Friday, August 7, 2026
RecallGazette

Vehicle problems, recalls & safety intelligence

MINI Cooper 2002–2007technical service bulletin

Bulletin M120213 · NHTSA communication 10150304 · issued Oct 1, 2013

Technical service bulletin
communication type
Engine and Engine Cooling
component
2002–2007
model years
16
vehicle entries

Official summary

State Inspection and Emission (I/M) Test Fails to Read 17-Character VIN. An affected vehicle may fail to pass a state-mandated Inspection and/or Emission (I/M) test due to a noncompliant 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN) being read out and displayed on the state's required tester report printout. In accordance with the OBD regulation, all MY 2005 and newer vehicles are required to support the display of their compliant 17-character VINs. These vehicles were produced to be in compliance with this regulation. If the DME was reprogrammed using the previously available BMW service e

What a TSB means. Technical service bulletins are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls, and repairs are not automatically free (warranty extensions are an exception worth checking). The full document is available via NHTSA’s vehicle lookup.