Front passenger side motor mount failed pretty terribly, the rubber completely slipped off the engine side mount leaving a severe engine vibration. The mount is very under engineered. Ours failed at 27,0000 miles.
Engine & cooling
2016 Mini Cooper S Hardtop Engine problems
Owners have filed 4 complaints about the 2016 Mini Cooper S Hardtop's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 44% of all its complaints, most recently on July 22, 2025. They describe 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
- Complaints
- 4
- Recalls
- 0
- Crashes
- 0
- Fires
- 1
- Injuries
- 0
- Deaths
- 0
Engine complaints
There have been thousands upon thousands of failures of the oil cooler/oil filter housing on all BMW/MINI B46/B48 2.0T engines. This problem dates back to 2014 when BMW issued a stop sale order and recall on the 2014 MINI Cooper with both the 1.5L I3 (B38) and 2.0L I4 (B48) engines. Since 2014, the engine has been installed in over two million vehicles sold in the United States under the BMW, MINI, Karma, and Toyota brands. There is a defect with the oil cooler/oil filter housing that leads to coolant and oil...
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leaks due to the plastic housing failing after being heat cycled a certain number of times. It has gotten so bad that numerous aftermarket metal replacement parts exist to try and prevent this issue from recurring. Due to the placement of the part on the engine, the repair costs up to $3000. Failures are occurring on vehicles with as little as 30,000 miles, but vast majority between 50,000-80,000 miles. Due to the loss of both oil and coolant, a fire risk exists. Coolant can come in contact with electrical components and cause a short, while the oil can begin to drip onto hot engine or exhaust parts. This is a dangerous hazard that should be recalled. BMW should refit affected engines with a more durable component. Below I have included a link to the original NHTSA stop-sale from 2014. [[redacted]] I've also included links to various forums and news articles about this issue. [[redacted]] [[redacted]] [[redacted]] [[redacted]] / [[redacted]] [[redacted]] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Tl* the contact owned 2016 mini cooper s. Contact stated that while his wife was driving at 40 mph, without warning an smoke appeared on the front passenger side under the hood. The contact stated his wife pulled to the side of the road and exited the vehicle before the whole vehicle was engulfed in flames. The fire department extinguished the flames and a fire department report was filed. The vehicle was towed to a salvage lot and deemed a totaled lost. The manufacturer was contacted and sent a field inspector...
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whom could not determine the cause of the failure. The dealer motor city mini (29929 telegraph rd. Southfield, mi 48034) was contacted and informed the contact that fire was not covered under the warranty. The dealer did not inspect the vehicle. The failure mileage was approximant 41,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2016 mini cooper s. While driving 35 mph, the check engine and oil warning indicators illuminated. Also, the instrument panel alerted the contact to shut off the engine. The contact stated that the oil dipstick showed that there was no oil in the engine. The vehicle was towed to mini of ft. Myers (located at 13880 s tamiami trail, fort myers, fl 33908, (239) 205-7816) where it was determined that the oil consumption was normal. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 43,000.
Mini Cooper S Hardtop engine complaints by year
Cooper S Hardtop engine problems, every yearSource: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data