I purchased my '03 mini copper s with 49k from a honda in mechanicsburg, pa dealer in august. In december, I purchased tires and then went to a self-service carwash afterward. When I got home and before I put it in the garage, I took out the hose and washed off the wheels and under the car. During the process there was white smoke, which I thought was steam from the water hitting the manifold. I put the car in the garage and later when my wife came home she commented on the smoke and mist in the garage (it was quite cold that night.) the next day when I pulled the car out, the steering was very stiff and I only drove it out the driveway and on the road before I realized the power steering was completely out. I drove it about 15 miles to the dealer after checking fuses and determining that the problem was beyond my mechanical skills. The power steering pump, fan and harness were replaced along with the battery (shorted out). Insurance adjusters from hondacare (extended warranty), state farm insurance company (my comprehensive insurance) and the dealership determined that the power steering pump had caught fire. Their conjecture was that I had put out the fire with the hose when I sprayed under the car. Honda care paid $1999 from extended warranty for the power steering pump, battery, power steering harness and fan. A total of $2700 additional from state farm comprehensive insurance (hondacare extended warranty would not cover harness, towing and diagnostic work from the mini dealer in maryland, etc because they were the result of damage caused by the power steering pump fire); state farm insurance was exceptional and covered the difference with comprehensive covered. The parts are not available at this time but I was told that there are reports including pictures from adjusters at hondacare and from state farm insurance.
2003 MINI Cooper S electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 14 of 14, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2003 mini cooper s I drove to work as on any other day and pulled into my usual parking spot. About 10 minutes later my car alarm went off. When I went outside to check, all the electrical systems were going nuts - door locks, lights, the alarm, etc. I saw a little bit of smoke coming from under the hood. I popped the hood and boot, pulled out my fire extinguisher, but didn't see flames. I smelled electrical fire, and saw a whisp of smoke but that was it. I emptied the boot and tried to disconnect the battery (I heard something 'whirring' and realized that the electrical system was obviously malfunctioning.) I couldn't disconnect it manually so I left it and checked the engine bay again. Still no flame, but more smoke. I ran inside and asked a co-worker to call the fire department. Then grabbed my phone and ran back out. Another co-worker came out with me and helped me get the fire extinguisher working; now we could see some small flames coming from below the airbox. I used up the extinguisher but there was still a little fire. Fortunately it worked itself out... Then the fire department showed up. They disconnected my battery and had a look. They said that using the extinguisher definitely kept it from spreading. They filed a report but to my knowledge there was no police report. The damage started with the power steering pump igniting. The pump was replaced along with some wiring harnesses and a few other assorted parts. The engine bay was detailed to get all the fire extinguisher 'goo' out of it. The car has been functioning normally for almost a year now with the new parts. More info here: http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73527.
Complete failure of the internal controller area network, resulting in blown electronics, service engine soon light, ABS light, dsc light and air bag light. Cause was apparently a faulty radio. However, a replacement radio failed when installed in the vehicle, bringing more controller area network problems.
Driver's side electric window would not open for 18 hours. This occurred after a heavy rain storm and did not clear until after a 20 minute drive the following day. Attempts to open the window the day and evening of the failure while parked and driving all failed.
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