There are 5 stored owner reports matching the electrical system leading-label group for the 2016 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 5 of 5 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)The rear brake lights and rear signal indicator lights keep going in and out arbitrarily. It's dangerous because it will work fine and then just randomly stop working and then work again. People can't tell if I'm stopping or turning when this randomly occurs. This is currently not a recall on my Mini, however, I saw that it is a recall on other Minis and it seems mine is having the same issue so it's possible they all have similar or the same faulty wiring/electrical for the brake lights and signal indicator lights.
Rear passenger tail light casing/bucket had burnt connections. Replaced casing/bucket and bulb. Worked for short time, tail light failed a second time. Casing/bucket & bulb replaced, again worked for short time and then went out. Took vehicle to another mechanic after passenger side headlight failed. New mechanic checked casings/bucket - connections looked okay, however both wiring harnesses were severely burnt. Headlight harness was all bare wires. Mechanic unable to determine cause of the severe heat that would lead to both the headlight & taillight wiring harnesses becoming burnt so severely. Mechanic was concerned of the potential for this issue to cause vehicle fire. Suggested to follow up with dealership to have lights & wiring harnesses on Driver side checked After research online regarding this year/make/model - I have found numerous other reports of other owners experiencing the same issues with burned wiring harnesses causing both front and rear light failure with no known causes.
* Component/ system that has malfunctioned and failed - The Driver side tail light circuit board and pig tail malfunctioned. The connector has corroded and the plastic plug housing looks melted on the earth / brown wire. This in return damages the the ground connection for the tail light rendering the turn signal the reverse light and the brake light inoperable on the effected side. YES, MY VEHICLE IS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION AT ANY TIME. *A driver behind an affected vehicle could be confused which could increase the risk of a crash. *The vehicle has been inspected by a licensed MINI Dealership. They failed to report two of the three nonworking rear lights that have failed due to the connector becoming corroded. The corroded plastic plug housing becomes melted on the earth / brown wire. This in return damages the the ground connection for the tail light rendering the turn signal and brake light inoperable on the effected side. In this case it is the rear driver side. *There was/ is no warning until long after the first second and/ or third rear light(S) were not operable. Intermittently (sometimes) a warning will popup when turning on the vehicle. The vehicle will not warn the driver about and and / or all three lights each and every time the vehicle is turned on. ALSO while the vehicle is in drive or in reverse , the driver will not have any warning what so ever that the three lights 1. The driver side rear break light 2. The driver side rear reverse light 3. The driver side rear turn signal are not working due to a malfunction. * note that there is a very strong burnt/melted smell that comes from the connector as well. I could smell it on my fingers after removing the connector so I could check the rear bulbs for replacement. Please note the 1st photo-this is how the dealership left my connector after their assessment. Additional photos are of the connector/ pig tail/ circuit board corrosion. Intermittent warrnings for some of the nonworking lights.
There is a design issue resulting in failure of the connector for the rear tail light assembly. The connector corrodes and the plastic plug housing melts. This damages the ground connection for the tail light rendering the turn signal and brake light inoperable on the effected side. This has happened on the right rear of our Mini Cooper JCW hardtop. Searching on the web shows this to be a common problem for the F55, F56 & F57 MINIs. As this failure makes the car brake light system non-compliant with FMVSS lighting requirements, there should be a recall to address this issue.
REAR LIGHT CONNECTOR OVER HEATING, MELTING AND SHORTING.
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.