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.
2004 MINI Cooper S steering complaints
Page 4 of 8: complaints 71 to 100 of 210, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I was driving my mini cooper s on the freeway going into a turn, the wheel became extremely hard to turn with no notice. I could not make the turn all the way and the drivers side tires and fender hit the curb on the freeway. I fought the car off the freeway and let it sit for 15 mins while I called mini. The dealer said that my power steering had failed. After a wait of 15 mins the car started and drove just fine. I drove the car to the dealership and they tested the power steering pump and said that it was good at that time. They told me that it would continue to be a problem with just giving out at random times unless I spent $4000 and had all the components replaced even though it tested good at the time. They replaced all the bushings and struts in the front at that time for $2000. They told me not to replace the power steering unless it totally stopped working. The second incident was 5000 miles later on a round about at 35 MPH. The steering had just failed again. This is a dangerous situation when the dealer tests the system after a failure and claims that it is good, and then it fails again with no warning. I think that the manufacture should take responsibility and have all the systems upgraded to not fail at such low mileage and if they do fail to be able to track such a failure.
I had driven the vehicle to work without incident. Started vehicle after work and immediately noticed that the power steering was not working. Drove the vehicle 34 miles and parked it for 30 minutes. When I restarted the vehicle the power steering was again working.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. While driving approximately 30 MPH and making a turn, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing where the technician advised that the power steering pump failed and would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.
Sudden power steering failure while driving.
Power steering pump failed as I was exiting I-80 @ exit 56 returning home from work. As I started onto the exit ramp and began to curve to the right, the steering was very hard in the car which resulted in my having to force the wheel to the right. I also was braking at this point given the surprise of the tight wheel. I ended up on the shoulder of the ramp before gaining control of the car and reducing the speed. When I got to the top of the ramp and stopped, the pump began to work again. On 12/27 the pump failed again as I backed out of my garage. I pulled the car back into the garage and parked it until I can resolve this issue. I purchased the car used several months ago with 67k miles. I searched the forums to see if anyone else has had this issue and found many reports of pump/fan failures. This is a safety risk to anyone who owns one of these cars. I cannot imagine what would've happened had my wife been driving my car when the pump failed, it was all I could do to keep from wrecking into the median area.
The power steering pump just all of a suddenly without warning failed on my mini cooper. I was going down the highway at 70 MPH when I went to get off on a off ramp and the car took alot of force for me to steer it in the right direction. I was lucky to not have snow at the time because if I did I could have possibly lost control of my car. I know alot of people have had this happen to them and for the price that these pumps they should last alot longer than have.
Power steering stopped working, 1st time whilst at a traffic light, 2nd time whilst pulling out of a parking spot. Steering becomes very heavy, almost unmanageable. I haven't used the car in the last three months as I have been out of the country, I need to look into replacing the steering pump, fan and a cover.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. The contact stated that when he started the vehicle the power steering failed and the steering wheel became abnormally stiff. The dealer was notified of the failure who stated that there were no recalls for the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 69,000...updated 01/04/12 *bf the consumer stated the power steering pump was replaced at a cost of $866.67 . The consumer has since traded the vehicle. Updated 01/09/12
Power steering intermittently working causing severe oversteer while entering highway traffic. Had no indication of problem while on interstate. Upon exiting interstate on a 30 MPH loop steering failed . Presently power steering is intermittent so the wife no longer gets to drive the cooper. Good fortune was with me and I have driven cars without powersteering. Even so I was caught off guard and I am hopeful this report will prevent others which may be less fortunate or experienced. The mini dealership didn't seem to care.
Power steering failed. Re-engaged when car cooled.
Power steering dropped out unexpectedly while I was making a left hand turn, traveling approximately 10-15 MPH. I was able to regain steering control before a collision, but power steering never came back on. I found out the power steering pump had failed, perhaps brought on by a power steering fan failure. Both the fan and pump were replaced.
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.
The power steering on my 2004 mini cooper s has failed several times without warning. The car is very difficult to steer when the pump strops working without warning and my wife nearly had an accident because of this intermittent failure. I checked online and there are many complaints about the very same problem.. Stopping the car and shutting the engine off and then restarting it, clears the problem.
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.
The steering wheel went almost completely rigid and the wheel required a great deal of effort to turn. Turning the wheel was far more difficult than in any vehicle I have driven without power steering, and there was a pulse of differing pressure against the turns at times. After shutting off the car and starting again, the steering was back to normal.
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.
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.
The vehicle's power steering failed without warning while driving down the road. This caused the vehicle to be very difficult to steer. The car is almost impossible to drive.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. The contact was driving 45 MPH when the steering wheel became hard to maneuver. The vehicle was merged onto the shoulder and then towed to a local mechanic who inspected the failure and informed the contact that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The power steering pump was replaced. The manufacturer was notified who offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 140,000.
Power steering failed abruptly causing dangerous driving condition.
Power steering just cuts off while driving for no reason. You have to stop the vehicle and turn off engine and then turn it back on to (I guess) reset the power steering. This is impossible if you are driving on a road that you cannot pull over and especially on a curvy road.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 MPH, the power steering would seize. This failure recurred on an intermittent basis. The vehicle was not inspected nor repaired for the failure. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 104,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Failed steering pump assembly on 2004 cooper s with 60k miles. Failure of steering pump assembly created loss of steering and induces unsafe driving scenario. From the showroom, this vehicle (and others of this era) has provided a unique whine from the power steering assembly. The dealer would later inform me that this was normal to the bmw mini line. Years later this feature has become a known problem and is confirmed and being investigated by the federal safety agency. Bmw (the manufacturer) has yet to acknowledge or developed a repairable solution towards this flawed characteristic. Another toyota in the making?.. I hope not.
1)while driving my car in normal warm day temperatures in denver, co my power steering abruptly failed making it difficult to control my car. 2)has stayed failed 3)will have to get a rebuilt or new pump.
I was driving to work, on a windy road when my car lost it's power steering. The garage has to replace the power steering pump, fan and steering rack for a total cost of about $3,000! I was very lucky to have not run off the road.
The power steering in my 2004 mini cooper s failed, leading to extremely difficult operation of the vehicle. Car was under extended warranty but failure not covered.
2004 mini cooper s first had an issue that drained the battery. Once power was restored and the car was driven and then shut off, there was a whirring noise, similar to a fan running, that continued after the key had been removed from the ignition. This noise and the apparent power drain continues until the battery is drained once more. Following these issues, the mini began to become more and more difficult to steer. It is diagnosed as a power steering failure that is apparently common among this generation of mini cooper. No accidents, injuries, or fires have occurred due to this failure, however the car is not safe to drive until parts are replaced.
The steering pump cooling fan started to fail and had to be replaced. The dealership also stated the steering rack was leaking fluid and was going to need replacement at a cost of over $1,000.00.
I purchased my 2004 mini cooper s 5 months ago. I was told by the dealer everything worked fine on the car. There was a whining noise in the car, which he told me was normal on min coopers. I was driving from boise, id to olympia, wa in my 2004 mini cooper s. Then suddenly, about 200 miles into my trip, while I was over taking a semi truck on a right hand curve. My power steering tightened and I had to hold on really tight. I almost ran into the side wall. After further investigation I found that my power steering had died. It seems that there should be some kind of safe way for the power steering to die. Loosing power steering the way it did, and how hard it is to turn the steering without the pump sounds very scary. I drove down steep hill with sharp curves during the trip and I'm so glad the pump didn't die then. I then drove the rest of the way carefully as possible without the power steering. Now I know that the whining noise was from the power steering since the whining noise went away once the power steering died. It seems that this is a common issue with others as well. Now my car is parked and I'm not sure if I should replace the part or not. I feel bmw should take some initiatives to fix this issue.
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