BMW Recalls 12K Electric Mini Coopers Over Thermal Event Risk From High Voltage Batteries

Owners of 2020-2024 Mini Cooper SE EVs should already be getting a recall letter from BMW of North America over a potential battery issue. The problem stems from batteries that were possibly manufactured out of specs, which could lead to overheating and thus, a potential fire risk. Curiously, BMW (which owns the Mini brand) isn't initiating any kind of replacement batteries for the affected cars, but a software fix that looks more like a poor man's band-aid.

BMW of America has issued a recall to 12,535 Mini Cooper SE owners over a potential issue of the battery system. According to documents filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), high voltage batteries of Mini Cooper SEs produced between 2020-2024 could've been made out of standard production specifications. The filing elaborates that "faults may occur in the high voltage battery or high voltage system," which could lead to an overheating of the high voltage battery and, in rare cases, a thermal event, even when the vehicle is not in operation."

To date, there have been only two reported cases related to the Mini's battery system, one in the U.S. and most recentlt in Germany. In the former, the vehicle experienced a "thermal event" (i.e. battery malfunction), while with the latter analysis by BMW AG found battery faults. In both cases, the company began conducting reviews and further analysis, and ultimately concluded that batteries used in 2020-2024 Mini Cooper SEs may be defective. The company didn't say whether some or all batches of batteries within that production period are affected or where the batteries were manufactured. 

BMW of NA is therefore requesting owners of affected vehicles to bring their cars to Mini dealerships to have a software update applied. The fix: when the software's battery diagnostics detects any malfunction in the high voltage battery, the system will put the car in high voltage battery emergency mode, then will discharge the battery if it's below 30 percent state-of-charge.

We understand battery replacements are pricey and that the software is designed to keep fires from happening. However, what happens if (when) the software glitches out or happens to flag a false positive? Just when you thought you had enough juice to make it home after work, you come back to a bricked car, all because the software decided to discharge the rest of the battery.