Crashes
1
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Complaints vs. fleet median (215)
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
Complaints by Component
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SEATS | 3 |
| AIR BAGS | 3 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 |
| STRUCTURE | 1 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP | 1 |
| SUSPENSION | 1 |
Recalls (1)
15V20500006/04/2015
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
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 manufacturin
Recent Complaints
20170824SEATS
WHILE TRAVELING AT OR ABOVE 65 MILES PER. HOUR, VIBRATION IN FRONT END. HAVE HAD TIRES ROTATED, BALANCES AND FRONT END CHECKED OUT. UNKNOWN AT THIS POINT AND NOW MUST KEEP UNDER 65 MPH. UNSAFE TO DRIVE AT OR ABOVE 65.
Mileage: 64,000
20170824SUSPENSION
WHILE TRAVELING AT OR ABOVE 65 MILES PER. HOUR, VIBRATION IN FRONT END. HAVE HAD TIRES ROTATED, BALANCES AND FRONT END CHECKED OUT. UNKNOWN AT THIS POINT AND NOW MUST KEEP UNDER 65 MPH. UNSAFE TO DRIVE AT OR ABOVE 65.
Mileage: 64,000
20150609SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V20500 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED ABOUT THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE ABS ENGAGED UNDER 10 MPH WHEN THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED. UPDATED 08/25/15*JB
20150609AIR BAGS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 15V20500 (AIR BAGS); HOWEVER, THE PART NEEDED TO DO THE REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED ABOUT THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. THE CONSUMER STATED THE ABS ENGAGED UNDER 10 MPH WHEN THE BRAKE WAS APPLIED. UPDATED 08/25/15*JB
20140502AIR BAGS
AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT TURNED ON WHEN DRIVING ON HIGHWAY. THE SERVICE DIAGNOSED FAULTY PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY DETECTOR AND QUOTED $1,880 TO FIX. THIS PROBLEM SEEMS COMMON FOR THIS MAKE BASED ON FORUM WEBSITES. THE CAR HAS ONLY 28K MILEAGE AND SPORT SEATS. *TR
Mileage: 27,330
20140502ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT TURNED ON WHEN DRIVING ON HIGHWAY. THE SERVICE DIAGNOSED FAULTY PASSENGER SEAT OCCUPANCY DETECTOR AND QUOTED $1,880 TO FIX. THIS PROBLEM SEEMS COMMON FOR THIS MAKE BASED ON FORUM WEBSITES. THE CAR HAS ONLY 28K MILEAGE AND SPORT SEATS. *TR
Mileage: 27,330
20130208AIR BAGS
MY PASSENGER SIDE SEAT, WHICH HAS A WEIGHT-SENSOR TO DETERMINE AIR-BAG OPERATION (ON/OFF, FULL FORCE, PARTIAL FORCE) IS FAULTY, AND WITH A 110 LB PERSON SEATED IN THERE, THE SENSOR STILL BELIEVES THE PERSON WEIGHS BELOW 25 LBS, AND AS SUCH, DISABLES THE AIRBAG. THIS IS CONCERNING TO ME AS I DRIVE WITH A PASSENGER MUCH OF THE TIME, AND MOST OF THE TIME THE AIRBAG IS DISABLED. THIS SEEMS LIKE A SAFETY-RECALL ISSUE TO ME. I HAVE ALSO DONE MUCH RESEARCH THROUGH THE VEHICLE MAKE FORUMS SCATTERED THROUGH THE INTERNET AND FOUND THAT THIS ISSUE EXISTS ON MANY OTHER VEHICLES OF THE SAME GENERATION. THANK YOU. *TR
Mileage: 30,000
20130208SEATS
MY PASSENGER SIDE SEAT, WHICH HAS A WEIGHT-SENSOR TO DETERMINE AIR-BAG OPERATION (ON/OFF, FULL FORCE, PARTIAL FORCE) IS FAULTY, AND WITH A 110 LB PERSON SEATED IN THERE, THE SENSOR STILL BELIEVES THE PERSON WEIGHS BELOW 25 LBS, AND AS SUCH, DISABLES THE AIRBAG. THIS IS CONCERNING TO ME AS I DRIVE WITH A PASSENGER MUCH OF THE TIME, AND MOST OF THE TIME THE AIRBAG IS DISABLED. THIS SEEMS LIKE A SAFETY-RECALL ISSUE TO ME. I HAVE ALSO DONE MUCH RESEARCH THROUGH THE VEHICLE MAKE FORUMS SCATTERED THROUGH THE INTERNET AND FOUND THAT THIS ISSUE EXISTS ON MANY OTHER VEHICLES OF THE SAME GENERATION. THANK YOU. *TR
Mileage: 30,000
20110128SEATS
THE SEAT HEATERS IN MY 2008 MINI COOPER S GET WAY TOO HOT. THEY HAVE TWO TEMPERATURE SETTINGS (ONE IS HOTTER THAN THE OTHER) AND EITHER ONE GETS TOO HOT AND YOU HAVE TO TURN OFF THE HEATER. IF YOU DON'T TURN IT OFF IT WILL CONTINUE TO HEAT UNTIL IT BURNS YOU. I BELIEVE THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND I AM CERTAIN THAT WITHOUT TURNING THE HEATER OFF THE PASSENGER COULD BE BURNED AND/OR THE WIRING TO THE HEATER COULD MELT OR CATCH ON FIRE. THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH BMW/MINI AND THEY HAVE ATTEMPTED TO FIX IT VIA A WIRING HARNESS INSTALLED IN-LINE WITH THE HEATER TO CONTROL THE VOLTAGE, BUT THIS FIX DIDN'T WORK ON MY CAR. THIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR A RECALL DUE TO SAFETY. *TR
Mileage: 21,000
20100826STRUCTURE
DEFECT. *TR
Mileage: 32,000
20100826UNKNOWN OR OTHER
DEFECT. *TR
Mileage: 32,000
20091007FireENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE. WHILE PARKED IN THE GARAGE OVERNIGHT, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FLAMES. THE INSURANCE COMPANY WAS IN THE PROCESS OF INVESTIGATING THE FAILURE. HE FILED A COMPLAINT WITH THE MANUFACTURER. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 9,000.
Mileage: 9,000
Compare 2008MINICOOPER S CONVERTIBLE to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints does the 2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE have?▼
The 2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE has 12 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 1 fires, 1 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
Are there any recalls for the 2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE?▼
Yes, the 2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE has 1 recall(s). The most common affected component is AIR BAGS:FRONTAL. Recalls are issued by NHTSA and manufacturers must provide a free remedy.
What are the most common problems with the 2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE?▼
The most-complained component for the 2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE is SEATS with 3 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include AIR BAGS and ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING.
Is the 2008 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE safe to buy?▼
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?▼
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.
Vehicle Safety Guides
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.