Fuel pump failure on the 2007 MINI Cooper S
When fuel pump failure gets reported
Owners of the 2007 MINI Cooper S report fuel pump failure at a median of 30,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 30,000 miles, from 13 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 4th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 10,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 40,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 31,987 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
77% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10,470 miles | 27,793 miles | 28,050 miles | 29,758 miles | 42,457 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $600–$2,600 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 3 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2007, at a median of 30,000 miles, and latest on the 2010 at 100,000 miles.
By volume the 2007 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
I have experienced multiple failures of the fuel pump on my 2007 mini cooper 7. It is now experiencing the early symptoms for a third time. The dealership failed to fix the problem on 4 occasions prior to the fuel pump seizing. They returned the "repaired" vehicle, and the replacement fuel pump was leaking (was overcome by the fumes trying to drive it home from work the same day it was returned). They repaired it a second time, and I had it checked by a second dealer. What are my rights in this situation? I am concerned there is a serious defect with my vehicle, and that the fuel pump could seize again suddenly (as it did last time). I have now met at least 3 other owners of the same make and model car who have experienced the same problems (and with the same dealership, westchester mini/bmw). *tr
The vehicle is constantly sputtering and loosing power. It hesitates on taking off and the performance is down significantly from when it was originally purchased. I have brought the car to the dealers several times and the stated that this was due to the fact that I was using poor quality gas. Since then I have changed to premium gas and the problems still persist. I finally brought the car to a renowned mini mechanic and he explained to me that this is a recurring problem with the fuel pump. *tr
Cold start issues and eventual "check engine" triggered by defective high pressure fuel pump. Dealer replaced under warranty. Additional problem with excessive heat from engine causing warping of plastic hood scoop (3rd replacement). *tr
Also reported on the 2007 MINI Cooper S
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
Other engine problem
Complete engine failure or seizure
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other powertrain problem
Other body or interior problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 13 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does fuel pump failure happen on the 2007 MINI Cooper S?
Across 13 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 30,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 30,000 miles and a quarter after 30,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is fuel pump failure on the 2007 MINI Cooper S?
13 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.9 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed