Everything NHTSA's vPIC database knows about this exact vehicle:
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Vehicle history — accidents, title & owners
The decode above is what this vehicle is. For what it's been through — accidents, title brands, odometer, theft/total-loss and previous owners — pull a full history report.
NHTSA publishes the first 11 characters of the VIN with every complaint — that identifies the plant, model year, body and engine. So these are reports from cars built exactly like this one, not an average across the whole model.
WMWRE334X5T••••••2005 Mini COOPER S
This build draws 2.1× more complaints than the average 2005 Mini COOPER S build (14 vs 7).
14on this build
263on the model
39builds in total
1involved a crash
Most reportedSteering 13Power Train 1
What owners of this build wrote
SteeringcrashFeb 2011
I have a january 2005 built mini cooper s (r53) with approximately 21,000 miles on it. On february 12, 2011 I was driving the car on a winding road in southern california when the power steering pump catastrophically failed without any warning in the middle of a high speed turn.…
Power TrainJan 2015
Takata recall. Transmission would not shift gears intermittently while in automatic. Spent $5,600 to rebuild transmission. Still having intermittent issues
SteeringOct 2016
I have had the steering pump fail twice in my 2005 r53 mini, the 1st time the power steering would cut out at random while driving and the pump would continued to run after car was turned off (had to disconnect battery for it to stop). This was replaced in 2013 at a mini…
SteeringMar 2013
While driving on a 2 lane 2 way (1 per direction) rural road very windy on my daily commute into my office I lost power steering. I was on a straightaway and luckily not in a curve because the steering instantly became tight and at low speeds is almost unable to steer. I say…
SteeringJul 2012
The power steering went out while driving the vehicle. It has occurred intermittently since then
Read all 14 complaints on this exact buildFull text, search by keyword, and the systems that fail most on cars built like yours.Unlock with Pro →
Owner complaints…
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Exact value for this VIN, adjusted for mileage
The original window sticker and factory options
Full research report as a PDF you can hand to a mechanic
Decoded via NHTSA vPIC. Recalls, complaints and safety from NHTSA; MPG from EPA fueleconomy.gov. Full history reports from our partner. VIN WMWRE334X5TD97196 · decoded Sep 2026. — ForCar Reviewed by Denis Kataev, founder of ForCar.