What are the common problems with the 2010 MINI Cooper S?
Owners of the 2010 MINI Cooper S have filed 69 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine (41) and the airbags (8). In NHTSA's complaints file of November 11, 2026, 56 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 69 owner complaints on the 2010 MINI Cooper S. Owners named the engine most often: 41 complaints, and half of the 34 that list a mileage came after 61,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 69 complaints, 1 reports a crash, 6 report a fire and 2 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
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Common problems with the 2010 Cooper S
NHTSA's file holds 69 owner complaints on the 2010 MINI Cooper S. Owners named the engine most often: 41 complaints, and half of the 34 that list a mileage came after 61,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component.
| Component (NHTSA category) | Complaints | Listing mileage | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | 41 | 34 | 61,270 |
| Air Bags | 8 | 7 | 68,000 |
| Engine And Engine Cooling | 6 | 3 | Under 5 mileages |
| Fuel/propulsion System | 6 | 4 | Under 5 mileages |
| Power Train | 6 | 6 | 42,000 |
Of the 69 complaints, 1 reports a crash, 6 report a fire and 2 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
Mileage when owners reported a problem with the 2010 Cooper S
The 56 mileages owners gave run from 1,500 to 132,788 miles. A quarter are at or under 35,000 miles, half at or under 55,000, three quarters at or under 70,000 and nine in ten at or under 97,000; 4 (7%) came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000.
These mileages say when owners reported a problem, not when a 2010 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: 52 of the 56 came at or under 100,000 miles, so they say nothing about how many miles a 2010 Cooper S can cover.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Lowest mileage listed | 1,500 miles |
| 25th percentile | 35,000 miles |
| Median (50th percentile) | 55,000 miles |
| 75th percentile | 70,000 miles |
| 90th percentile | 97,000 miles |
| Highest mileage listed | 132,788 miles |
| Complaints after 100,000 miles | 4 (7%) |
| Complaints after 150,000 miles | none |
| 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 2010 Cooper S a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2010 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 2010 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file.
With 69 complaints, the 2010 ranks 9th 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 Cooper S | 128 | 113 | 51,000 |
| 2010 (this page) | 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 |
2010 MINI Cooper S recalls
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 2010 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 |
| 09V474000 | Dec 15, 2009 | EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS |
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 2010 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 2010 Cooper S.
- Nothing here describes one vehicle: its title brands, odometer readings, accidents and open recalls are in the records for its own VIN.
- 13 of the 69 complaints on the 2010 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.
2010 MINI Cooper S questions
What are the most common 2010 MINI Cooper S problems?
NHTSA's file holds 69 owner complaints on the 2010 MINI Cooper S. Owners named the engine most often: 41 complaints, and half of the 34 that list a mileage came after 61,000 miles. A complaint can name more than one component. Of the 69 complaints, 1 reports a crash, 6 report a fire and 2 report an injury (3 people reported injured). These are owners' reports to NHTSA, not findings.
At what mileage do owners report problems with the 2010 MINI Cooper S?
Of the 56 complaints on the 2010 MINI Cooper S that list mileage, the middle half came between 35,000 and 70,000 miles; 4 (7%) came after 100,000 miles, none after 150,000 and none after 200,000. These are mileages at a reported problem; they do not say how many miles a 2010 Cooper S can cover.
Is the 2010 MINI Cooper S a good year?
Complaint counts cannot say whether the 2010 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 2010 compares with the other model years in NHTSA's file. With 69 complaints, the 2010 ranks 9th 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 2010 MINI Cooper S have?
NHTSA's recall files of November 11, 2026 list 4 recall campaigns that name the 2010 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 2010 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 2010 MINI Cooper S.