2002 MINI Cooper S: engine failure

6 of the 83 complaints about the 2002 MINI Cooper S describe engine failure.

owner complaints: 6
of this car's complaints: 7%
typical mileage: 74,000
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 13 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Engine failure by model year

2015
1
2013
1
2012
1
2011
2
2010
7
2009
8
2008
21
2007
36
2006
4
2005
5
2004
2
2003
2
2002
6

What owners say

Filed Jan 21, 2025 · Steering · 43,000 miles · WA

The contact owns a 2002 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45-55 MPH, the steering wheel seized. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was coasted to the side of the road. The contact restarted the vehicle and continued driving normally. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 15V660000 (STEERING). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and the contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 43,000.

Filed Nov 23, 2015 · Airbags, Steering · 103,000 miles · KS · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper s. While driving at 60 MPH and attempting to avoid hitting an animal, the steering wheel seized without warning and the vehicle struck the animal. The air bags did not deploy; however, the air bag warning light illuminated. A police report was not filed and there were no injuries reported. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Filed Oct 28, 2015 · Steering · 126,000 miles · NJ

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while driving approximately 55 MPH and making a turn, the steering wheel seized without warning. The failure recurred on numerous occasions. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who stated that the power steering pump would need to be replaced. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v66000 (steering). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 126,000.

Filed Jun 20, 2011 · Engine · 54,327 miles · NY

On 13 june 2011 a power steering fan shorted on my dauhters 2002 mini cooper s causing the radiator fan to stop. This caused the car to overheat. On 14 june 2011 car was repaired by a mini cooper dealer after being towed. Parts replaced are fan housing with fan, fan with protecting grille, wiring set for power supply, cable strap. Power steering fan seized causing cooling fans not to work. Dealer replaced wiring harness (updated) to keep power steering fan and cooling fans seperate (as told by service rep). Old parts where not kept. This happened once.

Filed Apr 6, 2011 · Electrical, Steering · 45,000 miles · CA · fire

A fire was caused by the failure of the power steering cooling fan. At some point the day of the incident the fan seized and the resulting electrical resistance in the main wiring harness caused the wiring harness to heat to a point of melting some of the plastic wire insulation allowing for direct wire to wire contact and resulted in an electrical fire between the engine and the passenger compartment. The resulting fire completely disabled the vehicle's electrical system and requires at minimum the replacement of the entire main wiring harness. Event description after a short drive (less than 2 miles on a cold engine) the vehicle was parked. After the engine was turned off smoke was seen rising from the vehicle engine compartment. Upon raising the hood, flames were seen between the engine and the passenger compartment reflecting off both fire walls. 2 fire extinguishers were required to put out the flames after the battery was disconnected. Total loss of the vehicle to fire was prevented by the owners actions.

Filed Aug 14, 2010 · Steering · 74,000 miles · MA

The power steering pump on 2002 mini cooper s has repeatedly seized up when driving over a course of a few months and now it wont turn off when the car is off so the battery drains out.