Mercedes Benz C250 vs Mini Cooper S

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Mercedes Benz C250	Mini Cooper S
Complaints on file	902	2,181
Model years covered	2012–2016	2002–2025
Worst model year	2013	2003
Best model year	2015	2012
Crashes reported	51	57
Fires reported	21	152
Injuries reported	43	54
Deaths reported	0	4
Most complained-about part	Airbags	Steering
Share of complaints involving harm	12.7%	12.2%

Mercedes Benz C250 by year

317 346 222 16 1

12 13 14 15 16

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Airbags 437 48.4%

Engine & Cooling 135 15.0%

Fuel & Propulsion 59 6.5%

Steering 44 4.9%

Other & Unspecified 43 4.8%

Electrical System 37 4.1%

Body & Structure 29 3.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 27 3.0%

Mini Cooper S by year

105 258 279 383 243 300 197 151 78 46 30 32 17 20 10 8 7 8 1 2 6

02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 22 24 25

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Steering 682 31.3%

Engine & Cooling 528 24.2%

Airbags 281 12.9%

Electrical System 174 8.0%

Transmission & Drivetrain 114 5.2%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 70 3.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 55 2.5%

Other & Unspecified 52 2.4%