I experienced a sudden loss of power steering on my vehicle. Fortunately this did not result in a crash but it sure scared me. I am concerned about my safety driving this vehicle and may consider getting rid of it. I am disappointed in mini's unresponsiveness to this issue.
2004 MINI Cooper S: sudden loss of power
23 of the 247 complaints about the 2004 MINI Cooper S describe sudden loss of power.
- owner complaints
- 23
- of this car's complaints
- 9%
- typical mileage
- 90,982
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 14 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Sudden loss of power by model year
What owners say
Merging onto interstate I accelerated and suddenly lost power. Engine was running but I could not get any speed. Eml message lit up on dash. This was very dangerous situation, losing power as I merged with traffic that was going at highway speed. I managed to limp to side of the road. Shutting off car and restarting reset something and eml message disappeared and engine operated normally. Googling problem showed my experience was not unique and that could expect it to occur again. And it seems dealer can only diagnose source of problem if error message is on.
Sudden loss of power steering, couldn't turn wheel ,hit curb.
Lost power steering unexpectedly in my car. Power steering pump and fan were replaced 6/3/2010. On 6/29/2011, I again lost power steering unexpectedly mileage- 96250 . Power steering pump and fan were replaced again. On 6/26/2012 I yet again lost power steering - mileage -111834, pump and fan were replaced for the 3rd time. Each time the fan had failed and the pump overheated.
Intermittent loss of power steering. Occurs whether vehicle is hot or cold. Can occur after vehicle has sat overnight. Will start working again after shutting down and restarting the vehicle.
Experienced total loss of power steering on several occasions with no warning lights. Occurred mostly after starting the car on hot days. The car is very difficult to steer at low speed with no power steering. Power steering sporadically came and went. Eventually, the power steering pump would remain on after turning off the car, causing the battery to go dead. Replaced power steering pump and fan in may 2012 at about 130,000 miles and haven't had any issues since.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. While driving 35 MPH, the contact stated the vehicle lost all power steering. The dealer informed the contact that the power steering pump failed and to replace the pump as well as the battery to correct the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. No repairs were performed. The current mileage was 116,000 and the failure mileage was 115,900.
Driving at approximately 45mph, when power steering failed. Power steering failure accompanied by other electrical issues. Gauge cluster reset, all failure lights went on. Power steering restored shortly after failure. Occurred approximately two more times after first incident. After power steering failure noticed, issue with charging system also. Charging system voltage consistently low, sometimes even going down to 10v accompanied by loss of power and other malfunction lights.
Lost power steering on freeway at 70 mile an hour. Next day it work for 40 miles then failed again on freeway at 70 miles an hour, there is no warning or fluid loss,just complete steering loss . Then it is very hard to control.
After stopping at a red light, when I accelerated to make a left turn, lost power steering. Drove to work next day with no power steering, but on the way home, it came back on. However, when I turn off the engine, the electric motor kept on running. Had to disconnect battery to keep it from draining and/or cause a fire.
Loss of power steering. At first intermittent, now complete.
Loss of power steering assist while driving making it difficult to steer the car. At times, there would be no power steering assist; restarting the car would solve the issue. Ultimately, the issue appeared to be a built-in electrical relay in the electric power steering pump that sticks. Only replacement option was to replace the entire pump.
Service bulletins that may apply
- Mini: because of the dme software, and a damaged clutch, the drivetrain malfunction check message appear
- Mini: a mechanical failure and dme software error of the vanos actuators cause the engine to run rough...
- Mini: faulty software causes the check control and engine power reduced light to appear
- Mini: some vehicles have turbocharger noise and a lack or loss of performance, due to restriction of...
- Mini: models R50, R52, and R53 with the electro-hydraulic power-assist steering pump and cooling fans will...
- State Inspection and Emission (I/M) Test Fails Due to an Invalid VIN Number
- State Inspection and Emission (I/M) Test Fails to Read 17-Character VIN. An affected vehicle may fail to...
- Bmw: the crimping process of the oxygen sensor could lead to an electrical failure inside the sensor
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 2004 MINI Cooper S loss of power
Is sudden loss of power a common problem on the 2004 MINI Cooper S?
23 of 247 owner complaints about the 2004 MINI Cooper S (9%) mention sudden loss of power. The model year with the most reports is 2004.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 2004 MINI Cooper S?
There are 0 recalls and 14 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 2004 MINI Cooper S
Power steering loss 98Airbag light 7Windshield crack 6Battery drain 5Fire or smoke 5
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