There are 12 owner-reported engine complaints for the 2012 MINI Cooperin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This car was maintained, by Mini and BMW authorized mechanics and only had OEM parts installed and followed management of vehicle as directed by manufacturer, throughout its history. It was always driven and kept in moderate weather conditions, no extreme heat, cold, wet, or speeds. Used almost daily for 30-60 minute commutes. Just after 100K miles, total engine failure was suddenly experienced on the freeway, due to combustion in two valves, damaging two cylinders and sudden leaking of the exhaust system under the hood. The manufacturer, BWM, has been shown evidence of malfunctioning of the four cylinder engine and will not show evidence of their grounds for why they will not take responsibility.
MY MOTHER WHO OWNS THIS 2012 MINI COOPER HAS SUDDENLY NOW STARTED HAVING ISSUES WITH HER WATER PUMP LEAKING. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND WAS TREATED WITH THIS RUDE EMPLOYEE BY CHRISTOPHER GUZMAN WHOM HAD A VERY UNPROFESSIONAL AND NO EMPATHY. VERY SHORT WITH RESPONSES AND SARCASM.KEEP IN MIND MY MOTHER IS ELDERLY AND KNOWS NOTHING ABOUT CARS. SO I LOG INTO TO YOUR SITE AND SEE THERE IS A RECALL ON WATER PUMPS BUT MY MOTHER'S IS NOT ONE OF THEM. AND GUESS WHAT HER WARRANTY JUST EXPIRED MARCH 2019. GO FIGURE. SO IF SOMETHING WOULD HAVE HAPPENED TO MY MOTHER BECAUSE OF DEFECTIVE WATER PUMP. AND HOW FUNNY HOW MY MOMS CAR WAS NOT A RECALL. I WOULD QUALIFY FOR THAT ACTION LAWSUIT. HOW DOES A 2012 WATER PUMP JUST GIVE UP WITH VERY LOW MILEAGE 24 000 I WOULD LIKE TO ESCALATE THIS FURTHER AND AN EXPLANATION HOW THIS COULD HAVE HAPPENED!! LOOK AT THE MILAGE!
WHILE DRIVING FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES ON THE HIGHWAY, MY MINI COOPER SHUT OFF COMPLETELY, I WAS ABLE TO PULL ONTO THE SHOULDER AND THAT IS WHEN SMOKE STARTED COMING FROM THE ENGINE, WITHIN 6 MINUTES MY WHOLE ENGINE WAS ENGULFED IN FLAMES, CAR TOTALED. INSURENCE INSPECTORS COULDN'T FIGURE OUT A CAUSE. ONE OF THE FIRE FIGHTERS SAID IT LOOKS LIKE IT STARTED NEAR THE WATER PUMP. THERE ARE RECALLS ON OTHER MODELS FOR THIS PROBLEM, BUT NOT MINE. MY MINI HASN'T BEEN WORKED ON SINCE LAST YEAR WHEN I GOT NEW TIRES, I ALSO KEEP UP WITH EVERY OIL CHANGE. *TR
TEMPERATURE SENSOR IN RADIATOR HOSE LEAKING. NEEDS UPPER RADIATOR HOSE, AND THERMOSTAT WITH HARNESS TO CORRECT. DISCOVERED DURING A ROUTINE OIL BRAKES ETC INSPECTION BY THE DEALERSHIP. I WAS TOLD THERE WAS A CHANGE IN THE HARNESS AND THE NEW ONE HAS A "COMPUTER" AND WOULD COST $1450 TO FIX. THIS IS AN UPPER HOSE AND I LOOKED ONLINE AND FOUND THE REPLACEMENT HARNESS HAS TOW SEPARATE CONNECTORS, ONE FOR COOLANT TEMP SENSOR AND THE OTHER FOR THE COOLANT THERMOSTAT. I HD CHECKED MY FLUIDS TWO DAYS BEFORE ON A COLD ENGINE AND THEY WERE FINE AND WATER OVERFLOW WAS AT THE PROPER LEVEL. I CHECKED MY COOLANT OVERFLOW TANK THE DAY AFTER VISITING THE DEALERSHIP ON A COLD ENGINE AND THE OVERFLOW TANK WAS LOW... I ADDED WATER... IT HAS NOT GONE DOWN FOR SEVERAL DAYS. I HAVE HEARD THERE IS CORROSION THAT HAPPENS AND THE THERMOSTAT MAY NOT EMPLOY AND YOU CAN HAVE AN OVERHEATED ENGINE.
THESE 2012 MINI COOPER CLUBMAN ARE HAVING THE TIMING GUIDES BRAKE AND SOMETIMES RUIN THE ENGINE. IN MY CASE I THINK I CAUGHT IT ON TIME, I CALLED MINI HERE LOCALLY AND MY WARRANTY RUNS OUT THIS SEPTEMBER 2017 OR 100,000. BUT MY CAR JUST HIT 105,000, THIS IS AN ISSUE THAT MINI HAVE HAD FOR QUITE A FEW YEARS AND I SAW A RECALL UP TO 2011 BUT HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING FOR 2012 MINI CLUBMAN. IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT BMW/MINI WENT WITH PLASTIC GUIDES INSTEAD OF SOME OTHER MATERIAL THAT COULD WITHSTOOD MORE BEATING, SPECIALLY FOR THIS AREA. THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP, BECAUSE I'M HAVING TO FORK OUT ANY WHERES BETWEEN $1500'TO $3000.00!TO GET THIS FIXED. I WAS DRIVING WHEN I HEARD THE NOISE AND NOW IT SITS IN MY DRIVEWAY.
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT-- COOLENT THERMOSTAT STICKING PER ALLDATA SHOWS THERMOSTAT HOUSING W/THERMOSTAT, SENSOR ETC, SHOWS RECALL FOR THESE PARTS UPDATED.
WATER PUMP FAILURE. BEGAN TO NOTICE SMALL AMOUNT OF LIQUID UNDER CAR IN APRIL 2016, THOUGHT IT WAS CONDENSATION FROM A/C. LEAK WORSENED AND CALLED MINI IN JUNE 2016 TO CHECK IT OUT. WATER PUMP FAILURE ON VEHICLE WITH 45,500 MILES. CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT AGREED IN CALIFORNIA IN MARCH WAITING ON FINAL APPROVAL OF TERMS DUE IN NOVEMBER 2016. BMW KNOWS THIS IS A DEFECTIVE PART. WATER PUMP FAILURE FROM DEFECTIVE PART COULD HAVE CATASTROPHIC EFFECTS IF AUTOMOBILE IS IN MOTION AT ANY SPEED.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MINI COOPER. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS UNDERGOING AN OIL CHANGE, THE TECHNICIAN DIAGNOSED THAT THERE WAS A LEAKAGE ON THE OIL CONTROL VALVE. AS A RESULT, THE TECHNICIAN STATED THAT THE OIL CONTROL VALVE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 10,800.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TURBO CHARGER AND THE WATER PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2012 MINI COOPER. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 20 MPH, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO THE PRECEDING VEHICLE AFTER IT STOPPED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS MERGED INTO A PARKING LOT, WHERE THE CONTACT NOTICED SOME MINOR DAMAGE TO THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE AND SMOKE APPEARED UNDER THE HOOD AS A FIRE STARTED. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS DESTROYED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 66,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. CAUSE: HEATING FAULT CODE IN DIAGNOSIS(THERMOSTAT ACTIVATION). THERMOSTAT, HOUSING , AND ADAPTER REPLACED. REMOVED AND REPLACED COOLANT, CHECKED COOLING SYSTEM FOR LEAKS. 06/17/2015 CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS COME ON AGAIN, AND AFTER TAKING TO DEALERSHIP IT APPEARS TO BE THE THERMOSTAT AGAIN.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 MINI COOPER S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TURBO CHARGER WAS NOT PROPERLY SHIELDED AND THE HOOD DID NOT HAVE ANY INSULATION. AS A RESULT, THE HOOD WOULD BECOME EXTREMELY HOT. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO REFERRED THE CONTACT TO THE DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 22. UPDATED 03/14/12*BF THE CONSUMER STATED THE DEALER PROVIDED ADDITIONAL HEAT SHIELDS. HOWEVER, IT DID NOT COMPLETELY CORRECT THE PROBLEM. UPDATED 05/10/10
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 Apr 25, 2026