Unclassified problem on the 2008 MINI Cooper S
Only 13 reports for this mode came with an odometer reading, which is too few for percentiles to mean anything. The page is here because someone linked to it; treat the figures as anecdotes, and see the full report for this year instead.
When unclassified problem gets reported
Owners of the 2008 MINI Cooper S report unclassified problem at a median of 65,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 40,000 miles and a quarter after 80,000 miles, from 13 reports that carried an odometer reading.
It is the 30th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 90,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 56,261 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
Reports bunched into a band this tight usually mean the component has a life of its own: it goes at roughly the same mileage regardless of who owns it.
15% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31,990 miles | 41,000 miles | 63,000 miles | 79,500 miles | 88,251 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.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 11 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2014, at a median of 20,000 miles, and latest on the 2002 at 90,000 miles.
By volume the 2005 carries the most reports, with 43; the 2008 has 18. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
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.
Passenger side air bag sensor is going off when either a passenger of average weight (150lbs.) is occupying seat or a small bump in road is hit. The air bag sensor for wiring and seat cushion replacement is no longer under a warranty for 2008 model, but is a known problem costing approximately $1200.00 to repair at the dealer. The 2002-2006 models had recall by mini for this. Along with the below service bulletin. Service bulletin no.: sim-65-08-03 component(s): air bags NHTSA id number: 10043927 manufacturer: bmw of north america, llc summary: bmw mini: airbag warning light is on: mrs fc 02, 03, 05, 06. *kb I would like a recall on this made for the 2008 model as this is a massive safety issue as I don't know if in an accident either driver or passenger airbag will deploy. Without a recall owners must pay $1200 for what is a known defect by mini. Does someone have to get injuries for this to become a recall? *tr
Failure of front passenger seat occupant detection mat. The same bmw seat occupancy detection mat (oc3) that was referred to in NHTSA campaign number: 08v-384 has been failing in mini coopers on a wide scale. This causes the airbag to be deactivated which is a safety hazard when occupants occupy the seat and are involved in a crash where the airbag's activation could play a significant role in survivability. I believe the investigation should include other bmw corporate makes and models, such as mini, which involve the same seat sensor. *tr
(sorry for my english) the car turn on the passenger air bag sensor every time. I dont have passengers any time but this problem appeared. There is a mini recall for this problems but they told me that my car is not in the recall list.
Also reported on the 2008 MINI Cooper S
Timing chain, belt or tensioner failure
Other engine problem
Oil leak
Seat belt or retractor failure
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Other electrical problem
How far this goes
This page is kept out of search results because 18 reports is not enough to publish percentiles from. It stays reachable because somebody looking at this exact car would rather see the reports than be told there are none.
Complaints are voluntary, so 18 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 unclassified problem happen on the 2008 MINI Cooper S?
Across 13 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 65,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 40,000 miles and a quarter after 80,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is unclassified problem on the 2008 MINI Cooper S?
18 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.3 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