NHTSA Complaint #10969982 — 2017 MINI COOPER

WHILE MY WIFE WAS DRIVING THE 8-DAY-OLD COUNTRYMAN S ON A PARKWAY AT HIGHWAY SPEED, A PEBBLE WAS APPARENTLY KICKED BACK FROM A VEHICLE AHEAD, CAUSING A PIERCING OF THE RADIATOR AND A VIRTUAL IMMEDIATE INABILITY TO DRIVE. THIS CREATED A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY HAZARD. THE ISSUE IS NOT THE PEBBLE ITSELF, BUT RATHER THE FACT THAT, AS WE LEARNED FROM THE MECHANIC, THERE IS NO PROTECTIVE COVER OR SCREEN OVER THE FRONT OF THE RADIATOR TO PREVENT SUCH AN EVENT FROM CAUSING SEVERE DAMAGE TO THE RADIATOR. THIS IS A BRAND NEW MODEL OF COUNTRYMAN, AND IT APPEARS, AT LEAST AS COMPARED WITH A 2017 CLUBMAN, THAT THE RADIATOR IS NOT FULLY HIDDEN BEHIND THE FRONT END, BUT IS, INSTEAD, EXPOSED TO A PROJECTILE HAZARD.