Parking assist alarm stopped working completely then the next time as soon as the vehicle was in reverse the alarm sounded as though impact were imminent though nothing was behind the vehicle. Alarm continues to sound whenever the mini is in reverse.
2004 MINI Cooper S electrical complaints
Page 2 of 2: complaints 11 to 19 of 19, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The electric power steering pump failed... Saw smoke coming from engine area, even when power to engine was shut off and key removed. After several attempts to restart vehicle after talking with service mechanic, he advised to "restart" car until the power steering unit possibly turned back on. After 6 attempts (appox 3 mins apart), the system started to work again, but with a "stiff & grinding" noise coming from the pump being transmitted thru the steering wheel. Cause of failure is "power steering pump/fan unit". Very dangerous, as this happened at speed on freeway, and lost almost all control of steering.
Power steering fails. On multiple occasions the power steering has failed, both while driving as well as after just starting the car. The problem is intermittent and I see no pattern to it's occurrence. Typically it is remedied by turning off the car and re-starting. There has been a few occasions where it will sputter in and out before it goes out completely but the most common occurrence is when I start the car, there's is no power steering.
My car has had intermittent power failure since 2008, usually lasting a few days. More recently my power steering has been out for the past 2 months. Today it started working on my way home from work but the power steering fan remains on after I turn the car off. I had to disconnect the battery in order to keep the fan off. Consequences have resulted in near accidents on the highway and road when failure occurs (failures happened when I have gone into turns). Power steering pump and fan will need to be replaced.
On my way up driveway I noticed a sharp stinging sensation in the lumbar of my back. Felt sort of like an "continuous electric shock". I immediately arched my back as a reaction to the sting and had to straighten my back in order to control the vehicle. When straightening my back I felt something hot, very hot this time like something that was on fire. I could not longer control the vehicle grabbed for the handle opened the door and rolled out onto the driveway while the vehicle was moving. The vehicle bucked and stalled out. I immediately looked at the vehicle interior and noticed that the seat was smoldering and there was a hole the size of a quarter burned through the seat in the lumbar. It was a 100 degree day so I wasn't using the seat heater, nonetheless it was on, malfunctioned, caused a fire which resulted in me jumping out of the moving vehicle. I also read online about this happening to another 2004 mini cooper s "passenger seat" as well.
When the weather is cold, the center console controls (heat, rear defogger), the headlights, front/rear wipers will not function. When car starts to warm up, those items will start working when the steering wheel is turned to either side. When car is fully warmed up, will work most of the time unless you hit a bump. Mini shop said it was a bad computer - $800 to fix. Engine had an oil plan leak 2 years ago resulting in major loss of oil. Fixed under warranty. When getting electrical problem fixed, mini shop found 3 oil leaks. Total cost to fix was $3200. Not necessary to get the fix but need to watch the oil levels.
A year after purchasing the car, the front driver's window's automatic motor worked intermittently, then would not work at all. The dealer fixed it since it happened to be under full warranty. Two years later, the passenger's automatic window motor ceased working at all. At the same time, the driver's side window was making a scratching sound as it was automatically rolled up /or down. I only had a few months left on the warranty, and the dealer was required again to replace the window motor. I have read several other mini owners that had to replace at least one window motor as well, but at their own cost since the warranty had run out. If this is a incessant and obvious defect by mini cooper, it should be recalled or addressed in a fair consumer manner.
I own a 2004 mini cooper s model, with 39,000 miles. The car is well cared for. My warranty expired at 30,000 and I began receiving annoying calls and letters from mini to purchase an additional extended warranty. I did not, believing that simply maintaining my car properly would take care of any future issues. I trusted bmw/mini that they would stand behind their product if some unusual failure or breakdown occurred. Approximately one month ago my power steering would intermittently go out. At first, only after starting the car and then it started occurring while driving the car. We checked the power steering fluid and all was well. Took it in to my mechanic and he informed me that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. He explained that mini had told him "they" had been experiencing a high instances of steering power pump failures. He asked if the power steering pump was on the recall list. "they" told him no and explained that the pump was electrical and not manually therefore it was considered wear and tear. Crevier mini, where I purchased the car told me it would cost $1100.00 to replace the pump! My mechanic told me he would replace it for $880.00. My mechanic informed me that in order for him to get a power steering pump, he needed to turn my old pump into them. Crevier told him that "they" were rebuidling these!.they could not keep enough of them on the shelves. This is a scandalous outrage, particularly after reading various blogs and complaints about the exact same problem that I am experiencing with my mini. I should consider myself lucky in that my car did not catch fire, since it is always garaged, or that I did not kill myself or hurt some innocent people by the problem occurring on a steep curvey grade while driving. Additional problems approximately six months ago, my driver side window stopped working!! Took it in crevier wanted $900 to fix the problem, again stated wear and tear!! My mechanic charged me $400.00.
I was parked one after noon looking under the hood and I heard a crackling sound coming form the ABS pump. There was a small puff of smoke and then the sound stopped. At this point I went about my business and returned to my 2004 mini cooper s and the ABS/traction control light were out. A few days later I took the vehicle to the bmw dealer and after a few tests they determined it was just bad fuses. A week has past and I have had no other problems.
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