2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible

No clear pattern

0% of complaints about the 2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible arrived in its first year of service. That is an unusual figure for a 2005 vehicle, but with only 72 complaints on record the sample is too small to call it a pattern — the margin of error covers the range where ordinary vehicles sit. The figures below are reported without a verdict. The most-reported system is steering (39 complaints), typically at 7.5 yr or about 65,875 miles.

Complaints: 72
Median age at failure: 8.1 yr
Median mileage: 69,000 n=66
Crash / fire / tow: 5.6% of reports
Safety recalls: 1

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

15V205000 2015-04-06

Air bags:frontal

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2005-2006 MINI Cooper and Cooper S vehicles manufactured January 5, 2005, to November 28, 2006, and 2005-2008 MINI Cooper Convertible and Cooper S Convertible vehicles manufactured January 5, 2005, to July 31, 2008. Due to manufacturing, installation, and exposure issues, the front passenger seat occupant detection mat may not function properly and, as a result, the front passenger air bag may not deploy in a crash.

An improperly functioning mat may cause the passenger frontal air bag to be inactive when the seat is occupied, and in the event of a crash, the air bag will not deploy, increasing the passenger's risk of injury.

In owners’ own words

Steering 28,000 mi 6.2 yr in service

2005 MINI COOPER 'S' CONVERTIBLE. THE POWER STEERING WILL OCCASIONALLY STOP WORKING WHILE DRIVING MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO STEER. IF YOU SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTART THE CAR IT RESETS AND WORKS AGAIN. IT NORMALLY HAPPENS WHEN SLOWING FOR A STOP OR MAKING A TURN, WHICH YOU DON'T NOTICE UNTIL YOU START MOVING AND FIND YOU ARE UNABLE TO TURN THE CAR. LUCKILY I HAVEN'T PULLED OUT INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE DEALER SAID IT WAS PROBABLY THE PUMP AND THEY WOULD REPLACE IT FOR APPROXIMATELY $680. *TR

Steering 105,600 mi 6.4 yr in service

POWER STEERING QUIT UNEXPECTEDLY. I WAS IN A PARKING LOT, JUST STARTED THE CAR, AND HAD NO POWER STEERING. I DROVE IT A FEW MILES DOWN THE ROAD TO A GAS STATION, TURNED IT OFF, AND WHEN TURNED BACK ON AGAIN IT WORKED FINE. ORIGINALLY HAPPENED ON 2/12/11 AND HAS NOT RECURRED AS OF 2/22/11. *TR

Steering mileage not reported 6.4 yr in service

I OWN A 2005 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE & NOTICED MY POWER STEERING STARTING TO MAKE NOISE ABOUT A WEEK AGO. NOW IT IS WORKING VERY INTERMITTENTLY. I HAVE NOTICED IN DOING SOME RESEARCH THAT MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AN THEY WANT TO REPLACE MY POWER STEERING PUMP WHICH IS GOING TO BE VERY COSTLY. I AM TO SAY THE LEAST A LITTLE DISAPPOINTED THAT A CAR WITH THE BMW NAME ON IT IS HAVING THIS MANY COMPLAINTS. *TR

Air bags 72,000 mi 6.8 yr in service

WHEN SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE SEAT. ALSO, THE LIGHT WHICH INDICATES THE PASSENGER SIDE AIRBAG IS OFF COMES ON WHEN SOMEONE IS SITTING IN THE PASSENGER SEAT. I USED THE SAME WRITE-UP ON A PREVIOUS COMPLAINT AS THE SYMPTOMS ARE ACCURATE FOR MY 2005 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE, WITH APPROXIMATELY 72,000 MILES. *TR

Other Cooper S Convertible model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other Cooper S Convertible model years

How to read this