The air bag light came on and stays on constantly now regardless of whether there is a passenger in the car or not. Because it is the air bag light located on the center panel where all the lights and gauges are located rather than the one up by the rear view mirror that refers to the passenger seat only, I assume that at this time the air bag system is not operational. Is there a recall for the air bag system on this car? If so, I have not been notified.
2006 MINI Cooper S airbags complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 67, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I am on my 4th passenger seat mat since purchasing this vehicle new in january 2007. In april I found a manufacturer recall part 573 safety recall report 15v‑205 that listed the vehicles affected by this recall. My vehicle was manufactured on nov 18, 2006 within the production date range. I have not received any information regarding this recall and can no longer find the recall on this site. As mentioned, this is my 4th front passenger seat occupant detection mat sensor. I would like information on what the procedure is to recover my costs associated with the last replacement of the sensor.
The passenger seat air bag warning light comes on regardless of the seat occupancy. It is unclear if the air bag is operational or not.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. The contact stated that the passenger seat air bag warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. Updated 6/11/15
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. The contact stated that when the ignition was turned to the on position, the air bag warning indicator illuminated. The failure recurred continuously. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that the air bag sensor failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v205000 (air bags). The approximate failure mileage was 62,000. Updated 7/8/15
Passenger airbag light constant on and disabled even if I have passenger. There are numerous attempts to talk to the san francisco dealer to have to defect fix the previous owner not able to afford to get it fix.
The passenger seat air bag light came on and will not go off. I was advised by an authorized mini copper mechanic that the passenger seat air bag sensor is bad. It's my understanding that mini cooper USA is not owning up to their responsibility to recall and repair what could possibly be a life safety problem. The leather seat is practically new and there's no excuse for this faulty air bag sensor seat/equipment. There was a recall for bmw's with the same issue. It's very disappointing.
The passenger air bag sensor stopped working. Now, even when there is someone in the passenger seat, the airbag is deactivated. The air bag sensor in the seat needs to work in order for the airbags to deploy-- and all of these systems are down due to a faulty sensor!
My 2006 bmw mini cooper s passenger air bag light sporadically is showing that it is deactivated regardless if there is a full sized adult or no one in the passenger seat. This has been a on going problem/concern will my passengers be protected in the event of a crash since the air bags are showing that they are shut off will they still work? I had it checked out at authorized mini dealer and they said the entire passenger seat needs to be replaced because the seat sensor was sending off faulty signals. This is ridiculous - $2000! I have been researching this and it is an onging issue with this model. Bmw had a similar problem with another one of their models and it had to be recalled. The same should happen with this car. They are putting peoples lives at risk with they install faulty passenger seat sensors and are charging an arm and a leg to fix their faulty part. Something needs to be done.
Passenger air bag warning light stays on all the time. Dealer and independent repair shop say the seat sensor need to be replaced. It is located in the seat and the whole seat needs to be replaced. Estimated cost $1200. To 1500. Us dollars. The passenger seat is rarely used. The repair is not covered by warranty. I don't know if the air bag will deploy. Apparently all bmw's were recalled for this problem but not the mini coopers which according to posted threads are also experiencing the same problem.
Airbag light is on full time, after a period of intermittent activity. There are hundreds of similar complaints on the web. The high cost of repairs seems to have resulted in a thriving business selling replacement "emulators" that imitate the sensor pad electrical characteristics. This is the same passenger seat occupancy sensor mat failure for which there have been extensive recalls for bmw vehicles made by the same manufacturer. Owner called mini, was stonewalled and told there was no interest in hearing about the problem, just take it to a dealer. Asked dealer service rep if it was safe to drive in this condition, was told "I'm not allowed to answer that." this is a safety issue that rises to the level of requiring a recall, as was done for earlier mini years. Mini does not offer the sensor mat as a separate part, instead requires replacement of the seat upholstery, a $600+ bmw part number which is back ordered with no certain delivery date or price. Including labor, the cost to repair is 10% to 20% of the current sales price of this year mini. Please, there can be no excuse for not recalling vehicles with this significant and expensive safety design flaw. (tr
Failure of oc-3 weight mat in passenger seat base, thus disabling passenger side airbag system. Cost to replace seat bottom is $1200. As this part is common between minis and bmws, and is very prone to failure, bmw has issued a recall on bmws in this model year area, but has not yet done so for minis. Perhaps bmw needs a wrongful death lawsuit to issue a recall? This is a travesty.
Vehicle was parked in garage for 3 months. When vehicle was started, the air bag light remained on. It has not turned off for 6 months and will not pass state inspection. The battery was strong enough to start the car with no problem and the vehicle has in a garage the entire time. When the vehicle was parked, all systems were functioning.
Passenger side air bag warning light spontaneously lighted without incident and continues to remain illuminated during operation of vehicle with or without passenger in seat. Mini of USA assistance denies any responsibility or warranty, but states that" air bag may not function in case of accident". This vehicle has 53,00 miles on odometer. Have observed many such complaints on related internet sites.
Air bag warning light and seat occupancy warning light came on. Took in for service- told seat occupant mat (front passenger seat) has failed and must be replaced. Replacement is cost prohibitive ($1700). Safety risk present because air bags may not deploy in event of crash. Dealer says there is no recall and will not replace the part under any extended warranty.
Airbag passenger seat sensor is bad $1500 to repair and no guarantee it will work correctly in the future. Why hasn't this been recalled??? Bmw who owns mini cooper recalled this sensor for their cars but why not the coopers? I'm so angry that they could care less about my families safety. Automobiles are required to have airbag systems but they aren't required to work properly??
Passenger side seat weight sensor went bad. Srs light illuminated. $1,500 to have dealer repaired. Car is not repaired yet.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. The contact stated the air bag warning indicator was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the passenger seat sensor mat was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000.
The passenger's seat mat airbag sensor has failed in my car and the airbag light remains lit at all times. This has happened twice now, the first time at 28801 miles and now again at 52300 miles. I paid $1200 for a full seat bottom replacement at the mini dealership to correct the problem and now, 3 years later, the new seat has failed in the same manner. Bmw has issued a recall for the exact same issue for their cars from the same year which use the same malfunctioning parts and mini needs to do the same for their customers. This is an expensive and recurring known safety issue that consumers should not be held responsible for. I have had 2 different mini dealerships acknowledge that they have had to fix this problem in countless 2005 and 2006 model year minis, yet there is no offer to rectify the issue despite the fact that I already had to pay out of pocket once.
38,000 miles: air bag warning light for passenger side seat stays illuminated. Air bag warning light remains on after vehicle has started and does not turn off. 54,900 miles: aisin automatic transmission - automatic transmission failed thereby making the car inoperable. The car showed signs of gear change slipping between 2nd and 3rd gears. Transmission diagnosis, catastrophic failure of manual valve body and internal gears. Required a complete transmission rebuild.
Passenger air bag warning light stays on all the time. Dealer and independent repair shop say the seat sensor need to be replaced. It is located in the seat and the whole seat needs to be replaced. Estimated cost $1200. To 1500. Us dollars. The passenger seat is rarely used. The repair is not covered by warranty. I don't know if the air bag will deploy. Apparently all bmw's were recalled for this problem but not the mini coopers which according to posted threads are also experiencing the same problem.
Airbag failure light came on... After researching this problem, this is a known issue but the manufacturer will not cover this under warranty. 700.00 to diagnose and fix the issue (conservative estimate) called mini USA, and they will not issue a recall even though thousands of people have had the same issue.
The air bag system warning light in the gauge cluster is lit at all times and makes the car chime all the time too. The dealership tells me that this is because the sensor mat in the passenger seat has failed and must be replaced. The dealership also tells me that all of the air bags in the car are disabled as long as the warning light is on, putting all passengers in the vehicle in danger of sustaining greater injuries in the event of a crash. These cars are made by bmw, which has acknowledged the same problem in their own cars, and have recalled over 200,000 bmw's to fix it . I feel that they should be required to address this problem in mini coopers, too.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. The contact stated that the front passenger's air bag warning light on the rearview mirror was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the technician diagnosed that the seat pad sensor needed to be replaced. No repairs were performed to the vehicle. The manufacture was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 54,000 and the current mile was 67,000.
The air bag system warning light in the gauge cluster is lit at all times. The repair shop tells me that this is because the sensor mat in the passenger seat has failed and must be replaced. My research indicates that this is a very common issue that is unjustifiable expensive to repair. The repair shop also tells me that all of the air bags in the car are disabled as long as the warning light is on, putting all passengers in the vehicle in danger of sustaining greater injuries in the event of a crash. These cars are made by bmw, which apparently acknowledged the same problem in other cars they produced and made repairs. I feel that they should be required to address this problem in mini coopers, too, via a federally mandated recall campaign.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while driving 20 MPH, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection where they stated that the passenger's seat mat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 45,000.
On my 2006 mini cooper s coupe, the passenger airbag off sensor light on the roof came on as well as the airbag sensor light in the center console indicating that the passenger seat could not detect the weight of a person in the passenger seat and therefore would not alert the airbag to turn on. My husband and I have both sat in the passenger seat and the light remained on. We then had a garage that specializes in imports look at the code, which is stating that there is an issue with the seat mat sensor and it is no longer recognizing the weight on the seat. This is a huge safety issue and a costly one at that. The seat cushion must be replaced and potentially the entire seat. I have noticed this same complaint on this site as well as other sites for models dating anywhere from 2002-2006. There is also a trend with this issue occurring when the car is 7 years old (2013 for 2006 models) regardless of the mileage. I have called mini and while they were very nice and helpful, there is nothing they can do to help with the cost of repairing this factory issue. When I called our local dealer they had mentioned a type of assistance or warranty extended on the 2003-2004 models, but not 2005 or later. Is it possible that this is just now becoming an issue and should now be addressed or added to the extended warranty? Is there grounds for a recall? There seems to be a trend of how and when this mat malfunctions. Please help those of us who have had this problem and are bound to have this problem in the near future get this fixed! Thank you!
Passenger seat occupancy sensor inop rendering airbag unsafe. Requires replacement of passenger seat cushion with new sensor mat. 6 speed automatic transmission slipping and shifting hard. Occasionally, renders car powerless as in neutral even if in travel lanes making unsafe to operate. Requires replacement of valve block. Servicing of automatic transmission fluid is not required by mini/bmw but same transmission in other brands do. Vw recommends atf replacement at 40k miles and doesn't have problems with valve block failure.
2006 mini cooper s passenger airbag light (above rearview mirror) is illuminated constantly (seat occupied or not). Local mini cooper dealership says the problem is the sensor pad, which is woven into the seat bottom, and the whole seat bottom must be replaced at a cost of $1650. Dealer service manager says that mini USA will not help with this, as the car is out of warranty and has 100k miles. I used an SRS scan tool to confirm that code 71 (seat occupancy sensor ii) is set and comes right back after clearing it. Quick search through the federal safety agency complaints and online mini enthusiast forums shows this is a frequent problem, especially in the 2005-06 model years. Clearly a severe safety defect which mini USA (bmw) should have addressed. No one can tell me if the passenger airbag will deploy in a crash or not. I also find it interesting the wide range of repair costs that others who have posted here were quoted by their local mini dealers (seems like anywhere from $1000 - $2000). Something is not right with that.
The passenger seat occupancy sensor has gone bad according to the diagnose from the dealer. I'm told that this will either make the air bag deploy at full force or possibly not at all. There seems that this is a very common occurrence on both bmw and mini's. Bmw has addressed the problem, mini has not. I have a car with an unpredictable air bag deployment and the dealer is telling me that it is a 1000 to make the car safe to put my family in. This seems like denial of a problem.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2006 MINI Cooper S?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history