There are 2 stored owner reports matching the lighting leading-label group for the 2003 MINI Cooper in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 2 of 2 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)I AM THE 2ND OWNER OF THIS 03 MINI COOPER S SINCE 5/09. I PURCHASED WITH 12,500 MILES. CURRENTLY, 32K MILES. THE XENON LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT, DRIVERS SIDE, FREQUENTLY DOES NOT IGNITE. THE SELF LEVELING HEAD LIGHT SYSTEM DOES NOT OPERATE PROPERLY. THE AIMING DISTANCE IS VERY POOR, LIGHT SHINES APPROX 20FT IN FRONT OF THE CAR. OTHER TIMES, THE LIGHT SHINES HIGH, BLINDING ON-COMERS. THE 1ST OWNER COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS SAME PROBLEM TO A MINI DEALERSHIP IN 10/03 WITH 1,971 MILES. AGAIN, 5/08 WITH 9,000 MILES WITH CHECKS PERFORMED. THIS ESTABLISHED PROBLEM CONTINUES TO GET WORSE. BALLASTS AND BULBS HAVE BEEN CHANGED. THE PROBLEM CONTINUES. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD, MAKING IF DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE AT NIGHT. AFTER DOING OUR OWN RESEARCH AND SEEING HOW MANY OTHERS ARE HAVING THIS EXACT SAME PROBLEM, IT IS TIME FOR MINI/BMW TO IMMEDIATELY ADDRESS THIS OVERDUE SAFETY HAZARD BY IMPLEMENTING A RECALL, OR A SERVICE BULLETIN TO ALL AFFECTED CONSUMERS WHO HAVE COMPLAINED TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. I WILL CONTINUE TO COMPLAIN UNTIL SOMETHING IS DONE. *TR
THE XENON IGNITER COMPONENT IN THE LEFT HEADLAMP HAS INTERMITTENT FUNCTION, FREQUENTLY CAUSING THE BULB NOT TO LIGHT. THE QUOTED REPAIR COST BY THE DEALER IS IN EXCESS OF $800 BECAUSE THE IGNITER PART IS NOT A REPLACEABLE COMPONENT (THE ENTIRE HEADLIGHT ASSY IS REPLACED). THE ORIGINAL OEM BULB IN THE AFFECTED LEFT HEADLAMP WAS REPLACED BY MINI DURING ITS WARRANTY PERIOD AND THIS WAS NOT REPORTED TO ME (THE LEFT AND RIGHT BULBS DID NOT MATCH UPON MY EXAMINATION OF THEM WHEN FIRST OBSERVING THIS PROBLEM). $800 TO FIX A LIGHT BULB IS RIDICULOUS, AND I'VE BEEN LIVING WITH THIS SAFETY HAZARD SINCE I OBSERVED IT IN SEPTEMBER 2010. BMW USA SHOULD BE COMPELLED TO RECALL THIS DEFECTIVE COMPONENT. *TR
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.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.