BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2021 330e and X5 xDrive45e, 2020-2021 X3 xDrive30e, and 2020 MINI Countryman SE ALL4 vehicles. Loose welding beads may form a conductive path between the hybrid battery cells which could lead to a...
Electrical system
Mini Countryman Electrical problems by year
16 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Mini Countryman's electrical system. Dead batteries, warning lights, wiring, alternators, infotainment and electronic module failures.
Electrical complaints by model year
Electrical recalls
Latest Countryman electrical complaints
The vehicle experienced two separate incidents of severe unintended acceleration and brake failure. Incident 1: The vehicle was parked in regenerative braking mode. It aggressively accelerated forward on its own, and the brakes failed to respond, taking several minutes to stop. Incident 2: While slowing down behind traffic exiting the parking lot, the brakes failed and the vehicle jolted forward, causing a rear-end collision. The Automatic Emergency Braking failed both times. The vehicle was inspected after the...
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first incident at 9,318 miles, but the dealership failed to diagnose the defect and returned the vehicle to me. It is currently under investigation by manufacturer engineers for a suspected Integrated Brake module failure.
While driving a 2023 MINI Countryman on two separate occasions, the vehicle suddenly lost the ability to accelerate. Pressing the accelerator did not produce the expected power/response, creating a hazardous loss-of-propulsion condition in traffic; the car rolled to a stop each time. I was able to get the vehicle to a safe location, but the incidents could have resulted in a collision. There were *no* warning lights, warning messages, or other clear symptoms before the loss of acceleration. The vehicle had...
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(unbeknownst to me, prior to my ownership) previously experienced an electrical/battery-related event after its parking lights were left on, followed by diagnostic fault codes. The vehicle was sold as a certified pre-owned vehicle. I am seeking complete pre-delivery diagnostic and repair records and a determination of whether the earlier electrical faults or another unresolved defect contributed to this incident. The vehicle has been/will be inspected by the selling dealer or manufacturer. The precise failed component is currently UNKNOWN. Documentation, including dealer correspondence and service records, is available upon request.
On May 29, 2026, my 2025 MINI Countryman SE (battery-electric) became completely immobilized when the charging connector locked into the vehicle's charge port and could not be released. With the connector locked in, the vehicle could not be moved, shifted to neutral, or driven. The defect is in the factory charge-port locking mechanism. The connector could not be freed by me, by a MINI master technician working remotely for about 45 minutes, by the tow operator, or by the dealership's own service manager, who...
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tried for over two minutes using both the manual release and the key fob and could not release it (recorded on video). The vehicle had to be towed. Because the wheels were locked, the master technician issued a written instruction that it be transported on dollies. A dealership advisor said the cause was the charge-port locking mechanism and that the lock "wears out over time with use." If accurate, that indicates a wear-related design condition that could immobilize other vehicles of this make and model, and a manual release that did not function when the primary lock failed. An EV that locks its own charge connector and then cannot be released or moved presents a stranding and safety risk, especially away from home or where it obstructs traffic. As of June 26, 2026, nearly four weeks later, the vehicle still has not been successfully repaired. Its own charging data shows no successful charging session since June 3, 2026, and repeated charging attempts at a dealership on June 16, 2026 each delivered zero energy, consistent with the charge-port/connector-lock defect remaining unresolved. The failed component is available for inspection, and all supporting evidence (video, photos, charging data, communications) has been preserved.
Vehicle exhibits persistent, intermittent failure of Bluetooth and Apple CarPlay connectivity. Phone fails to pair, drops all connection mid-drive (all displays including speed, navigation, etc go dead), and disconnects active calls and navigation prompts during operation. Defect requires repeated manual re-pairing attempts that draw driver attention from the road. The same phone pairs reliably with all other vehicles and devices tested, including a more recent 2025 Countryman dealer loaner and personal home...
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equipment, indicating the defect is in the vehicle's electronic architecture rather than the phone or user settings. Multiple service visits to an authorized MINI dealer have not resolved the issue. The dealership service team has stated verbally that "all the early 2025 Countrymen seem to have these issues." Dealer is now indicating that full head unit replacement may be required, with extended out-of-service time. The defect creates a documented driver-distraction risk and aligns with multiple existing NHTSA complaints and BMW Technical Service Bulletins for the 2025 Countryman platform. The sudden outage meant I had no information while driving on the interstate at speed and didn't know what was happening. I didn't even know if I was indicating to move over to the shoulder of the road. This happened at least 4 other times since I had had the car but thankfully only the once on an actual highway. Other times were in Atlanta city traffic and a couple of times in my driveway. Even more frustrating, I cannot get it to reliably pair with my iPhone 17 Pro. The lack of reliability increased markedly with the last MINI update which occurred about a week ago. I need to travel for work and cannot rely on this car to get me where I need to go and I actually avoid driving it now. The problem has been validated by the Dealer. The Service intake worker noted, "We have seen this in almost all of the early 2025 Countryman models." There was no warning at all when it happen
The vehicle onboard screen is very slow to connect to our Android phones. This has been an issue from the very beginning. A drivetrain fault message appeared on 04/01 (NOT a joke!!) and the car was not responsive to going in reverse gear. The transmission stopped responding and we were barely able to make it to the dealership. The car wouldn't go past 40mph. We've had the car since mid-December and it only has a little over 1200 miles.
The Air conditioning mixing flap failed. The is a technical bulletin out for this SIM 64 02 21. The mixing flap separated from the heater housing which is located under the dash board. In turn Cold air only coming out of the drivers side vent and not the passenger or rear vents. This is unsafe in Arizona where there is extreme heat for babies and pets. In addition one cannot see out the windshield since it also impacts the vents for defogging/defrosting. This is a $5000 repair causing economic hardship. Said vehicle only had 47,800 mile on it. Please advise . Thanks
The vehicle experienced intermittent electrical failures, including screen blackouts/reboots during startup and while driving. These events affected visibility of vehicle information and settings. The drive mode selector malfunctioned, limiting the ability to select Eco, Normal, Sport, or Off-Road modes. Drive modes directly affect throttle response, braking behavior, and vehicle control. On multiple occasions, braking and acceleration behavior felt inconsistent with selected drive mode, creating safety concerns....
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The issue is intermittent and was reported to an authorized dealer. The dealer was unable to consistently reproduce the issue but did not dispute that the concern was reported. The vehicle remains available for inspection.
The center display and driver display shut off while car was in motion. There was no speed indication or any information about the car available to drive safely. The computer system is occasionally slow to load. There are no indications prior to the problem happening. It has happened twice while driving. The car has less than 6,000 miles. I have reported this problem to a dealer. There have been additional problems to the software systems, and the dealer service department did a complete software reload/reflash of the system. This problem has occured after the service.
The morning of Tuesday 12/24/24 while driving the car at 30-40 mph, in the dark, all systems suddenly shut off - by all systems I'm mean the engine, all interior and exterior lights, the "computer" screen. Everything went black in an instant. After a second of two the car lurched back to life. I was able to pull over at that point. The only "idiot light" that came on was a yellow engine symbol. I opened it and a screen came up that said "Check Control", "No entries". If this had happened with traffic around I...
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could have been injured in an accident. If it had happened on the nearby Interstate and highway speeds, I could have been killed. I am taking the vehicle to the dealer today for evaluation. There have been no professional inspections at this time. For the two months that I've had this car there have been repeated problems with the "boot up" process when trying to start the car. It at times displays wrong information, does not recognize the "key fob", forgets previous settings, etc. This has been told to the dealer and to a BMW/Mini factory rep on 12/23/24. These were considered nuisance problems; however, a complete system failure while driving is not a nuisance.
When making a right turn, and turning speed, our new cars braking system activated, locked the brakes, and steering wheel, causing the vehicle to slide into oncoming traffic. The cars safety system overrode the driver, now allowing me to maneuver away from on coming traffic until the vehicle came to a complete stop. I believe the reason it did this, is the cars safety system thought it was about to be in a head on collision being fed wrong AI to the cars computers and cameras. The vehicle had less than 300 miles at the time of the incident.
The interior camera on the front windshield temperature is high, and burns my hand when touching it. The measured temperature is 58.4C (137.12F) as shown in the attached picture. This is a risk for harm the driver and potential fire hazard.
This car is a PHEV. I experienced a drivetrain malfunction warning noted on instrument display. Vehicle states it can continue to be driven "moderately" with reduced drivetrain output. This is similar to an incident recently in which the instrument cluster stopped working following a drivetrain warning on the instrument cluster. Dealer has not yet diagnosed this latest problem but for the previous issue states it is due to high voltage battery not being fully charged when driving but does not acknowledge any faults with the system.
At 11,336 my vehicle started shutting down when I was stopped at intersections, red lights, and in stopped traffic. The vehicle continued to do this until 40,817 when if finally shut down and would not restart and had to be towed back to the dealership. I began reporting the issue at 11,336 and continued to report it to the dealership and finally forced them to do a complete diagnostics at 12,667 to figure out why the vehicle was shutting down. The vehicle was extremely dangerous to operate and I had many near...
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misses with my children in the car every time I had to start my dead car in traffic. Mini/BMW could not identify the problem and sent me on my way. Even at 40,917 miles and tsar engineers could not identify why it shut down so they began swapping out the EME (twice), the high voltage lines, black box and several other components. 5 months of repairing my vehicle they were able to get it running and returned it to me. Since BMW has agreed to buy the car back at a loss to me. I'd make more money trading in but the car is unsafe and I do not want another owner or drivers to be put in danger.
On 3/24/22 I was driving on the highway at approximately 1:30am my car made a loud noise and dropped down a bit on the front passenger side. At the same there was a cloud of smoke that came up from the same side. I pulled my car slowly off into the breakdown lane. Got out of my car to see what happened. The passenger tire was blown out. Had the car towed to Bedford, NH mini. They determined the Right front Coil Spring had snapped and a piece of it blew out the tire. Of note, I had not hit a pothole. They replaced...
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it. I returned to the same place within a week because I heard creaking in the same area of that coil Spring. They inspected it and said it was fine. Between that time and the electrical fire I had the front light bulb on the passenger side replaced as it had burned out. On 7/31 at approximately 5:30am I had called valet parking to bring my car around at the Hotel I had stayed at. My friend noticed that light bulb on the passenger was once again burned out. We got in the car and I noticed the smell of smoke. I looked at my dash quickly and saw nothing. Then I saw smoke coming up from under my hood. Got out to check and noticed flames under my hood. I quickly alerted the desk clerk to call 911. It took approximately 3 minutes for them to arrive. By then the front right end was fully engulfed ing flames.
I was pulling into shopping center all dashboard light up warnings etc. Started to head home because of prior incident with computer failure. Car stopped mid intersection and went dead. Put it in park restarted and drove home. Headlights and electrical engine would not shut off. Called service to tow to dealership repair. Tow truck driver attempted to turn of lights, no luck. Car repaired at dealership, was told at that point of a possible recall, but they didn't know of what. Car repaired. As soon a lease is up it is gone! *Tr
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data