2016 MINI Cooper
Gas Compact car
The 2016 MINI Cooper is sold in the U.S. as a gas compact car with 12 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Cooper Hardtop 2 door, is EPA-rated at 32 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of D. Owners have filed 41 complaints, most often about exterior lighting. NHTSA crash-tested it at 4 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooper Hardtop 2 door | Gas | FWD | 1.5L 3-cyl turbo | 28 | 38 | 32 | $2,400 |
| Cooper Hardtop 4 door | Gas | FWD | 1.5L 3-cyl turbo | 28 | 38 | 32 | $2,400 |
| Cooper Convertible | Gas | FWD | 1.5L 3-cyl turbo | 27 | 36 | 30 | $2,600 |
| Cooper Convertible | Gas | FWD | 1.5L 3-cyl turbo | 27 | 36 | 30 | $2,600 |
| Cooper Hardtop 2 door | Gas | FWD | 1.5L 3-cyl turbo | 27 | 36 | 30 | $2,600 |
| Cooper Hardtop 4 door | Gas | FWD | 1.5L 3-cyl turbo | 27 | 36 | 30 | $2,600 |
| Cooper S Convertible | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 25 | 33 | 28 | $2,750 |
| Cooper S Hardtop 2 door | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 25 | 33 | 28 | $2,750 |
| Cooper S Hardtop 4 door | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 25 | 33 | 28 | $2,750 |
| Cooper S Hardtop 2 door | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 23 | 33 | 27 | $2,850 |
| Cooper S Hardtop 4 door | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 23 | 33 | 27 | $2,850 |
| Cooper S Convertible | Gas | FWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 23 | 32 | 26 | $3,000 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (4)
Exterior Lighting
highProblem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2016-2017 MINI Cooper Clubman, Cooper S Clubman and JCW Clubman vehicles. When the affected vehicles are braking and the turn signals are on, the inner, bumper-mounted, brake light will go out. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: If the brake light does not illuminate when a turn signal is activated, other drivers may be confused, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: MINI will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the vehicle to correct the brake lighting, free of charge. The recall began May 22, 2017. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525.
Seat Belts
highProblem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, MINI Hardtop 4 Door Cooper, Mini Hardtop 4 Door Cooper S, MINI Cooper Clubman, and Cooper S Clubman, 2017 Rolls-Royce Ghost, and 2016 528i vehicles. The vehicle-sensitive locking mechanism of the seat belt Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) for the driver's seat may not lock as designed. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 209, "Seat Belt Assemblies."
Risk: In the event of a crash where heavy braking is applied, the Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) may activate when the occupant is more forward in the seat, possibly increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the driver's seat belt assembly, free of charge. The recall began July 3, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Steering
highProblem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling one model year 2016 MINI Cooper Hardtop 2 Door vehicle manufactured November 24, 2015, and one BMW X1 Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) manufactured October, 19 2015. The steering gearbox may have been manufactured with incorrect parts.
Risk: A gearbox malfunction may cause a loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: BMW will replace the steering gearbox, free of charge. Affected vehicles are located in dealer inventory and will be remedied before customer retail. The recall began on December 28, 2015. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Air Bags
highProblem: BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper two-door vehicles, 2015-2016 MINI John Cooper Works and MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper four-door vehicles and 2014-2015 BMW i3 vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the passenger frontal air bag may not deploy properly in a low speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
Risk: In the event of a vehicle crash, an air bag that does not deploy properly increases the risk of injury to the front seat passenger.
Fix: MINI and BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on November 25, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1-866-825-1525 and BMW customer service at 1-800-525-7417.
Owner complaints
41 complaints filed
2 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 6 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2016: 7 · 2017: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2020: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2024: 7 · 2025: 4 · 2026: 2
Most-cited components
- Exterior Lighting — 12
- Engine — 10
- Electrical System — 9
- Power Train — 6
- Unknown Or Other — 3
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 HB FWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | 11% |
| 3 HB FWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | 11% |
| 3 HB FWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | 11% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.
Other Cooper model years
2026 Cooper
1 recalls · 3 complaints
A2026 Cooper
1 recalls · 3 complaints
D2025 Cooper
4 recalls · 5 complaints
C2024 Cooper
2 recalls · 1 complaints
A2023 Cooper
0 recalls · 7 complaints
A2022 Cooper
0 recalls · 7 complaints
B2021 Cooper
2 recalls · 7 complaints
B2020 Cooper
2 recalls · 7 complaints
B2019 Cooper
2 recalls · 12 complaints
A2018 Cooper
0 recalls · 8 complaints
C2017 Cooper
3 recalls · 28 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 36843, 36719, 37245, 37246, 36790, 36791, 37247, 36558, 36560, 36559, 36561, 37273). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.