MINI Countryman Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

TRUNK/REAR HATCH POWER LIFT WILL ENAGE IF KEY FOB HAS HATCH BUTTON PRESSED WHILE CAR IS IN DRIVE OR IN MOTION. HATCH WILL RAISE CREATING SITUATION WHERE OBJECTS CAN FALL OUT OF THE VEHICLE. DISCUSSION WITH DEALER REVEALED OTHERS HAVE SAME ISSUE ONLY ON THE COUNTRYMAN MODELS AND DEALER DOES NOT HAVE ACCESS TO FIX THE SOFTWARE.

225 /45 R19 Uneven wear of the tires. Excessive wear inspite of brand new vehicle, 2 wheel alignments done on the vehicle in an attempt to stop the excessive wear of the tires. The Front right side tire collapsed causing my car to veer into a curb. The other three tires have less than 20% thread and the mileage in the vehicle is only 9000 miles. The vehicle was purchased new In June 2020 and came equipped with the tires. This malfunction and poor manufactured caused not only a financial problem In having to replace all four tires prematurely, but also place my safety and others are risk.

MY 2020 AWD MINI COOPER COUNTRYMAN WAS SOLD TO ME WITH "PERFORMANCE" TIRES; NO DISCLOSURE OF THIS FACT WAS PROVIDED DURING THE SALES PROCESS. SOON AFTER TAKING POSSESSION OF THE VEHICLE, ONE TIRE PICKED UP A NAIL CAUSING LOSS OF PRESSURE. DURING THE PROCESS OF FIXING THE PROBLEM, I LEARNED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD PERFORMANCE TIRES AS EVIDENCED BY THE SMOOTH TREAD AND LATER VERIFICATION FROM MY MINI SALES PERSON. BECAUSE I LIVE IN MARYLAND, A STATE WITH A DISTINCTIVE WINTER SEASON, MY RESEARCH CONFIRMED THAT PERFORMANCE TIRES (ALSO KNOW AS SUMMER TIRES) ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS IN COLD WEATHER. IT BECAME APPARENT THAT THE TIRES NEEDED REPLACED FOR MY SAFETY. I COMPLETED THIS AT MY OWN EXPENSE. I BELIEVE THAT MINI COOPER, WITHOUT COMPUNCTION, PUT MY LIFE IN DANGER. I QUESTION HOW MANY ACCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED IN THESE CARS DURING COLD WEATHER WITHOUT RECOGNITION THAT THE TIRES MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE SOURCE. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT IT IS A STANDARD PRACTICE IN "MINI WORLD" TO SELL MANY CARS THIS WAY. I REPORTED THE PROBLEM TO MINI AND WAS ASSURED THAT A COMPLAINT REPORT WOULD BE SUBMITTED. I REQUESTED A FOLLOW UP CONCERNING MINI'S RESPONSE TO MY COMPLAINT AND WAS TOLD THAT I WOULD RECEIVE NONE AND SHOULD NOT EXPECT IT. SUBMITTING A "REPORT" WAS THE END OF THE ISSUE AS FAR AS MINI CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS CONCERNED. IT IS MY FIRM BELIEF THAT ANY CAR SOLD WITH PERFORMANCE TIRES SHOULD COME WITH A CLEAR DISCLOSURE SIGNED BY THE BUYER FOR SAFETY REASONS. IDEALLY, MINI COOPER SHOULD STOP THE PRACTICE ALL TOGETHER. PLEASE INVESTIGATE; SAVE A LIFE!

WHILE DRIVING IN 10 DEGREE F WEATHER, THE MINI COUNTRYMAN OVERHEATED WITHIN 3 MILES OF DRIVING FROM ORIGINALLY TURNING THE CAR ON (10 MINUTES OF RUN TIME). THE DEALERSHIP NOTED THAT A ROCK PASSED THROUGH THE GRILL THAT PROTECTS THE AUXILLARY COOLING RADIATOR AND DAMAGED THE RADIATOR, CAUSING A LEAK. THE NEW 2021 MINI COUNTRYMAN CARS CONTAIN A ROCK GUARD OVER THE GRILL BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZE THIS AS A DANGEROUS PROBLEM, BUT THEY HAVE NOT FIXED THE PROBLEM WITH ANY CAR FROM A PREVIOUS YEAR. A SIMPLE ROCK GUARD HAVING BEEN INSTALLED IS A VERY INEXPENSIVE AND CHEAP SOLUTION THAT MINI DOES NOT TELL CUSTOMERS ABOUT UNTIL THEIR CAR OVERHEATS AND THE BILL IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. THIS SITUATION WAS DANGEROUS BECAUSE IT LEFT THE VEHICLE OCCUPANTS STRANDED IN FREEZING WEATHER, WHERE ONE PERSON BECAME BORDERLINE HYPOTHERMIC (95F BODY TEMPERATURE).

Phoenix, AZ. Temperature was 118*F. Sunroof exploded while driving down highway. Vehicle had been parked for 2 hours. I started the vehicle and turned on the air conditioning. 5 minutes later the sunroof exploded.

The contact owns a 2018 Mini Cooper Countryman. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the steering wheel failed to turn in the intended direction. The contact stated that the steering wheel was excessively difficult to turn. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was driven to the shoulder of the roadway. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with ECM failure. The contact was informed that the ECM needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. In addition, the contact was advised that the failure was a known failure with the vehicle while using the Click and Drive device. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but provided no assistance. The contact was advised to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The failure mileage was 19,000.

While driving, the steering wheel gets stuck and very hard to maneuver. I have seen a recall for this car but when i entered by VIN, it was not included on the recall. The problem had happened several times. There was a time when everything was working fine, turned off the engine to put gas and when i turned it on to drive, i had a hard time steering. I had to park for a long time (since i was at Costco decided to come inside the store), when i turned on engine, it was gone and working properly like the problem did not happened at all. There were still times that when i turned it off for a little bit to pick up something from a restaurant, when i come back, the steering wheel looks like it was stuck and unable to make left or right turns. It does not happen only when car is turned on and off, it also happens while driving. When i was in a roundabout, steering wheel also has locked/got stuck. I have had our mechanic check this issues twice but he could not find any problem.

My engine malfunctioned after the module under the back seat was wet from an unknown water leak in the vehicle. My vehicle lost power without warning until I came to a complete stop on the side of a very busy highway. I'm not sure if the repair center kept the faulty module or not I would have to check. I know leaks have been a problem with my model in previous years but when I checked my VIN there were no recalls. This is a very dangerous defect and should be fixed.

Fuel sensor failed and due to tank pressure that would not release properly, according to repair shop. Among other safety issues, this caused me to not be able to open the gas tank to refill the gas tank. This has been ongoing. At first the gas flap was repaired (2x) and ultimately the fuel sensor was entirely replaced at my cost. All repairs were done at New Country Mini in Hartford, CT. The repair shop should provide history of repairs over the several years as Mini is denying the seriousness of the defect. I’ve notified mini.

•What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? I had brake caliper repaired on front right wheel, on 5/5/20. Had to have service on same brake caliper on 10/5/21 - revealed caliper froze causing excessive bakes wear. •How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Potential of brake failure. •Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? Yes. Dealer repaired work- Passport Mini of Montgomery County, 820 Russell Ave, Gaithersburg, MD, 20879 •Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Unknown •Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? No

Steering is becoming stiffer. Seems like there is new or added restistance when turning the steering wheel while the vehicle is going slower.

I WAS PULLING INTO SHOPPING CENTER ALL DASHBOARD LIGHT UP WARNINGS ETC. STARTED TO HEAD HOME BECAUSE OF PRIOR INCIDENT WITH COMPUTER FAILURE. CAR STOPPED MID INTERSECTION AND WENT DEAD. PUT IT IN PARK RESTARTED AND DROVE HOME. HEADLIGHTS AND ELECTRICAL ENGINE WOULD NOT SHUT OFF. CALLED SERVICE TO TOW TO DEALERSHIP REPAIR. TOW TRUCK DRIVER ATTEMPTED TO TURN OF LIGHTS, NO LUCK. CAR REPAIRED AT DEALERSHIP, WAS TOLD AT THAT POINT OF A POSSIBLE RECALL, BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW OF WHAT. CAR REPAIRED. AS SOON A LEASE IS UP IT IS GONE! *TR

VEHICLE'S SWITCH CONTROLLING HEADLIGHTS WAS LEFT IN THE "PARKING LIGHTS ON" MODE INADVERTENTLY (IT OPENED TERMINAL 15 PER MINI). CAR WOULD NOT START LESS THAN 12 HOURS LATER. MINI REPORTS THAT THIS "DAMAGED THE BATTERY BEYOND REPAIR" AND SAID IT WAS NOT SUBJECT TO WARRANTY REPLACEMENT BECAUSE THE USER HAD OPERATED THE SWITCH. IF THIS HAPPENED FOR MANY MINI OWNERS, PEOPLE WOULD BE STRANDED AND LEFT IN A DANGEROUS CONDITION. FURTHERMORE, THIS IS CLEARLY SOMETHING MINI IS CHOOSING TO IGNORE AND CLASSIFY AS USER ERROR WHEN IT IS A DEFECT. MINI CHARGED $600+ PLUS DOLLARS TO REPLACE THE BATTERY, REPROGRAM THE VEHICLE AND PHYSICALLY INSTALL THE NEW BATTERY. THE DEALER REP SAID HE HAS PERSONALLY SEEN 6 OTHER VEHICLES THIS YEAR ALONE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM.