The 2016 MINI Cooper S has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 38,411 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 10 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine. Last updated July 5, 2026.
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2016-2017 MINI Cooper Clubman, Cooper S Clubman and JCW Clubman vehicles. When the affected vehicles are braking and the turn signals are on, the inner, bumper-mounted, brake light will go out. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of…
Consequence
If the brake light does not illuminate when a turn signal is activated, other drivers may be confused, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy
MINI will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the vehicle to correct the brake lighting, free of charge. The recall began May 22, 2017. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
SEAT BELTS16V7470002016-10-1715,455 affected
Defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, MINI Hardtop 4 Door Cooper, Mini Hardtop 4 Door Cooper S, MINI Cooper Clubman, and Cooper S Clubman, 2017 Rolls-Royce Ghost, and 2016 528i vehicles. The vehicle-sensitive locking mechanism of the seat belt Emergency…
Consequence
In the event of a crash where heavy braking is applied, the Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) may activate when the occupant is more forward in the seat, possibly increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy
BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 3, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
AIR BAGS15V6280002015-10-076,073 affected
Defect
BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper two-door vehicles, 2015-2016 MINI John Cooper Works and MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper four-door vehicles and 2014-2015 BMW i3 vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the passenger frontal air bag may not deploy…
Consequence
In the event of a vehicle crash, an air bag that does not deploy properly increases the risk of injury to the front seat passenger.
Remedy
MINI and BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on November 25, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 and BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Complaints by component
ENGINE
4
1fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1
POWER TRAIN
1
1crashes
SEAT BELTS
1
STEERING
1
1fires
Total complaints10
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Front passenger side motor mount failed pretty terribly, the rubber completely slipped off the engine side mount leaving a severe engine vibration. The mount is very under engineered. Ours failed at 27,0000 miles.”
“The contact owns a 2016 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the message "left brake lamp and tailgate light malfunction" was displayed and while depressing the brake pedal the driver’s side rear brake light failed to illuminate. Additionally, the left turn signal…”
“There have been thousands upon thousands of failures of the oil cooler/oil filter housing on all bmw/mini b46/b48 2.0t engines. This problem dates back to 2014 when bmw issued a stop sale order and recall on the 2014 mini cooper with both the 1.5l i3 (b38) and 2.0l i4 (b48) engines. Since 2014,…”
“While driving home thursday night I received left tail light malfunction waring on my dash panel with the turn signal blinking extremely fast. After arriving home I checked the light and found that the tail light inoperative and the turn signals were extremely dim. The next morning I called tucson…”
“While driving home thursday night I received left tail light malfunction waring on my dash panel with the turn signal blinking extremely fast. After arriving home I checked the light and found that the tail light inoperative and the turn signals were extremely dim. The next morning I called tucson…”
“Tl* the contact owned 2016 mini cooper s. Contact stated that while his wife was driving at 40 mph, without warning an smoke appeared on the front passenger side under the hood. The contact stated his wife pulled to the side of the road and exited the vehicle before the whole vehicle was engulfed…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2016 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked on a hill of a driveway, fifteen minutes later the vehicle shifted out of park and rolled away. As a result, the vehicle crashed through the contact's garage door. There was no police report filed and…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2016 mini cooper s. While driving 35 mph, the check engine and oil warning indicators illuminated. Also, the instrument panel alerted the contact to shut off the engine. The contact stated that the oil dipstick showed that there was no oil in the engine. The vehicle was…”
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2016 MINI Cooper S as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.