2015 MINI John Cooper Works problems

What is wrong

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper two-door vehicles, 2015-2016 MINI John Cooper Works and MINI Cooper S and MINI Cooper four-door vehicles and 2014-2015 BMW i3 vehicles. Due to a manufacturing error, the passenger frontal air bag may not deploy properly in a low speed crash. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."

Risk

In the event of a vehicle crash, an air bag that does not deploy properly increases the risk of injury to the front seat passenger.

Remedy

MINI and BMW will notify owners, and dealers will replace the passenger frontal air bag module, free of charge. The recall began on November 25, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1‑866‑825‑1525 and BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417.

Recall number 15V628000 · Recall details

What is wrong

BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2014-2015 MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtop 2 Door vehicles and 2015 MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop 2 Door vehicles. The affected vehicles do not meet the side impact performance requirements for the rear seat passengers. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 214, "Side Impact Protection."

Risk

If the side impact performance requirements are not met, rear seat passengers may be at a higher risk of injury during a crash.

Remedy

MINI will notify owners, and dealers will install additional energy absorption material between the rear interior side panels and the exterior vehicle body, free of charge. The recall began on September 4, 2015. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1‑866‑825‑1525. Note: this recall supersedes 14V‑815.

Recall number 15V450000 · Recall details

In a Consent Order executed on December 17, 2015, BMW of North America, LLC (BMW NA) admitted that it violated the Safety Act by: failing to conduct a timely recall for Recall No. 15V‑450; failing to file certain quarterly recall reports in a timely manner; failing to timely notify vehicle owners of the existence of a defect or noncompliance; failing to promptly advise the federal safety agency of delays with the beginning or completion dates for mailing owner or dealer notifications; and failing to timely submit copies to the federal safety agency of communications relating to recalls.As part of the Consent Order, the federal safety agency imposed a total civil penalty of $40 million against BMW NA for its violations of the Safety Act.The civil penalty consists of a cash payment, monetary performance obligations, and stipulated penalties.BMW NA paid the $10 million cash penalty on February 12, 2016.Failure to comply with the terms of the Consent Order or the Safety Act will result in portions of the stipulated penalties coming due.The Consent Order required BMW NA to appoint an independent safety consultant to assist BMW NA in developing best practices for complying with the Safety Act and evaluating safety issues under consideration by BMW NA.BMW NA was also required to develop a program to train dealers on the importance of complying with the prohibition on selling unremedied vehicles under recall, improve dealers' access to information necessary to maximize completion of open recalls, and invest in a pilot program to determine whether BMW NA can use data analytics to detect emerging safety defect trends.The population listed in this closing resume is based on BMW NA's untimely recall and does not include other issues addressed by the Consent Order, which relate to BMW NA's safety processes.Based on the Consent Order, BMW NA's admissions that it violated the law, and its ongoing performance obligations, this audit query investigation, AQ15-004, is closed. Closure of this AQ has no bearing on the terms of the Consent Order, including BMW NA's ongoing performance obligations or legal obligations, and does not represent a determination by the federal safety agency as to BMW NA's performance under the Consent Order to date.

AQ15004