MINI audit query AQ15004
BMW Safety Act Violations. NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation opened this audit query about the structure on 5 model years (2014–2015). Opened Sep 24, 2015, closed Oct 2, 2017 after 2.0 years without a recall. closed
What NHTSA says
Source: Office of Defects Investigation, as filedIn a Consent Order executed on December 17, 2015, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) admitted that it violated the Safety Act by: failing to conduct a timely recall for Recall No. 15V-450; failing to file certain quarterly recall reports in a timely manner; failing to timely notify vehicle owners of the existence of a defect or noncompliance; failing to promptly advise NHTSA of delays with the beginning or completion dates for mailing owner or dealer notifications; and failing to timely submit copies to NHTSA of communications relating to recalls. As part of the Consent Order, NHTSA imposed a total civil penalty of $40 million against BMW NA for its violations of the Safety Act. The civil penalty consists of a cash payment, monetary performance obligations, and stipulated penalties. BMW NA paid the $10 million cash penalty on February 12, 2016. Failure to comply with the terms of the Consent Order or the Safety Act will result in portions of the stipulated penalties coming due. The Consent Order required BMW NA to appoint an independent safety consultant to assist BMW NA in developing best practices for complying with the Safety Act and evaluating safety issues under consideration by BMW NA. BMW NA was also required to develop a program to train dealers on the importance of complying with the prohibition on selling unremedied vehicles under recall, improve dealers' access to information necessary to maximize completion of open recalls, and invest in a pilot program to determine whether BMW NA can use data analytics to detect emerging safety defect trends. The population listed in this closing resume is based on BMW NA's untimely recall and does not include other issues addressed by the Consent Order, which relate to BMW NA's safety processes. Based on the Consent Order, BMW NA's admissions that it violated the law, and its ongoing performance obligations, this audit query investigation, AQ15-004, is closed. Closure of this AQ has no bearing on the terms of the Consent Order, including BMW NA's ongoing performance obligations or legal obligations, and does not represent a determination by NHTSA as to BMW NA's performance under the Consent Order to date.
A Audit Query is an audit of the manufacturer's own reporting obligations — early-warning data, recall notices, remedy — rather than of a vehicle condition. The summary is the agency’s own text from its investigation file, unedited; the opening and closing resumes with the full reasoning are on NHTSA’s site under this number.
What this means for an owner
Source: and what happens nextAn investigation is not a finding that a defect exists, and it puts no duty on anyone. NHTSA opens a Preliminary Evaluation when complaints and other reports suggest a condition worth asking the manufacturer about; it upgrades to an Engineering Analysis when the answers warrant testing; it closes either when it recommends a recall, when the manufacturer recalls on its own, or when no defect trend is found. The agency’s own goals are about four months for a petition, eight for a Preliminary Evaluation or a Recall Query and eighteen for an Engineering Analysis; many run longer.
This one is closed. A audit query ends with NHTSA’s finding on the recall it examined — the remedy stands, is widened, or a new campaign follows; the file names the recall it concerned and NHTSA’s closing resume carries the reasoning.
Model years it names
Source: as NHTSA filed themAlso named: 2014 MINI Cooper; 2015 MINI Cooper; 2014 MINI Cooper S; 2015 MINI Cooper S; 2015 MINI John Cooper Works.
A vehicle page’s investigation list carries the same action; a name here is the scope NHTSA opened, not a list of affected VINs.
Common questions
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects InvestigationIs AQ15004 a recall?
No. A audit query is NHTSA asking questions, not a recall. A safety recall carries an NHTSA campaign number and a duty to repair for free; this one closed without one. Whether one particular vehicle has an open recall is a VIN question at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Is AQ15004 still open?
No. It closed on Oct 2, 2017 without a recall.
Which vehicles does AQ15004 cover?
NHTSA opened it on 5 model years: 2014 MINI Cooper, 2015 MINI Cooper, 2014 MINI Cooper S, 2015 MINI Cooper S, 2015 MINI John Cooper Works. That is the scope of the inquiry, not a list of affected vehicles; a recall, if one follows, defines its own population by VIN.