There are 15 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2002 MINI Cooperin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION HESITATED IN A JERKING MOTION AND BEGAN TO DOWN-SHIFT INTO ANOTHER GEAR CONTINUOUSLY. IN ADDITION, THE ENGINE WARNING INDICATOR AND EP CODE ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER, WHO STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED DUE TO INTERNAL DAMAGE. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 56,416.
ON 13 JUNE 2011 A POWER STEERING FAN SHORTED ON MY DAUHTERS 2002 MINI COOPER S CAUSING THE RADIATOR FAN TO STOP. THIS CAUSED THE CAR TO OVERHEAT. ON 14 JUNE 2011 CAR WAS REPAIRED BY A MINI COOPER DEALER AFTER BEING TOWED. PARTS REPLACED ARE FAN HOUSING WITH FAN, FAN WITH PROTECTING GRILLE, WIRING SET FOR POWER SUPPLY, CABLE STRAP. POWER STEERING FAN SEIZED CAUSING COOLING FANS NOT TO WORK. DEALER REPLACED WIRING HARNESS (UPDATED) TO KEEP POWER STEERING FAN AND COOLING FANS SEPERATE (AS TOLD BY SERVICE REP). OLD PARTS WHERE NOT KEPT. THIS HAPPENED ONCE. *TT
I DROVE MY 2002 MINI COOPER APPROXIMATELY 6 MILES TO DROP OFF A FRIEND WHO WAS VISITING FROM OUT OF TOWN. I WAS HELPING MY FRIEND REMOVE HIS SUITCASE AND STANDING TO THE PASSENGER SIDE REAR OF THE CAR WHEN MY LEG MADE CONTACT WITH THE TAILPIPE CAUSING ABOUT A 2 INCH CRESCENT SHAPED BURN. THE TAILPIPE WAS HOT ENOUGH THAT MY SKIN STUCK TO THE PIPE - IT IS A PRETTY NASTY SECOND DEGREE BURN. *TR
WHEN ACCELERATING OUT OF A TOLL BOOTH, THE ENGINE LOST ALL POWER JUST AS I CHANGED LANES IN FRONT OF LARGE TRUCK. FORTUNATELY, THERE WAS A PULL-OUT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD. IF I HAD NOT BEEN ABLE TO QUICKLY PULL OVER, THE TRUCK WOULD HAVE LIKELY COLLIDED WITH MY CAR. TURNING OF THE ENGINE AND RESTARTING IT TEMPORARILY CLEARED THE PROBLEM. IT WOULD REOCCUR WHENEVER I USED FULL THROTTLE AND THE ENGINE HIT 5000 RPM. THE PROBLEM TURNED OUT TO BY A STICKY SUPER-CHARGER BYPASS VALVE. IT IS A WELL KNOWN PROBLEM, SO MUCH SO THAT THE DEALER ALWAYS HAVE THE PARTS IN STOCK. LOOSING ALL ENGINE POWER IS POTENTIALLY VERY DANGEROUS - BMW SHOULD FIX THIS. *TR
2002 MINI COOPER WITH <55,000 MILES (SAME OWNER) THE SHIFT CABLE DETACHED FROM THE TRANSMISSION SHIFT LINKAGE WHILE I ATTEMPTED TO CHANGE GEARS. GEAR CHANGES ARE NO LONGER POSSIBLE AND THE TRANSMISSION REMAINS IN THE LAST GEAR SELECTED! PRIOR TO THIS -BUT WITHIN THE LAST 6 MONTHS, ALL THE WINDOW MOTORS DIED SIMULTANEOUSLY, THE FAN BELT WOULD NOT SHUT OFF, THE ENGINE CONTINUALLY OVERHEATED (DESPITE REPEATED SERVICE BY BMW), THE HORN FUSE WOULD NOT SHUT OFF (UNTIL IT BLEW), AND THE TRANSMITION IS SLOWLY DYING. 1) THE FAN BELT WOULD NOT TURN OFF -CONTINUOUSLY, DRAINING THE BATTERY. 2) TIMING BELT WAS REPLACED 3) THE TRANSMISSION IS GOING 4) THE POWER WINDOWS *TR
I HAVE A 2002 MINI COOPER S. THE CAR?S ENGINE COOLING SYSTEM HAS ONGOING ISSUES, PARTICULARLY THE COOLANT EXPANSION TANK. I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE COOLANT EXPANSION TANK THREE TIMES WITHIN APPROXIMATELY 50,000 MILES. THIS MEANS MY CAR IS NOW ON ITS FOURTH COOLANT EXPANSION TANK. HERE IS A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE COOLANT EXPANSION TANKS THAT MY CAR HAS HAD: DATE TANK INSTALLEDDATE TANK FAILED/REPLACEDCAR MILEAGE WHEN REPLACED WHEN CAR WAS BUILTJUNE 19, 200414,130 JUNE 19, 2004OCTOBER 23, 200417,528 OCTOBER 23, 2004OCTOBER 24, 200750,143 OCTOBER 24, 2007NOT YETNOT YET THE RADIATOR ALSO FAILED AT 50,143 MILES, WHICH IS AN EVENT I AM ALSO NOT PLEASED WITH. ADDITIONALLY, IT NOW APPEARS--AS OF SEPTEMBER 2008--THAT I MAY HAVE ANOTHER COOLING SYSTEM ISSUE. I WILL BE CALLING MY MECHANIC SOON TO CHECK INTO IT. ALL OF THESE FAILURES OF THE COOLANT EXPANSION TANK TOOK UP SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNTS OF MY TIME IN TAKING MY CAR TO THE REPAIR SHOP AND THEN GOING TO RETRIEVE IT AFTER THE REPAIR. AND IN ONE CASE LEFT ME STRANDED ON THE SIDE OF A VERY BUSY CALIFORNIA FREEWAY AT RUSH HOUR. ADDITIONALLY, I FEAR THAT THE MULTIPLE FAILURES OF THE EXPANSION TANK HAVE STRESSED THE OTHER PARTS OF THE ENGINE'S COOLING SYSTEM (AS EVIDENCED BY THE RADIATOR FAILURE AND THE NEED TO REPLACE ANOTHER COOLANT PART). THE LOCAL MINI COOPER DEALER REPLACED THE FIRST TWO EXPANSION TANKS UNDER WARRANTY AND DECLINED TO REPLACE THE THIRD EXPANSION TANK. AFTER I COMPLAINED--AND AFTER SIX MONTHS OF FOLLOW-UP CALLS AND LETTERS--THEY FINALLY REIMBURSED ME FOR THE COST OF THE THIRD EXPANSION TANK. IN ALL INSTANCES, MINI DECLINED TO LET ME KEEP THE OLD PART--EVEN THOUGH I ASKED EACH TIME. *TR
WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM WORK IN THE 2002 MINI COOPER THE CAR HAD ABOUT 70,000 MILLES ON IT AND I NOTICED THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE GOING UP, AND ASSUMED MY CAR WAS JUST OVERHEATING. I PULLED INTO A SERVICE STATION AND PUT SOME WATER IN THE COOLANT RESERVOIRAND THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE RETURNED TO NORMAL, SO I CONTINUED TO DRIVE. AFTER ABOUT 10 MINUTES I NOTICED THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE INCREASED AGAIN. I PULLED OFF THE HIGHWAY AND INTO A PARKING LOT. WHEN I OPENED THE HOOD, I SAW FLAMES. BY THE TIME THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AT THE SCENE TH E CAR WAS TOO FAR GONE TO SAVE. I CONTACTED MINI REGARDING THIS ISSUE. THEY ASKED FOR MY VIN, APPROXIMATE MILEAGE, AND CONTACT INFORMATION. I SENT THEM THIS INFORMATION, BUT HAVE NOT HEARD BACK FROM THEM. *AK
DT: CALLER BURNED VERY BADLY HER LEG BECAUSE THE TAIL PIPE STUCK OUT TOO FAR. TAIL PIPE DID NOT HAVE A GUARD OVER IT. THEY WERE LOCATED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE VEHICLE IN THE BACK INSTEAD ON THE SIDE OF THE BACK. DEALER SAID TO CALL MANUFACTURER, AND THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT VERY NICE . MANUFACTURER SAID THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE. CALLER SHOWED A REPRESENTATIVE THE PROBLEM AND HE WANTED HER TO TELL THEM HOW TO FIX IT. THEY TOLD CALLER TO LEAVE GROCERIES IN THE VEHICLE UNTIL IT COOLED OFF.*AK
THE EXHAUST PIPE ON THE 2002 MINI COOPER S I HAVE IS CENTRALLY LOCATED IN THE BACK OF THE BUMPER. THE CAR IS A HATCH BACK, AND I'VE RUINED A COUPLE PAIRS OF PANTS AND HAD MINOR BURNS FROM IT. I'M NOT TOO WORRIED ABOUT ME, BUT I HAVE SMALL KIDS AND I WORRY ABOUT THEM. *TR
WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED FUEL TANK EXPLODED WITHOUT WARNING. AS A RESULT, ENGINE FAILED. *AK
-STALLING WHEN CHANGING FROM REVERSE TO DRIVE. HAS ALSO STALLED ONCE ON THE INTERSTATE. -RPM'S KEEP REVVING BETWEEN 3000 & 5000 WHEN I HIT 55-60 MPH. ONCE I PASS 60 MPH THE RPM'S DECREASE TO A REASONABLE LEVEL. THIS HAPPENS EVERYDAY WITHOUT FAIL. *LA
MY 2002 MINI COOPER S HAS SOME ENGINE MANAGEMENT ISSUES THAT HAVE RESULTED IN SEVERAL CLOSE CALLS IN TRAFFIC SITUATIONS THAT I FEEL ARE UNSAFE, AND HAVE YET TO BE RESOLVED OR DEFINITELY ADDRESSED BY THE MANUFACTURER. THE MOST SEVERE ISSUE IS A TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AFTER ACCELERATION ON CLEAN DRY PAVEMENT. LOSS OF POWER IS USUALLY IN 1ST GEAR AN CAN LAST SEVERAL SECONDS. I BELEIVE THIS TO BE A PROBLEM NOT UNIQUE TO MY VEHICLE.*AK
THERE IS A COMPLETE POWER FAILURE AT VARIOUS SPEEDS INCLUDING 55 MPH. THIS DEFECT OR CONDITION CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. WHEN IT HAPPENED ON RT. 66 IN ARLINGTON VA AT 9:30 PM, IT CAUSED A NEAR-COLLISION WITH SEVERAL OTHER VEHICLES TRAVELING ON THE ROAD. THERE WAS NO WARNING LIGHT, NOISE, OR OTHER INDICATION THAT THE ENGINE WAS ABOUT TO TURN OFF.*AK
CAR ALMOST STALLS WHEN TRYING TO ACCELERATE FROM A COMPLETE STOP. ACCELERATION RATES VARY AND SOMETIMES ARE DANGEROUSLY SLOW CAR LUNGES WHEN TRYING TO MOVE SMALL DISTANCES
THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS BEEN ON SINCE WE BROUGHT THE CAR HOME. MINI HAS ATTEMPTED FIX THE PROBLEMS UNSUCCESSFULLY 8 TIMES, CULMINATING WITH THE DEALER GETTING INTO A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT WHILE TEST DRIVING THE VEHICLE. *NLM
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026