What are the common problems with the 2009 MINI Cooper S?
Owners of the 2009 MINI Cooper S have filed 128 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine (72) and the airbags (18). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 113 of them list a mileage; a complaint is an owner's report, not a proven defect.
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See what the paid report includes →NHTSA's file holds 128 owner complaints on the 2009 MINI Cooper S. Owners named the engine most often: 72 complaints, and half of the 65 that list a mileage came after 54,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 128 complaints, 2 report a crash, 4 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2009 Cooper S
NHTSA's file holds 128 owner complaints on the 2009 MINI Cooper S. Owners named the engine most often: 72 complaints, and half of the 65 that list a mileage came after 54,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 72 | 65 | 55,000 |
| Air Bags | 18 | 17 | 47,000 |
| Power Train | 17 | 17 | 52,000 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 15 | 13 | 31,621 |
| Electrical System | 13 | 7 | 55,000 |
Of the 128 complaints, 2 report a crash, 4 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2009 Cooper S
The 113 mileages owners gave run from 60 to 181,000 miles. A quarter are at or under 39,932 miles, half at or under 51,000, three quarters at or under 72,000 and nine in ten at or under 95,000; 9 (8%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (1%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2009 Cooper S wears out. NHTSA's file holds only vehicles whose owners complained; one that ran without a problem never appears in it, so it gives no lifespan and no cutoff, and how a vehicle was maintained matters more than any one odometer reading.
Most of these reports came early in the vehicle's life: 104 of the 113 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2009 Cooper S can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 60 miles |
| 25th percentile | 39,932 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 51,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 72,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 95,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 181,000 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 9 (8%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | 1 (1%) |
| Complaints after 200,000 miles | none |
Every model year together: Half of the 1,690 NHTSA owner complaints on the MINI Cooper S that list mileage came after 60,000 miles (NHTSA complaints file of November 11, 2026). How many miles will a MINI Cooper S last? →
Is the 2009 Cooper S a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad Cooper S: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 128 complaints, the 2009 ranks 7th of the 15 MINI Cooper S model years from 2002 to 2016 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2005 (375). The fewest: the 2016 (10).
Recent model years have had less time to collect complaints, so their counts are still growing. No year is ranked by mileage here, because a year's median mileage mostly follows its age.
| Model year | Owner complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 Cooper S | 83 | 73 | 75,415 |
| 2003 Cooper S | 217 | 174 | 70,000 |
| 2004 Cooper S | 247 | 231 | 74,000 |
| 2005 Cooper S | 375 | 355 | 66,000 |
| 2006 Cooper S | 222 | 195 | 56,000 |
| 2007 Cooper S | 257 | 243 | 51,800 |
| 2008 Cooper S | 175 | 159 | 52,522 |
| 2009 (this page) | 128 | 113 | 51,000 |
| 2010 Cooper S | 69 | 56 | 55,000 |
| 2011 Cooper S | 35 | 25 | 60,016 |
| 2012 Cooper S | 26 | 14 | 86,000 |
| 2013 Cooper S | 24 | 13 | 49,400 |
| 2014 Cooper S | 13 | 11 | 25,000 |
| 2015 Cooper S | 18 | 12 | 25,000 |
| 2016 Cooper S | 10 | 6 | Under 10 mileages |
2009 MINI Cooper S recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 2009 MINI Cooper S. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
| Campaign | Report received | Component |
|---|---|---|
| 23V337000 | May 11, 2023 | ELECTRICAL SYSTEM |
| 18V248000 | Apr 18, 2018 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER |
| 12V008000 | Jan 11, 2012 | ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:TURBO/SUPERCHARGER |
What these figures can and cannot tell you
- Complaints are owners’ reports to NHTSA. NHTSA publishes them without verifying them: a complaint is an allegation, not a defect finding.
- The mileage is what the owner wrote on the complaint; NHTSA does not check it against the odometer.
- The make, model and model year are the ones on the complaint. NHTSA records them as filed, so a few complaints sit under a model year the name was not sold in.
- They are not a lifespan study. The file holds only vehicles whose owners reported a problem, so these figures do not say how long a typical 2009 Cooper S lasts.
- A complaint count rises with how many vehicles were sold and how long they have been on the road, so it is not a rating of the 2009 Cooper S.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 15 of the 128 complaints on the 2009 MINI Cooper S give no usable mileage (blank, zero, a filler such as 999999, or over 500,000) and are left out of every mileage figure.
- NHTSA names counted: COOPER S and COOPER S CONVERTIBLE. NHTSA files some vehicles under several names (a series name and a trim name, for example); this page counts only these.
- Recall-file names matched: COOPER S and COOPER S CONVERTIBLE.
Primary sources behind this page
Open the underlying public source and verify that its scope matches the question you are asking.
- NHTSA complaints flat file (FLAT_CMPL.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Complaints file field layout (CMPL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recalls flat file (FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.zip), downloaded November 11, 2026National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls file field layout (RCL.txt)National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- NHTSA recall and complaint datasets: scope and documentationNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Recalls Lookup by VINNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration
NHTSA’s complaints file was downloaded on November 11, 2026 (FLAT_CMPL.txt, dated 2026-11-11 10:15, 2,265,416 rows), with its recall files (FLAT_RCL_PRE_2010.txt and FLAT_RCL_POST_2010.txt, dated 2026-11-11 08:02). Each complaint is counted once, by its NHTSA number, with the model year and mileage of its first row; a model year has a page only with 10 or more complaints. The collection script and its rules are in scripts/collect-nhtsa-model-year-longtail.mjs.
2009 MINI Cooper S questions
What are the most common 2009 MINI Cooper S problems?
NHTSA's file holds 128 owner complaints on the 2009 MINI Cooper S. Owners named the engine most often: 72 complaints, and half of the 65 that list a mileage came after 54,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 128 complaints, 2 report a crash, 4 report a fire and 1 reports an injury (1 person reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2009 MINI Cooper S?
Of the 113 complaints on the 2009 MINI Cooper S that list mileage, the middle half came between 39,000 and 72,000 miles; 9 (8%) came after 100,000 miles, 1 (1%) after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2009 Cooper S can cover.
Is the 2009 MINI Cooper S a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2009 is a good or a bad Cooper S: they rise with how many were sold and how long they have been on the road. They show how the 2009 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 128 complaints, the 2009 ranks 7th of the 15 MINI Cooper S model years from 2002 to 2016 with 10 or more complaints, counting from the most. The most: the 2005 (375). The fewest: the 2016 (10).
How many recalls does the 2009 MINI Cooper S have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 3 recall campaigns that name the 2009 MINI Cooper S. A campaign covers a production range, not every vehicle of the model year: check the VIN with NHTSA's free recall lookup.
How do I check a used 2009 MINI Cooper S before buying?
Take the 17-character VIN from the vehicle and compare the odometer with the readings on file for it: title transfers, inspections and auction sales record the mileage on the day. VIN Lookup (free-vin-lookup.com) sells the original ClearVIN PDF for $14.99 (3 reports for $29.99, 5 for $44.99): odometer readings, title brands and auction records on file for the VIN. Check the VIN before buying a used 2009 MINI Cooper S.