The power steering on my 2005 mini cooper convertible suddenly failed on a turn, nearly causing me to go into a ditch. My mini dealer told me it was probably the power steering pump & would cost $1400 to replace. I researched the problem on the internet & found this was a common issue with the mini cooper & that an investigation was taking place into the defective pump & that a recall might be forthcoming. I called mini USA's customer service dept. Their rep told me that they were aware of the issue & that they might be able to offer "goodwill" assistance in getting it replaced if I took it to my dealer for verification that it was a pump failure. I took it to the dealer who verified that the pump needed replaced. Their service department said this had been a common problem & that they were aware of the complaints made about the pump going bad. I called mini USA's customer service, spoke to a supervisor who told me she'd get back to me. A week later, she called & told me that my request for assistance has been denied & that I would be responsible for the replacement. I strongly feel that, in light of the numerous complaints about the power steering pump, bmw/mini should be held accountable for its replacement. $1400 is an incredible amount of money to replace something that shouldn't have gone bad in the first place. There are no local mechanics who can take repair this so mini USA/bmw has us right where they want us - powerless to fight a big company & helpless because we need our vehicles. I would have never expected this to happen on a car with less than 45,000 miles on it. Suddenly losing one's power steering can be extremely dangerous. I encourage the federal safety agency to further investigate this vehicle's power steering pump defect & issue a recall to ensure the safety of the vehicle's drivers, passengers & anyone who could be injured due to sudden loss of its power steering.
2005 MINI Cooper Convertible steering complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 75, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Intermittent loss of power steering, usually when making a turn - extremely dangerous in middle of intersection - have almost had two accidents when steering went out. It became progressively worse and as of may, 2011 the power steering was completely "out" - however as of august 22, 2011 it returned to full working order - and lasted for approx. 9 days and then started to pop in and out intermittently after starting and turning off the vehicle. As of approx. Sept. 8, 2011 the power steering is completely out.
2005 mini cooper power steering abruptly failed while driving at 55 MPH on a winding 2 lane rural road. I was able to keep the car on the road and was able to drive the car home with great difficulty. Had this been a heavily traveled highway, the results could have been much different. When it happened, it took a little time to figure out what was going on and I found myself in the oncoming lane before I was able to recover.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper convertible. The contact stated the steering column locked and the vehicle would not move. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated there was a failure with the steering electric power assist. The cost would be $1000 for the repairs. The dealer stated they would give her a return call if they repair the vehicle under warranty. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 102,000. Updated 07/08/11*lj the dealer replaced the power steering pump. Updated 07/29/11
My power steering failed as I was making a turn in my neighborhood. The problem is intermittent and a little unnerving. I am strong enough to drive the car without the power assist, but this is not true of my wife. If the problem were to occur when she was driving she might lose control.
When I got in my 2005 mini cooper convertible to come to work today, I found that I didn't have power steering. I drove approximately 20 miles to a gas station and filled up the tank. When I started the car again, the power steering worked perfectly. After I got to work, I looked on the internet to see if anyone else had experienced this and there were many different people who had dealt with this and according to a few news sources, this could be close to a recall situation. The fix for this is extremely expensive according to the sites that I visited, but the safety of the situation is the over riding factor. If this would have happened with my mother or with my wife driving, I'm not sure if they would have been able to control the car.
Power steering stopped working. Power steering replacement, trunk repair and driver's side door repair. Updated 07/26/11 *bf
I had two separate incidents of losing power steering in my 2005 mini cooper convertible. About a month ago, I was driving and made a right turn. The steering wheel felt very heavy and it was extremely hard to make the turn - complete loss of power steering. The problem persisted for any turn on the way home. The next time I drove the car, the steering seemed fine, and continued to seem fine until yesterday afternoon (march 8, 2011). Once again, I made a right turn and found that I had no power steering. I needed to stop for gas, so after some rather tricky maneuvers to get parked by a gas pump, and shutting the car off, the power steering seemed ok again. I have seen where there are multiple reports of similar problems, so I wanted to add my incident to your database.
Same issue as complaints 10378962 and 10380308, related to investigation 10-038. Power steering failed while attempting to make a right hand turn
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. While driving approximately 35 MPH and attempting to make a right hand turn, the steering being difficult to control. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who contacted the manufacturer on her behalf. The manufacturer was notified who informed the contact that they would speak with the regional manager on her behalf and the contact was awaiting a response. The vehicle had not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were unknown.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper convertible. The contact stated that after she parked the vehicle and shut the vehicle off, she heard a loud noise from the vehicle. The vehicle was driven home and the contact unplugged the battery, which stopped the loud noise that she was hearing. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who informed the contact that she needed to replace the power steering pump. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that there was nothing they could do. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 69,998.
The power steering pump failed suddenly and was unable to turn the car. *tr updated 08/24/11 *bf updated 08/29/11
Sudden steering failure.
Same issue as complaint 10378962, related to investigation 10-038. Power steering failed when attempting to make a left hand turn.
Power steering failed while attempting to turn corner. Failure continued for several miles/hours and then began working again after a period of inactivity
While driving my 2005 mini cooper, my power steering went out. I was in the middle of a right turn from a very busy street when the steering went out in the middle of the turn. I nearly crashed head-on into oncoming traffic and the steering was so difficult, I pulled a shoulder and back muscle just trying to complete the turn. The power steering was out for the rest of my trip. Since then, the power steering has failed intermittently on a daily basis and comes with no warning. It will drive for several miles with no problem and then suddenly stop working.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper convertible. The contact heard a high pitched squeaking noise while making left and right turns. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where she was told that the power steering pump was failing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 72,000. The VIN was unavailable.
I own a 2005 mini cooper. It has a power steering pump fan that has gone out, and is causing unsafe steering issues. I understand the federal safety agency is investigating this issue.
Mini cooper 2005 california USA. Loss of power steering problem - currently, intermittent loss of power steering, either from cold-start, or while driving on short or long distances. Can happen for only a few seconds or remain for minutes. Once the power loss is realized, it is possible to switch engine off then on again to regain power - sometimes - but problem can return after minutes or hours. It is very scary to be driving on busy roads when cornering is required, lacking faith whether one will be able to steer the vehicle out of the path of other road-users... Internet searches show other people experiencing similar problems but dealers and manufacturers are ignoring or side-stepping this serious safety issue.
After about 77,000 miles on my 2005 mini cooper, I encountered sudden and intermittent difficulty with the steering wherein the power steering would abruptly fail. The first two incidents occurred ~3-4 months ago, both directly after starting the vehicle's engine and pulling out of parking. The most recent incidents occurred within the past 6 weeks, randomly during the first 40 miles of my commute. After each incident, I was able to regain full control of the steering by pulling over and shutting off the vehicle's engine and then reengaging it. There have now been a total of 6 incidents. The most recent incident, a few days ago, occurred while I was driving the vehicle on a winding highway and was making a turn. When the power steering failed, it was extremely difficult to correct the angle/speed of the vehicle's turn and a crash into the oncoming traffic lane seemed extremely likely. After cautious braking and relying on the remaining manual steering, using very firm and swift hand-over-hand motion on the steering wheel, I was able to maintain some control over the vehicle's wheels. Then, engaging the vehicle's hazard lights, I was eventually able to pull over at the next available highway's shoulder, but it was an extreme awkward maneuver requiring some of the drivers of vehicles around me to adjust their own speeds and turns. I have since brought the vehicle to the dealership's service center and am awaiting the results of the vehicle inspection in response to my complaints. I do not intend to drive the vehicle again until the issue with the power steering is completely resolved, for my own safety and the safety of other drivers. A crash in the future would seem inevitable, otherwise, with inconsistent power over the steering during any commute that involves many winding turns. (if the power steering could be completely disengaged, allowing only manual steering, it would seem far safer than for it to randomly turn off in the midst of driving).
I have a 2005 mini cooper convertible - r52. The power steering does not work well. It started being problematic about a year ago right after I purchased the car. While driving the powersteering goes very stiff. It is difficult to turn and sometimes when turning off a highway while the power steering is not working, it comes back on, and I end up oversteering off the road and then back on to the road. This has been happening with increasing frequency during the time I have owned this car. I was told by mini that this is not a common problem, but my research seems to indicate that there are 10's of thousands of mini owners from 2002 to 2006 who have this problem. Ottos mini in west chester pa quoted me over $1000 do repair it...and they do not seem to see the scope of the problem. I am considering buying the new parts (fan, motor and circuit board) and installing my self. I just cannot spend 1000-1500 bucks to fix this. The parts are about $500 bucks and the install hopefully is pretty easy from what I have read. I hope that your testing does prove this problem needs to be resolved by a recall. It appears that they made a design change that has eliminated the problem in the 2006 or 7 model year. That alone is enough for me to believe that, while I love my mini, I am driving a time bomb, that will cause and accident due to poor engineering. Please help me. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
Twice, while parallel parking my 2005 mini cooper convertible, I lost power steering. It seems to happen intermittently and restores when I restart my car. Dealer says I need to replace my power steering pump.
Power steering in my 2005 mini cooper with 28,000 miles sometimes functions and other times does not-mostly though it does not function. This issue has been ongoing since march, 2010. On rare occasions, I will start the car and the power steering will function as normal.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper s. The contact stated that the power steering failed intermittently. When the failure occurred it became extremely hard to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle was not inspected by the dealer when the complaint was filed. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage and current mileages were 15000.
2005 mini cooper convertible at first intermittent power steering failure and now complete power steering failure. The first time it happened very suddenly while making a left turn, I almost ran into another car. Now I am not driving the car until I can afford to have it repaired.
Mini cooper , power steering froze up and came back while driving at highway speed.
2005 mini cooper - sudden loss of steering on interstate highway at 70 MPH. Dealer stated power steering pump failure & not uncommon in 5 year old car. Not covered under warranty. Power steering pump replaced.
Loss of power steering and power brakes in a 2005 mini cooper convertible. No warning and intermittent occurrence. Sometimes would happen while driving and some times would be immediately after turning car on. Took car to mechanic and he could not find cause. No computer damage, no codes present to indicate that any thing unusual had occurred. I traded the car in for a different maker and model.
I was on my regular commute through city streets. After about 10 miles of driving I was going about 40mph on a fairly straight road. On the next light curve I noticed the wheel was more difficult to turn. I slowed down to turn into a side road and that's when I realized the power steering must have been out. I checked the reservoir and it was full. I called the dealer and they said they were aware of many complaints of power steering going out. They also mentioned that there is no recall for the power steering. Dealer notified me there would be a $100 charge for diagnostics. If its found to be the power steering fan it would cost $300 plus labor. If it's the pump it would be $800 plus labor. Warranty expired 5 months ago. Apparently mini does not want to have to pay to fix a problem that numerous mini owners are having. This is a safety issue! Having the power steering go out mid-drive can easily cause an accident!
Nothing specific to lead up to failure power steering will intermittently fail, and occasionally be restored nothing has been done to correct the failure.
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