2002 MINI Cooper Transmission and drivetrain Problems
- Complaints
- 43about this part
- Share
- 23%of 187 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 60,000miles
- Trend
- StableComplaints filed in the last 3 full calendar years are within 25% of the 3 years before.
NHTSA recorded 43 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2002 MINI Cooper, 23% of the 187 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 60,000 miles. 1 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers. 1 recall campaign on record is filed under a similar system.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“The warranty on my 2002 Mini Cooper ran out at 50k miles. At 53k miles the transmission failed and had to be replaced with a rebuilt transmission from Mini. The total cost of the repair was $4,200. I have been in contact with many other people who are suffering the same fate because Mini will not take responsibility for their faulty transmissions.”
NHTSA complaint #10241226, filed 2008-09, 53,000 miles“I have a 2002 Mini Cooper with 52k miles, the transmission has went out twice in the past 2 years the first time at 31k miles. The clutch has also went out as well as the sunroof motor, left front brake caliper, windshield wiper motor with a host of sensors, gauges etc... Parts are impossible to get and service on a 24k car (when new) is as much as my 70k bmw 7 series.”
NHTSA complaint #10213520, filed 2008-01, 56,344 miles“My automatic transmission failed on my 2002 Mini Cooper rendering the car will not start. The dealership wants $6000+ to fix the transmission. I had a similar issue about 3 months ago and they just reset the code and it worked fine. They said if they tried resetting the code again, the car may just die on me while driving.”
NHTSA complaint #10212708, filed 2007-12, 122,000 miles“I recently was driving home from sacramento when my car stopped driving on the freeway.... Luckily I was able to pull off to the side and call for help... The car was still running and the RPM's were going up, but would not drive or reverse. I had no idea what the problem was especially since I had just had the second inspection service on the car on 4/10/2007 at the cost of $850. The car had not been driving funny, no lights had come on, nothing was abnormal. …”
NHTSA complaint #10201306, filed 2007-08, 59,000 miles“2002 Mini Cooper, manual transmission. Low mileage, only 22,000 miles on it. While driving is city traffic, the transmission failed to engage when I shifted into 1st and lifted the clutch trying to start from a red light. There was a small sputter and then the car could not be driven. I was able to push it to the side of the road and thought that the clutch was out. The repair shop found out that the entire manual transmission had disintegrated. It had torn itself apart over the years. The repair shop said that he was aware that this is a common flaw with the early Mini coopers. …”
NHTSA complaint #10619044, filed 2014-08, 22,000 milesRelated recalls
- 02V201000Jul 25, 2002On certain passenger vehicles equipped with manual transmissions, the transmission shift cable connects the gearshift lever in the vehicle interior to the…Covers: MINI Cooper 2002
Related service bulletins
- 10149392Oct 1, 2014MINI CVT Replacement Parts Warranty Extension: Additional 12 Months with Up to 50,000 Accumulated Miles. A MINI vehicle's CVT assembly or component that was previously repaired…
- 10148241Jun 1, 2014MINI CVT Replacement Parts Warranty Extension: Additional 12 Months with Up to 50,000 Accumulated Miles. A MINI vehicle's CVT assembly or component that was previously repaired…
- 10025903Jun 1, 2008Mini- r5 & r56 (cooper; cooper s) with getrag 6 speed manual transmission: complaint of an intermittent no-crank, no start situation. The clutch switch module has not been…
- 10025846Jun 1, 2008Mini: r55, r56 (cooper, cooper s) with f21 asin 6-speed automatic transmission - incorrect gear display.
Transmission and drivetrain: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 1 | 17% |
| 2020 | 1 | 14% |
| 2019 | 2 | 17% |
| 2017 | 6 | 21% |
| 2016 | 6 | 21% |
| 2015 | 10 | 18% |
| 2014 | 8 | 24% |
| 2013 | 3 | 6% |
| 2012 | 3 | 5% |
| 2011 | 9 | 11% |
| 2010 | 3 | 3% |
| 2009 | 5 | 3% |
| 2008 | 12 | 10% |
| 2007 | 5 | 4% |
| 2006 | 20 | 10% |
| 2005 | 25 | 7% |
| 2004 | 26 | 9% |
| 2003 | 89 | 28% |
| 2002 | 43 | 23% |
| 2001 | 3 | 50% |
Other parts of the 2002 MINI Cooper
61 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
29 complaintsAir bags
26 complaintsElectrical system
13 complaintsEngine cooling
11 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
6 complaintsBrakes
4 complaintsSeats
4 complaintsOther or unknown
3 complaintsVehicle speed control
3 complaintsElectronic stability control
2 complaintsEquipment
2 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2002 MINI Cooper
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology