2002 MINI Cooper S: sudden loss of power

Filed Jan 2, 2012 · Acceleration, Electrical · 86,000 miles · MD

Loss of power when going 60 MPH in the high speed left lane of four lane highway. Car went into "limp mode" and unable to accelerate. Car would only go 5 to 10 MPH with large truck behind and bearing down on me. Eml and service engine lights on dash. Was able to pull into a construction lane that happened to be right there. Otherwise would have been unable to get car out of the way. Car needed to be towed. Fault codes list throttle body and wiring harness as problems and recommendation is to replace both. From my research, the problem is well known and relates to poor connector between throttle body and wiring harness. Mini has since redesigned the angle of this connector to fix this problem. Such a loss of power while driving is extremely dangerous. Should be recall item.

Filed Oct 21, 2011 · Electrical, Steering · 82,000 miles · CA · fire

I was exiting the freeway when my battery indicator light went on; I lost power steering and saw a large amount of smoke coming from under the hood. The mini dealership has determined that the power steering module failed, and subsequently burned the wiring harness. There have been several reports of faulty manufacturing in regard to this part from bbc in uk, as well as on many forums, in particular north american motoring.

Filed Sep 30, 2011 · Steering · 76,000 miles · MA

Heard of powersteering issue but still purchased car. Driving to work smelled burning and lost powersteering, if this happens to a woman driving around a rotary and kills someone will you wait for 50 people to get killed before something is done. This is complete inadequate research on your part ford recalls due to electricalshort of the idle air control valve and cruise control cut pressure switch had to burn down houses when they had the cruise control issue which no recall till months after they knew it was a fault. By the way I am a mechanic ase certified own a shop in wakefield [xxx]. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed May 29, 2011 · Steering · 50,008 miles · WA

Driving approximately 25 MPH and vehicle lost power steering....made it home...checked all fluid levels...all okay....got back in the vehicle the next morning to take to service station and power steering was working again...garage could not find problem...scared to drive it now for fear of loss of steering again!

Filed May 16, 2011 · Steering · 60,000 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper. The contact stated that when traveling at various speeds, he would lose power steering intermittent without warning. He noticed that the power steering cooling fan would remain active without power to the vehicle. The dealer or manufacturer was not notified nor was the failure diagnosed or the vehicle repaired. The current mileage was 65,096. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000. Updated 06/24/11 *bf updated 06/30/11

Filed May 9, 2011 · Steering · 132,000 miles · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper s. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH a sudden loss of power steering occurred without prior warning. The vehicle was driven to the side of the road with difficulty in turning the steering wheel. The contact restarted the engine and was able to resume normally. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the power steering pump would be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 132,000. Updated 07/08/11 *bf the consumer stated the power steering goes out intermittently at random times. Updated 07/18/11

Filed Mar 17, 2011 · Steering · 100,500 miles · NJ

After picking my sister up from the train station I noticed a loss of power steering. Steering is now very difficult around corners and in city driving. No repairs made yet.

Filed Feb 14, 2011 · Steering · 55,000 miles · PA

2002 mini cooper s. Power steering pump failure with 55k miles on the highway. Caused loss of powersteering making the car difficult to control. Upon stopping the power steering pump wouldn't go off and drained the cars battery. This is a well publicized problem on the web, yet mini denies any fault.

Filed Dec 9, 2010 · Steering · 90,000 miles · MA

Loss of power steering 2002 mini cooper s.

Filed Nov 1, 2010 · Steering · CA

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper s. The contact was driving approximately 60 MPH when there was a complete loss of power steering without warning. The contact pulled over to the side of the road with difficulty. The engine was turned off and restarted. The power steering became functional. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis. The technician was unable to duplicate the problem. The failure continued. The failure mileage and VIN were unavailable.

Filed Oct 10, 2010 · Steering · 60,000 miles · GA

I read last week about possible sudden loss of power steering associated with 04-05 mini models. I have an 02 mini cooper s and have had the same problem approx 6 times in the last 4 years. With no warning, the power steering will suddenly disappear. I can steer the car, but only with significant effort. My mechanic cannot find any problem. I have not had any accidents as a result of this. I'm not certain, but it appears this might happen more frequently when the road is wet.

Filed Oct 3, 2010 · Steering · 90,000 miles · VA

My 2002 mini cooper s had an incident approximately six months ago when I completely lost power steering while going a low rate of speed. I was able to muscle the steering for a couple of minutes until the power steering returned. This occurred once more but very briefly in front of my house some time later. I did not do anything about this problem either time but I saw a story in USA today on mini steering problems (29 sept) and instantly recalled my problem. I am certain it is related to the mini steering issue now being investigated by the federal safety agency.