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2017 Mini Cooper S Recalls & Complaints

3

open safety recalls on record

Serious

8 owner complaints filed · Severity Index 0.75 · updated 2026-08-07

The recalls

Serious16V747000

Seat Belts:Front:Retractor

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 raises the risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

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.

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 Locking Retractor (ELR) for the driver's seat may not lock as designed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."

Serious17V222000

Exterior Lighting:Brake Lights

If the brake light does not illuminate when a turn signal is activated, other drivers may be confused, raises the risk of a crash.

Remedy & full details

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.

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 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Serious16V914000

Air Bags

If the air bag inflator initiator fails to ignite, the seat-mounted air bag will not deploy, raises the risk of injury.

Remedy & full details

BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the air bag modules, free of charge. The recall began February 6, 2017. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2017 BMW 640i, 640i xDrive, 650i, 650i xDrive, M6, 535i, 535i xDrive, 430i, 430i xDrive, 440i, 440i xDrive, M4, X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, i3, i8, Rolls-Royce Dawn, Mini Clubman Cooper, Clubman Cooper S, Cooper All4, Cooper S All4, Mini 4-Door Cooper, Cooper S, Mini 2-Door Cooper, Cooper S, John Cooper Works and 2016 BMW 528i, 528i xDrive, 535i, 535i xDrive, 550i, 550i xDrive, M5 and 535d vehicles. The affected vehicles have seat- mounted side air bag inflator initiators that may fail to ignite during a crash.

Complaint volume

8 this model-year 7 median, same year

Volume alone is not a fault rate — popular vehicles attract more reports. Read it next to the severity mix below.

What owners reported happened

1Crashes
0Fires
1Injuries
0Deaths

Across 8 complaints. Severity Index 0.75.

Severity Index weights each complaint's reported outcome (death ×10, injury ×4, fire ×3, crash ×2) and divides by total complaints. It measures how severe reports are, not how often faults occur.

What owners report most

Engine2 · 25%Air Bags1 · 13%Vehicle Speed Control1 · 13%Service Brakes1 · 13%Electrical System1 · 13%Forward Collision Avoidan…1 · 13%Unknown Or Other1 · 13%
  1. Engine — 2 reports
  2. Air Bags — 1 reports
  3. Vehicle Speed Control — 1 reports
  4. Service Brakes — 1 reports
  5. Electrical System — 1 reports
  6. Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking — 1 reports
  7. Unknown Or Other — 1 reports

What to do

  1. Find your 17-character VIN on the driver's door jamb or the base of the windscreen.
  2. Check it against NHTSA's official lookup at nhtsa.gov/recalls — the authoritative record for your exact car.
  3. Book the repair with any franchised dealer. Safety recall work is free, with no time limit and regardless of who owns the car now.

Other model years

2002 (1) · 2003 (2) · 2004 (2) · 2005 (2) · 2006 (1) · 2007 (4) · 2008 (4) · 2009 (3) · 2010 (4) · 2011 (3) · 2012 (2) · 2013 (1) · 2014 (4) · 2015 (4) · 2016 (3) · 2017 · 2019 (1) · 2020 (2) · 2025 (3)

Numbers in brackets are open recall campaigns for that year.

Questions

Does an open recall mean the car is unsafe to drive?

Not usually. NHTSA issues a "do not drive" or "park outside" advisory when a defect is dangerous enough to keep you out of the car — those are flagged Critical above. Everything else should be repaired promptly but is not an immediate stop-driving order.

Do I pay for recall repairs?

No. Federal law requires the manufacturer to fix a safety recall free of charge, including parts and labour, whether or not you are the original owner.

Why are there complaints but no recalls?

Complaints are unverified reports filed by owners. They can prompt an investigation, but many never become recalls — either the fault isn't safety-related or it isn't widespread.

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