I was driving on the highway when I noticed my steering felt "tight". It was difficult to navigate a curve. I tried to pull into a rest area when I realized I had almost no steering ability. I was able to turn the car by using both hands. I almost crashed on the ramp. It was a very scary experience. The problem is still there. I spoke with the dealer. It is my power steering pump. It is a very expensive repair and it seems there are lots of complaints. I am very glad I did not have to do any emergency turns, I would not have been able to steer the car. This could have been a disaster.
2005 MINI Cooper Convertible steering complaints
Page 4 of 4: complaints 71 to 75 of 75, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2005 mini cooper power steering pump failure, while making a turn, without notice my power steering pump failed my vehicle has aprox. 80k miles on it. Mini is remanufactuing the pump with design improvements this tells me they know something is wrong with the original pump, they should be made to repair the original pumps fee of charge not the $800.00 they want just for the pump. This is not an isolated incident.
2005 mini cooper s convertible. Just over 50,000 miles. Today, whilst driving to lunch, my power steering failed. There was no warning, it just quit, mid-drive. The car is now very difficult to steer. This could have easily caused an accident. Looking online, I see that this is a common failure, yet there have been no recalls. Http://www.mini2.com/forum/first-generation-faults-fixes/49527-important-have-you-had-power-steering-pump-failure-please-vote-yes-no.html.
Regular driving at around 6pm at about 40mph around a bend, complete power steering failure, the car became very heavy to steer, with no prior warning, and no warning lights. Almost caused an accident as the car failed to steer. Nothing has been done, the warranty has been over for 3 months and mini are saying a goodwill repair might be available, but will not do a free diagnostic, help us get to a dealership or promise anything beforehand. A new power steering pump is likely needed, as per the evidence of the european recall, and other mini driver testimony.
I was driving down the street at about 40 MPH and my steering became extremely hard and almost refused to completely work as I was rounding a bend! I had to slam on my brakes to avoid an accident and slowly inch to a safe parking spot. After being scared out of my wits, I calmed down and parked my car. I let the car sit overnight and checked power steering fluid and it was full. I then looked online and found many mini owners with the same problem. Mini says they will not fix it.
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