There are 4 owner-reported powertrain & transmission complaints for the 2011 MINI Cooperin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
During driving failure of the shift cable linkage was disconnected When investigated, the joint between the cable and the transmission shifter was disconnected due to a failure of the bushing on the cable side This caused a situation where the car was stuck in a single gear and not possible to be shifted into neutral or another gear
I DO NOT OWN THIS TYPE OF VEHICLE, BUT I AM IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY. I HAVE ATTACHED 3 PHOTOGRAPHS OF A CLUTCH RELEASE FORK FOR THIS VEHICLE. NOTE THE RED ARROWS ON THE PHOTOS. PLEASE NOT THE PHOTO OF THE NEW CLUTCH RELEASE FORK AND THE STAMPING FLAW THE ARROWS ARE POINTING TO. NOW LOOK AT THE OTHER BROKEN CLUTCH FORKS AND WHERE THE BREAK OCCURRED. THE BREAK OCCURRED AT THE SAME POSITION ON THE FORK. THIS NEEDS TO BE INVESTIGATED AS A SAFETY CONCERN. IF THE FORK BREAKS WHILE DRIVING THE VEHICLE THE DRIVER WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO SHIFT THE VEHICLE AND/OR THE CLUTCH WOULD STAY ENGAGED WHILE TRYING TO APPLY THE BRAKES INCREASING THE POSSIBILITY OF A CRASH.
WHEN ACCELERATING, THERE APPEARS TO BE A 1-1.5 SECOND DELAY FROM COMPLETE STOP POSITION TO START WHEN DEPRESSING THE ACCELERATOR. THIS DELAYED ACCELERATION IS PROBLEMATIC ONLY FROM COMPLETE STOPPING POSITION. EXAMPLE, AT PERPENDICULAR INTERSECTION WAITING TO TURN LEFT (PULLING OUT OF A GAS STATION OR MERGING INTO TRAFFIC, THE VEHICLE REQUIRES A ROLLING OR MOVING START BEFORE THE VEHICLE WILL ACTUALLY ACCELERATE OR AT A SAFE ENOUGH SPEED TO PULL OUT INTO TRAFFIC. WHEN I AM AT A COMPLETE STOP AND TRY TO ACCELERATE BY PRESSING THE ACCELERATOR FIRMLY FROM ANY COMPLETE STOP POSITION IN A SAFE ENOUGH SPEED TO CROSS TRAFFIC WHEN TURNING, THERE IS ALWAYS A DELAYED REACTION FROM THE TIME I DEPRESS THE PEDAL AND THE TIME THE VEHICLE TAKES OFF. THIS DOES NOT TO APPEAR AS A PROBLEM THAT HAPPENS ONLY ONCE IN A WHILE, BUT APPEARS ALL THE TIME AND TO BE A MANUFACTURER ISSUES WITH THE ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION AND GEAR CONTROL. I CONTACTED THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT I SHOULD ACTIVATE THE SPORT BUTTON AND DE-ACTIVATE THE DCS CONTROL WHICH CONTROLS THE "SPIN-OUT" ACTION ON THE COUNTRYMAN. I HAVE TRIED THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE PROBLEM STILL EXIST. THIS IS NOT ONLY THE PROBLEM. THERE IS ALSO AN ISSUE WHEN I AM SIMPLY IN THE DRIVEWAY. WHEN STARTING THE CAR AND PUTTING THE VEHICLE IN REVERSE, THERE IS ALSO THAT "DELAYED" REACTION AFTER THE CAR IS ALREADY IN GEAR, ALMOST LIKE THE VEHICLE HAS TO THINK ABOUT MOVING BEFORE IT ACTUALLY DOES. THIS OCCURS EACH AND EVERY TIME WHILE IN THE VEHICLE. MY VEHICLE IS AN AUTOMATIC. I HAVE EXPERIENCE WITH BOTH AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL TRANSMISSIONS AND HAVE OVER 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND HAVE PURCHASED OVER 15 CARS IN MY DRIVING CAREER AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT I HAVE EVERY EXPERIENCED THIS TYPE DRIVING EXPERIENCE WITH AN AUTOMATIC.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2011 MINI COOPER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE TRANSMISSION FAILED TO RESPOND. THE VEHICLE WAS MANEUVERED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. THE CONTACT SHIFTED THE GEAR SELECTOR INTO PARK HOWEVER, THE GEAR WOULD NOT REMAIN SECURE AND THE EMERGENCY BRAKE WAS ENGAGED TO PREVENT THE VEHICLE FROM ROLLING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR REPAIRS. IN ADDITION, THE OIL PUMP GASKET AND MAP THERMOSTAT WERE REPLACED PRIOR TO THE TRANSMISSION FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE DEFECT. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 2,504. UPDATED 10/12/11*LJ UPDATED 3/30/12 *CN
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.
Data synced from NHTSA on May 4, 2026