Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (power windows, windshield, wipers, mirrors, sunroof).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Mini Cooper S owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
2003 Mini Cooper s. My wiper motor died in a heavy rainstorm, or so I thought. Driving without the wipers in hilo, hi where I live with 140" a year of rain can be deadly when wipers don't work. It is a well documented defect affecting all original 02-06 minis. See here for details. I repaired mine simply by grounding the wiper motor to anywhere else on the car. I had to drive 3 weeks without wipers before I could fix this. Dealers charge $600 to fix it and it is a design defect and the motor is not actually dead. It is a poor, and potentially deadly design. I guess I could have spent a couple thousand renting a car for that time, or just spent $600 right away and another $500 on the car to get it fixed. I took my chances, so will many others. There were plenty of times I couldn't see well and hoped for the best. Here is the site with lots of info about it. …
Cracked windhsield on Mini Cooper s. One of probably thousands suffered by min owners owing to the glass being too thin and the windshield too upright. This ia a design and safety issue. My windshield cracked Monday April 14. A small stone May have hit it, but the crack did no begin until the next morning. Random cracks due to stones and rocks are to be expected from time to time. But the occurrence of cracks on the miji Cooper s is epidemic and widely known. The company denies this is a design or manufacturing issue, but the frequency of these cracks, admitted by the Mini Cooper dealer network, is widely known to br a problem with the car, and there is no policy to remedy it, other than having the windhsiled replaced at a cost exceeding $600. …
2003 Mini Cooper s purchased new; at approx 4500 miles 6-inch crack appeared overnight in lower right corner of windshield. Vehicle was parked at the time and there was no visible damage anywhere on windshield. Since then, crack has progressed nearly to center of windshield. Took vehicle to dealer and was told that the crack was the result of a stone hitting the windshield. Service manager "proved" this by tracing crack with a ballpoint pen until it encountered a microscopic, nearly invisible "pit" along the crack. Dealer declined to replace under warranty. Personal opinion, supported by experience of other Mini owners: stress crack probably caused by incorrect installation or underdesigned windshield. In any case, Mini has been inconsistent in solution, replacing some customers' windshields under warranty and refusing to replace others, like mine.
Windshield cracked at 3 months usage and 4,000 miles on the car. I know this to be an inherent problem with the Cooper and Cooper s as I have monitored the Mini Cooper message board for well over a year now and have seen many failures posted(many of them multiple failures). Don't know how to get the company to address this problem as it monitors the message board continuously but has yet to offer owners any options for the poor quality of the vehicle glass.
Numerous windsheild chips in less than 12,000 miles. I have never had a vehicle with a windshield that chips so easily. The smallest of debris will result in a significant chip. The windsheild has to be too weak. How can the windshield protect you when it is so weak. The first chip happened at about 800 miles another at about 8000 miles and the last at 11000 miles. The first one was "repaired" the next morning. But it is now spidering.
The front windsheild cracked, extremely small chips on windsheild. Crack appears when car is parked for a week. I had huge rocks landed on my windshield before and nothing more than an extremely small chip, unlike other cars that are driven daily. I believe the crack is a stress crack and not caused by a rock. Many complaints where filed at http://www.minicooperonline.com in regards with this matter.
My 2003 Mini Cooper's windshield cracked shortly after I took delivery of the new car. It was never hit by a rock, and many other Mini Cooper owners have experienced stress fractures caused by weak windshield glass. BMW/Mini-USA refused to replace the defective windshield under warranty
The windshield on my 2004 Mini Cooper s just got a stress crack today. This has been a problem since the minis introduction and was supposedly fixed with reinforced a pillars on 04s. It has about 2500 miles on it. Many Mini owners would like this problem to be resolved, permanently.
Windshield cracked three days after purchase. I don't remember any stone damage being done. When I washed my car (hot day), a crack developed in the mid-right bottom border of my windshield. I brought it in to the service department, and they told me it was stone damage.
Consumer called complaining about the windshield. Also, stated that this will be the third windshield. Manufacturer was contacted, and stated that rocks were hitting the vehicle and that was the reason why there were cracks on the windshield.
Window & Wiper complaints in other Cooper S years
Frequently asked questions
How common are window & wiper problems on the 2003 Mini Cooper S?
NHTSA has 33 complaints about the windows, wipers & sunroof of the 2003 Mini Cooper S, 15% of the model year's 217 complaints. The component named most often is windshield (29 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Mini Cooper S window & wiper problems?
No. NHTSA lists no windows, wipers & sunroof recall for the 2003 Mini Cooper S, though it has 2 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Mini Cooper S window & wiper problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 8,000 miles, and 74% before 25,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.