The passenger seat air bag sensor mat is faulty. this issue was listed as a recall on previous models of mini coopers from nhtsa.
This vehicle was purchased in 2011 and has required a multitude of maintenance /repairs due to manufacturer issues. the dealership of original purchase was incredibly responsible and took responsibility of these repairs. i moved to another area two years ago and right about this time, the front passenger air bag light began to randomly go on and off indicating that the air bag would not be engaged. the light will go on and off when in motion or just idling. this has continued to go unresolved as i tend to most often ride alone and don't have additional $$$ for the repair at this time. i did just finish replacing the clutch in this vehicle which currently only has 51k miles on it.
My mini was stopped at a traffic light behind a toyota 4 runner when i was struck from the back by a careless driver in a midsize sedan who had failed to see the cars in front of her stopped at a red light. the damage done to both the car that struck mine from behind as well as the damage done to the 4 runner were minimal by comparison. the mini incurred irreparable damage to the front end of the car. my concern is that the airbags never deployed and the driver of the 4 runner pulled me out of the car due to fire he saw coming from under the engine of the mini, before long the whole front end was engulfed in flames. the car was declared a total loss. should the vehicle have caught on fire? shouldn't the airbags have deployed with the gravity of the damage? *tr