One problem related to front air bag sensor control has been reported for the 2011 Mini Cooper Countryman. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Reference my call in report ref. # 10598125: the "passenger air bag off" light (located in the overhead console) remains illuminated after the system does it's initial check at start up. If anyone sits in the passenger seat the light goes out. The system did not operate this way until the car reached approximately 15,000 miles. Originally the light would come on for a few seconds at start up then go out. After checking several owner blogs online, I found out that all owners experiencing this issue have been unsuccessful in getting a definitive explanation from their dealers. Some dealers repaired the issue by replacing the seat pan sensor or repairing the under seat connector. Some dealers have said the condition is normal. I took my car to my dealer, "south Mini of miami" and was initially told there was an obvious problem and scheduled the car for troubleshooting and repair. After the scheduled service, I was told that the system was checked and that all components were operational and nothing was faulty. I was also told that the light remaining on without a passenger in the seat was normal. My concern is that none of the USA Mini dealerships can definitively explain the correct operation of the system or why it suddenly started working in a different way. It can't be correct both ways; it was either faulty for the first 15,000 miles or it is faulty now. This appears to be a common issue with several Mini coopers and some BMW models. I believe further investigation is warranted given the potential for catastrophic failure of the "Smart airbag system" .
| Air Bag problems | |
| Front Air Bag Sensor Control problems |