More than 12,000 Mini Cooper SE electric vehicles are being recalled in the United States. It’s part of a global recall effort that affects over 140,000 Mini EVs that could have an issue with their batteries.
The recall affects 12,535 2020-2024 Mini Cooper SEs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Safety Recall Report, the high-voltage battery may not have been produced according to the automaker’s specifications. The document didn’t specify a direct cause, stating, “Faults may occur in the high voltage battery or high voltage system, which could be caused by various reasons.”
A fault could lead to a short circuit, overheating the battery and causing a "thermal event," i.e., a fire. It can even happen when the EV isn’t even in operation, but a warning message will appear to the driver.
BMW North America said it’s not aware of any injuries or accidents related to the issue. It began investigating a Mini that suffered a thermal event in October 2023 before learning in January 2024 of a second incident occurring in Germany.
Mini will update the potentially affected vehicles with new software that includes a diagnostic function that can detect malfunctions in the high-voltage battery and discharge it below 30 percent. The update is free, and the automaker will begin notifying owners on October 7.
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