Was stopped in parking lot, fire started in engine bay. Power steering has been intermittent for awhile. Shop indicated that the fan failed and caused the pump/wiring to completely melt. This issue is widely known and found on mini cooper forums.
2003 MINI Cooper S steering complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 129, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Power steering pump is whining and according to dealer is going to fail at anytime. Unfortunately this unit does not fail in the driveway it fails while driving the vehicle. Hopefully I will be driving when this happens as my wife will not have the strength to get the car under control. There has been a recall in canada for this same problem and all of us mini drivers in the us are wondering why we don't have a recall here.
I was going around a 90 degree corner at about 15 MPH when the steering seemed to lock up. I quickly realized that the power steering had failed, and I wrestled the steering wheel to complete the turn. Since then, the power steering has not worked 90% of the time.
Power steering failed, making it very difficult to steer. Nearly impossible to turn wheel while stopped. My wife can barely drive the car. From researching this site and other sites, my situation seems to be the same as thousands of others, and I would like my name to be added to the current investigation.
I purchased a used mini cooper s six months ago, in december 2011. I drove my vehicle as I normally due, just across town about 10 miles, and it was fine. I parked my car and went inside. When I came out, about 10-15 minutes later, and tried to back out of the driveway, the power steering was non-existent. I pulled back into the driveway and checked the fluid level and let the car cool down for a few more minutes. When I restarted the car, the power steering was back. Since then, the power steering is intermittent. If the car is hot, it usually does not work, but if the car is given a chance to cool down, then it seems to work, but the problem is occurring more and more frequently and I have found many complaints from other mini owners.
I drove my 2003 mini cooper s to my local department of transportation to renew my driver's license. Nothing abnormal occurred on the trip to the dmv. When I got in and began to drive home, there was no power steering. Later that evening, I started the car when it was cool and the power steering was back until the car warmed up. The radiator fan and the power steering fan do not function upon doing research on the internet, I have found that this problem occurs extremely often in 2002-2007 minis. I also found, posted on a mini forum by someone claiming to be an engineer, a diagnosis of the problem. Carbon dust from the electric motor that operates the power steering pump gets into the control unit attached to it. Since the chip was not properly sealed with a lacquer, it causees a short circuit in the chip. This causes the pump to fail. Another possible cause is the failure of the cooling fan for the power steering pump. The fan can seize, stop cooling the pump, and eventually it will overheat. This also trips a fuse that stops the radiator fan. As a result, the engine can also overheat. I have determined that the fan has stopped working. Since I have only had this car since the middle of winter and the has been the only warm day I have driven it, this was the first time I noticed it. I plan to avoid the $1000 charge to have it replaced at the dealer by repairing it myself but many people are not this fortunate. I believe this design flaw can and will cause serious accidents to occur. If my mother, sister, or girlfriend had been driving my car on the highway when it failed, they would not have been able to steer resulting in a serious crash. While perusing various mini forums, I have read stories of several serious crashes. I would like to see a recall on all 2002-2007 mini coopers so that this problem can not harm someone.
While driving, it felt as though my power steering had gone out. I continued to drive to my location. Once in the parking lot, steering became near impossible, especially while going at very slow speeds. When I went to back out of my parking spot that evening, it was unable to be done, causing me to call a tow truck to tow my car.
The power steering went out just after I purchased it. I see that there are multiple complaints about this problem for nearly every year model that this vehicle has been produced for the american market. I called a local dealership to see if there was a recall and I stated that message boards online were loaded with angry customers complaining about the same thing. They refused to admit that there's a problem and want to charge me $2500! Please, the federal safety agency, do something about this!
Steering pump failed and had to be replaced.
Power steering seem a little hard but while cruising on the freeway it seemed like it almost went completely out. Hasn't happened like that since but its still a little harder to turn that what I think it should be.
While driving to work at approximately 25 miles per hour and in the process of turning around a bend, my power steering gave out. As the curve was of decreasing radius, this failure was evident by a significant (>100%) increase in resistance to steering angle change and upon completion of the turn a complete lack of automatic return to a neutral steering path (the car wanted to "stay" in the turn). Returning the car to neutral steering angle also required significant (>100%) additional application of force. Upon pull-over and restart of the car, the power steering returned, but only for approximately one minute of driving. For the remainder of the drive the power steering fluctuated in and out making driving difficult. Car will be taken to dealer for fault diagnosis this week as the issue has persisted and continued to worsen (longer droughts of power steering operation) over the past week.
Power steering went out while driving making it hazardous to maneuver turning left. I reported this december 14 2011 and the dealership couldn't find problem. Replaced the power steering fan in december. Replaced the entire power steering pump january 30, because power steering would go out intermittently. I feel this is a dangerous problem and the power steering shouldn't fail. There should be a recall of this problem.
Turning from a left hand turn lane on to a side street as I have done at least 4 times a day for over 10 years, I lost all power and the ability to control the vehicle. In the middle of the turn the loss of power, the loss of steering, and the loss of brakes caused me to run into the curb. This accident resulted in the right front wheel and assembly being replaced. Not long after getting my mini cooper s the hesitation of the accelerator when stating off in first gear began. I was told by the service rep at the mini dealership that there was no fix for this problem. I've had too many near accidents because of it. Going back as far as 2005 I have complained about my steering and the noise it makes. The whole steering unit has been replaced 2 times, yet in 2009 I experienced a total loss of power while traveling at speeds of 65 MPH. The power loss was electrical even though my engine was still running. The final outcome was mini replaced the alternator and battery. I've complained time and again yet with no help unless it's coming out of my own pocket. Since owning this mini cooper s I've spent nearly 6000.00 in repairs. Because of the interdependent nature of the asc/dsc on the vehicles braking, electronics, and even starting acceleration from a stop; has this feature been properly studied as the culprit for the many and varied problems this particular car has? In the uk there is a blog called watchdog that has 180 people who posted between february and april 2009 that all had the same problem with the power steering that I and hundreds of others have reported. How can such a serious problem go unresolved for so long. There is no doubt that this problem alone falls under the united states code for motor vehicle safety (title 49, chapter 301).
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. While driving at approximately 25 MPH the steering wheel became stiff and difficult to maneuver. The contact restarted the vehicle and regained power steering. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic. The mechanic stated the electric power steering pump would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 72,000.
Power steering pump failed, steering became very difficult. Pump remained on after car was turned off and drained battery, now car will not run. Very dangerous issue!
Attempting to turn into school parking lot, power steering abruptly stopped working, steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn. The power steering has intermittently faltered several times in the last year but has now failed entirely.
2003 mini cooper s. Car over heated and power steering failed. Pulled off to the side of the road. Fan on power steering pump failed, caused pump to fail and car to over heat.
Power steering failed after 27,000 miles. Intermittently works for 5 minutes in the morning and sometimes intermittently functions when driving which creates a dangerous situation. Had the mini dealer inspect it from mini corporates recommendation. Dealer indicated the electronics are malfunctioning and that they had plenty of replacement units in stock for circa $1,600.00. My claim was rejected because it is not uncommon for earlier mini cooper power steering units to fail. I have investigated and there are multiple companies now in the business of rebuilding/remanufacturing specifically mini cooper power steering units. Odd that a relatively low volume vehicle could generate so many business opportunities to fix a problem that apparently does not exist.
Electric power steering pump went out without any warning. I noticed it when I was going around a bend and the steering effort had greatly increased. If I had to make a emergency maneuver, I probably would not have been able to complete it successfully.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. While driving approximately 10 MPH, the power steering completely failed without warning causing difficulty in maneuvering the steering wheel. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and the engine was turned off. Upon restarting, the contact resumed cautiously with the steering malfunction. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who advised that the failure was related to the power steering pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The failure mileage was 50,000.
Power assist steering failed to assist making it extremely difficult to turn a corner.
Power steering unit on my 2003 mini cooper s started to operate intermittently making it very difficult to maintain lane control. Without power steering I would grip hard and barely make it through a turn, then the power steering would operate causing me to oversteer into the adjacent lanes or oncoming traffic. I've been driving cars, trucks and motorcycles for over 40 yrs and have never experienced a driving situation as dangerous as this. I will no longer allow my daughters to drive this car until I feel confident the problem is resolved.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. The contact stated that accelerating from a stop and attempting a turn at approximately 5 MPH, the power steering would seize and become difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were approximately 114,000.
Complete power steering failure, on surface road in castro valley, ca. The sudden loss of power steering caused me to continue straight, while trying to regain control of car, I continued into on coming traffic, if another car was in opposite direction a significant accident would have occurred. Prior to this failure this was no evidence of a repair needed.
2003 mini cooper s power steering box failure only 70,000 miles.
Power steering pump started to become louder around 83k miles. When I was driving around a turn, the steering wheel tightened up and it became almost impossible to turn the wheel. I almost wrecked because of this. After research, it is concluded that my power steering gave out. Nothing has been done yet to correct the failure.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH the power steering failed. The vehicle was driven onto the emergency lane because the steering wheel was very hard to maneuver. The dealer was contacted in regards to a recall and stated only a class action law suit was in progress. The contact was told to bring the vehicle into the dealer to be repaired at her own expense. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 58,000. Updated 08/31/*lj the power steering pump was replaced. Updated 09/12/11
Power steering abruptly failed in rush hour traffic. Was fortunately able to get vehicle to the shop for repair without further incident. Power steering failures are unfortunately almost guaranteed in my year and make vehicle. The independent mechanic said that this is a very common complaint and mini USA has even redesigned the power steering pump due to the high failure rate, and also recommended replacing the fan due to high likelihood of shorting or fire. I participate in an enthusiast forum where these reports are common which is why I took it to the shop immediately, to avoid further in-driving failure or worse, a car fire. This issue has been investigated in the past and it is unconscionable that neither the federal safety agency nor mini USA has recalled these vehicles for what is an almost guaranteed failure with obvious and potentially grave safety risks. I am paying $1200 for the repair which is expensive but not out of line with what others are paying and worth my personal piece of mind since mini USA will not publicly admit there is a problem. Vehicle is a 2003 mini cooper s with 87,000 miles.
Sudden loss of steering due to the failure of the power steering pump when exiting highway. Fortunately, I had enough strength to stay within the curve of the off ramp while braking to a stop. My wife would not have had the strength to keep the auto from going off the ramp.
Power steering has become intermittent. When the car is started, sometimes the power steering is functioning and sometimes it is not.
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