Problems with 2008 MINI Cooper AIR BAGS

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper. while driving, the passenger air bag warning indicator remained illuminated. the contact was concerned that the air bag might not deploy in the event of a crash. the vehicle was taken to mini of bedford (located at 209 s river rd, bedford, nh 03110, (833) 785-4497) where it was diagnosed that the air bag sensor needed to be reprogrammed. the contact also was informed by the technician that the passenger seat would need to be replaced if they removed it to reprogram the air bag sensor. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure and provided a case number. the approximate failure mileage was 92,000.

Passenger side air bag, when a person is sitting in the seat, the air bag sensor indicates the air bag is not on.

Air bag warning light on speedometer is on. i have had it reset and it comes back on. the failure code is "93b1 head airbag, front passenger." what has failed has not been determined yet. the vehicle mileage is 112,000 miles. this warning came on while the vehicle was stationary, parked.when the code is reset, it will stay off for awhile and then return.

Passenger airbag sensor malfunctioning with airbag light on and not certain what will happen if airbag needs to deploy. this seems to be a widespread problem based on internet search. mini recalled first generation models for this issue but did not include the second generation vehicles (mine).

Airbag sensor mat does not recognize whether a person is sitting on the passenger side thereby not activating the airbag; this has been happening on & off for months; passenger airbag light comes on immediately despite occupancy while parked and during driving (all conditions-highway, city street, turning; etc. started approximately from 75k miles; now constant from 85k on

We took our 2008 mini cooper to a mini dealer because of a warning light and it was diagnosed with a short in the sensor that detects the need for passenger side airbag. this means that at times the passenger side airbag will not deploy, making possible a potentially deadly crash.

My 2008 mini cooper was in accident in jan 2016. the (passenger) light came on and it was immediately take to autobody shop. the passenger airbag warning light was evaluated and added to repairs. the seat map sensor is the chief problem. the car is undrivable. the dealership in sterling indicated that it would take 15-30 day to received the part. the part was delayed until march 24,2016. three days prior to delivery it was updated to jul 13, 2016. at this point my rental car from the insurance company ran out. i contacted customer care but was not able to receive a date nor assistance about my part and lost of vehicle. after conversation with liberty mutual, auto shop and dealership, we were told that the vehicle was safe to drive without a passenger in the seat. no resolution has been made, many individuals ( consumer, insurance company and auto shop) involved in the situation stated it was not safe nor could loss be guaranteed. as of the 4/18/2016, the part has been put on indefinite back order. currently there is no known time frame return of vehicle. i am without transportation and i will need to purchase another car. additionally i have heard from other repair facilities, mini's passenger seat occupancy sensor affects far more model years than those for which bmw has already announced recalls. i am also aware that more than 60 mini owners are waiting on this part as well.

My car only has 47,000 miles on it and has the same passenger side airbag issue. it started off at times having the problem, now is on all the time. mini wants $125 to diagnose the problem, which seems evident. also paid $425 to fix electrical wiring that corroded and $1,700 2 months earlier this year when wheel sensor went bad and 3 lights went off in the car.

Srs computer and sensors are failing. no accident, no flooding just failing sensors and computer. mini claims this is a "maintenance" item, yet there is no documented maintenance protocol for these items. vehicle has less than 100k miles and air bag system components are failing. hence we don't know if the system will work or not and the vehicle will not pass our state inspection.

Passenger side air bag sensor mat faulty. same issue as other mini coopers that have been recalled. was told i have to replace entire seat. $1,000. was told there is a nation wide back order for the seat. this repair should be covered by mini (bmw).

Faulty seat occupancy detector in passenger seat. there has been a recall on this in several models, but they do not currently include this model/year. failure of the seat sensor prevents deployment of the passenger airbag and can only be fixed by replacing the entire seat (expensive). no user-specific actions have caused this defect, it's a well known problem. the issue was originally diagnosed in 2014, re-diagnosed 1/3/2016. the best resolution we have been offered is 10% off repair costs.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper. when shifting into first gear, the vehicle easily switched into the reverse position. the contact was involved in a crash. the air bags failed to deploy. there were no injuries and a police report was not filed. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the issue. the failure mileage was 46,000.

I want to know when recall 15v-205 is going to be implemented. my car is affected by this recall and i was notified by mini usa in june. my airbag light has been on for 5 months and mini says it still does not have the parts to fix the problem. i consider this to be a reasonable period of ime.

Takata recall?? the seat occupancy sensor malfunctions - 3 warning lights - always on. took mini into dealership for this problem on 9/17/15. they diagnosed: j# 1 511mzotherdiag general diagnosis vehicle needs right seat weight sensor replaced. part needs to be ordered - $1493.47 part cost - customer advised. neither bmw/mini corporate or the dealership can say when the replacement part will be available - nor can they guarantee occupant safety - airbags may not deploy there is an accident. the mileage on the mini is 26,959. when is this vehicle to be included in the recall? and when will the parts be available to fix it?

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper. the contact started the vehicle and the front passenger's side air bag warning indicator illuminated continuously. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who confirmed that the air bag sensor would need to be replaced. the manufacturer and dealer were notified and they were unable to provide an expected date for the part to become available. the approximate failure mileage was 52,000. the vin was unavailable.

My airbag light came on so i scheduled an appointment with mini dealer. they informed me that the passenger side oc3 mat sensor needed replaced. they informed me that there is no recall for it and my car is no longer under warranty. the cost to replace is going to be $1,454.52. after looking online at various forums, i have found hundreds of others who are experiencing the same problem at random mileages, anywhere from 30,000 - 150,000 miles. if this sensor, which is a major safety issue, keeps failing on hundreds of vehicles, this part should be recalled and fixed at the manufactures expense. how can they expect a customer to pay over $1,400 to replace a sensor that is just going to fail again in a short time, not to mention putting lives at risk? this issue has been going on for several years now without correction. please recall this part.

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v1205000 (air bags); however, the closest dealer was eighty miles away. the contact stated that the manufacturer offered to pay for the part to do the repair, but the contact would be responsible for payment of the labor for the repair. the contact stated that the recall notice stated that the recall repair would be made free of charge. the contact had not experienced a failure.

Air bag sensor goes off at random times. there is a current recall for 2005-2008 mini coopers, but not all makes. the 2005-2006 models are the mini cooper, mini cooper s, mini cooper convertible and mini cooper convertible s. the recall is extended through 2008 models but those models only include the convertible and the convertible s. the 2007-2008 mini cooper and mini cooper s are also having this air bag issue, as numerous people have mentioned on various mini forums, and should be included in the recall. ..updated 09/03/15 *bf

Air bag and seat belt warning light on. the dealership said it will cost $2600 to replace the parts. this is a serious safety issue, not wear or tear. existing recalls for air bags have not included my vehicle make/model.

I purchased my 2008 mini cooper brand new from mini of the woodlands in texas. about a year ago, the passenger airbag warning light started illuminating randomly, which disables the passenger airbag while it is illuminated. this happened more and more frequently, until it stays illuminated most of the time now. i brought it to mini if the woodlands for evaluation, and was told that the seat sensor had gone bad, and it would cost $1,900 to replace it. i find this failure to be a little odd, considering that my mini's passenger seat has almost never had anyone in it! also, sliding the seat forward/backward seems to affect the frequency & duration of the sensor failures; though the overall frequency & duration continues to increase. from what i've seen online, and heard from other repair facilities, mini's passenger seat occupancy sensor affects far more model years than those for which bmw has already announced recalls. i'd even be happy if mini could just circumvent the passenger seat sensor, and have the airbag deploy in an accident whether or not there's anyone in the passenger seat. that's a far better option than having it deactivated whether or not there's a passenger in the car! but mini of the woodlands told me that there's no way they can do that.

8;30 am three car intersection accident. traffic light controlled 4 way intersection, auto traveling south bound ran red light and collided with two cars traveling east bound through intersection at approx 35 mph.. 1st car impacted toyota mini van drivers side. force of accident so severe that it forced mini van into my auto. the mini van impacted my mini primarily into my drivers side door. all three vehicles had to be towed from scene of accident. my mini coopers drivers side door demolished. force of impact so great the it bent the frame underneath the drivers door 3-4 inches according to the repair facility it was towed to. vip auto body. the window that was approx 1/3 open shattered the window. i sustained injuries to neck, back,shoulder and right side of head which hit the door panel upon impact. i have done extensive research since this accident and there are several air bags and side door impact bag curtains in the mini cooper and none of them deployed. there is an actual sensor in the middle of each door to activate the air bags, obviously the one in the drivers side door was not working. this car supposedly has a 5 star crash rating according to mini usa and my original window sticker. i contacted mini usa the day after the accident, and they instructed me not to have any repairs done until one of there tech's came out to inspect the mini and do a diagnostic check of the air bag system. i did so. the tech came out 5 days later, and a week after that the results came in and mini usa said everything was working properly as far as the air bags. liars. anyone with any common sense can see that the air bags should have deployed with the force of this impact. they just don't want to take any responsibility for this accident. my mini cooper was deemed a total loss. any investigation into this accident would be very appreciated maybe even saving a life in the future ....updated 04/23/15 *bf

I took my 2008 mini cooper in for its annual safety check and it did not pass. the front seat passenger airbag sensor is faulty, it does not detect that there is in fact a person occupying the seat. i feel that this is a safety issue that mini cooper should be responsible for. this is not a normal wear and tear issue, again, it's a safety issue. the part to replace this sensor ranges from $1200-$1400 depending on the retailer. the cost of this part is outrageous. the labor has been estimated to be 2-4 hours depending on whether or not the seat needs to be completely re-upholstered. i strongly feel that there should be a recall on this faulty sensor and that mini cooper should be responsible for ensuring that their vehicle is safe. *tr

Air bag malfunction light went on and stayed on. it did go off when a passenger sat in the seat. sensor switch had to be replaced, a costly job. seat was replaced. the only way i recognized the error was when there was no passenger. i feel that if i always drove with a passenger i would not have known of the malfunction. this problem is not unknown to the manufacturer as it has been discussed on websites and when mentioned to non mini repair shops, they were aware of it. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper. the contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the air bag warning light illuminated and remained illuminated. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 60,000. the vin was not available.

Passenger side head air bag warning light on and cannot be reset. this is a safety issue, but the dealership (where i purchased the car new) will not warranty or refer to manufacturer, but will charge over $1,200.00 to replace the airbag and/or sensor not knowing if it is actually defective. the car (not even six years old with less than 47k miles) should not have this potentially serious safety problem. other recalls for air bags have not included my vehicle make/model...yet. *tr

The weight sensor in the front passenger seat that determines whether to deactivate the airbag when a child is seated, or if the seat is unoccupied, is broken. this has caused the frontal airbag to become permanently deactivated at all times. there has been a recall of other cars for this issue, but bmw refuses to include my vehicle despite it being the same year and experiencing the identical problem.

Passenger side air bag light started by intermittenly turning on> now its is on all the time. same issue as other mini coopers that have been recalled. was told i have to replace the sensor seat mat. this repair should be covered by mini (bmw).

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper. the contact stated that the passenger side air bag deactivated warning indicator illuminated. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure but did not offer any assistance. the vehicle was not repaired. the failure mileage was 64,000 and the current mileage was 69,000. *tr

I have contacted mini usa over the past 3 years on our passenger seat belt warning coming on and not going off. i have researched and found that multiple mini owners from 2006 on up and bmw owners have had the same problem. in 2006 mini did a recall and also did a recall on the bmw models but are now playing games and have offered to drop the 1600 fee to 800 dollars. i'm upset to think that they feel my safety is not their concern. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper. the contact stated that the air bag warning light sporadically illuminated on the instrument panel. the vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing where the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 26,000.

Passenger airbag disabled light illuminates with fullgrown adult (weighing more than 160 pounds) properly seated while wearing seatbelt. car has been to dealer twice before to address this issue and next visit will be the third time reporting this problem for repair. *tr

Full-grown adult passengers (weighing in excess of 120 pounds) sitting in the passenger seat causes the passenger-side airbag light to illuminate, which states, "passenger-side airbag disabled". *tr