The contact owns a 2011 Mini Cooper Countryman. The contact stated that the vehicle was parked in the driveway while both the contact and his wife were in another vehicle parked in the garage. The contact noticed white smoke coming from the vehicle. The contact stated that upon opening the hood of the vehicle, the contact noticed an electrical burning smell and fire. The contact was able to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher. The contact then noticed that a blue plug had melted and was smoking. A police report was not filed. There was no injury sustained. Upon investigating the failure online, the contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 12V008000(Engine and Engine Cooling). The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle. The vehicle remained at the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure, and the contact was informed that he would receive a call back. The failure mileage was 111,019.
MINI Cooper Countryman fire or smoke problems
14 of the 107 owner complaints about the MINI Cooper Countryman describe fire, smoke or burning smell, most of them for the 2012 model year.
- owner complaints
- 14
- worst model year
- 2012
- typical mileage
- 50,000
By model year
- 20133
- 20129
- 20112
Often reported together
What owners say
The problem started with fog lights blinking on and off while the car was off. As I entered the vehicle I noticed a pool of water on the floor bed. The car has a sunroof which was closed at the time, as well as all of the windows - water came in from somewhere else. I proceeded to turn on the car to see what was happening and the car did not turn on. I thought maybe the battery is dead - tried to give it a boost and it did not work. I replaced the battery - it turned on the car but most lighting areas and power windows do not work. The two front windows are not working properly, they do not go up or down, only the back windows. I do not have control of the headlights - it just stays on one setting. The directional lights do not work. The console lights do not work. This puts myself and others at risk because I can’t aware other drivers when I making a turn or changing lanes. I can’t see the console panel at night, unaware of gas, speed, or radio functions. The car has been driven locally only during the day to avoid accidents and when I arrive at my destination - I notice smoke coming out of the hood. There is an active recall (23V‑337) on the R55 & R56 models but not R60 models - which is my car. The exact description of defect (see below) is what is happening to my car and I’d like to have this model added to the recall. It is very dangerous to keep driving this car which I need for daily use. “This safety recall involves the Footwell Control Module (FRM), an Electronic Control Unit (ECU) which controls various lighting and power window functions, and is installed near the bottom of the driver's side A-pillar behind an interior trim panel. Due to several contributing factors (environmental, certain US States' wintertime road treatment, vehicle design configuration and age), over time, the FRM could become susceptible to corrosion. For vehicles equipped with a sunroof, after a multi-year period involving large temperature changes, multiple freeze/thaw cycles..”
On the evening of [XXX] at approximately [XXX] my 2012 Mini Cooper S all 4 burst into flames. The car was parked in front of my building for 6 days (we don't use the car very much) in front of my building when the all of a sudden the head lights started flashing followed by the car cabin filling with grey smoke then followed by black smoke then there was a flash (spark?) and the entire cabin the became engulfed in flames. All of this has been captured by our building security camera. I reported the incident the following day to Mini/BMW customer care. I've been sharing emails with Thomas Lula who is investigating the "thermal event" INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Our Mini Cooper Countymen S was being towed behind our motorhome. I. saw smoke coming from the car I stopped and the car started to catch on fire. I got out motorhome disconnect just in time before the Mini was consumed by fire, it was a total loss. The Fire Investigator stated he believed the fire started in the right side of the engine compartment.
The contact owned a 2012 Mini Cooper S Countryman. The contact stated while she was at a standstill in traffic, she saw smoke exiting from under the hood. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact was able to park on the emergency lane and exit the vehicle before the vehicle was engulfed in flames. The contact did not sustain any injuries nor seek medical attention. A police report was filed. The insurance company deemed the vehicle a total loss. The vehicle was towed to a towing lot. The contact spoke to the local dealer and made them aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 18V248000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING), however, the VIN was not included. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 180,000.
Tl* the contact owned a 2013 mini cooper countryman. The contact stated that several minutes after the vehicle was parked, the vehicle caught on fire. The contact stated that the fire started at the front of the vehicle. The fire department was contacted and was able to extinguish the fire but not before the vehicle was destroyed. A fire report was filed, incident number: 2019-006185. The vehicle was towed to the insurance company's lot. Mini of warwick located at 1515 bald hill rd a, warwick, ri 02886, (401) 229-4373, was contacted and informed of the fire as well as the vehicle manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 67000. The vehicle was destroyed.
Tl* the contact owned a 2012 mini cooper countryman. While the vehicle was stationary, it caught fire without warning. The contact noticed smoke under the hood of the vehicle near the engine. The vehicle became engulfed in flames immediately. A police report was filed. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no injuries sustained. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. Mini of mt. Laurel (1311 nj-73, mt. Laurel, new jersey) was made aware of the fire. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 18v248000 (engine and engine cooling) a year and a half after the failure occurred. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 mini cooper countryman. When the vehicle was started, smoke appeared under the hood. The contact unlatched the hood and flames appeared from the engine. The contact was able to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was towed to mini of baltimore county (720 kenilworth dr., towson, md 21204, (443) 798-3461) where it was awaiting diagnostic testing and repairs. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 76,000. The VIN was not available. *tt no VIN number updated 8/30/18
Our 2013 minicooper countryman s all 4 with 30,400 miles on, was caught on fire on noverber-11-2017 in dedham ma. The car was parked in a garage while the engine was turned off. Car did not indicate any warnings and we didn't observe anything out of ordinary. Fire was put in check by sprinklers in the garage and dedham city fire department had to put the garage on lock down until they turn off the fire and the garage was safe to enter. The 3 storied office building was given a holiday as they couldn't stay in the building due to smoke smell. We have our baby car seat and few other belongings in the car, but all of them were damaged in the fire. We have informed the car dealership that sold this car to us and the mini customer relations department, but both of them didn't share our concern for safety. We wish the federal safety agency would consider this matter seriously as it could happen to other minis. Thank you
Tl* the contact owns a 2012 mini cooper countryman. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the engine sputtered and there was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact powered off and restarted the vehicle. Upon further inspection, the contact noticed that oil was leaking. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the hose pipe and freeze plug overheated and melted which caused the engine to require to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 44,000.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the MINI Cooper Countryman fire or smoke
Which MINI Cooper Countryman years have fire, smoke or burning smell problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2012 (9 complaints), 2013 (3 complaints) and 2011 (2 complaints).
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