Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. The contact stated that when driving at low speeds, the steering shaft started to make odd noises. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated that the steering column and pum were defective. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 90,000. Updated 4/11/2011 *cn updated 07/11/11
2004 MINI Cooper S steering complaints
Page 7 of 8: complaints 161 to 190 of 210, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I own a 2004 mini cooper hard top and I was on my way home from state college when the power steering went out. This made the car extremely difficult to drive. Since this happened, I am all but terrified to drive the vehicle. I have done some investigation into this, and I see I am not the only mini owner with this problem. I hope something will be done about this.
My 2004 mini cooper s power steering pump just failed and has to be replaced after only 45k miles. *tr updated 08-29/11
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. The contact stated that the power steering failed while driving approximately 45 MPH causing limited steering capability. The vehicle was taken to a local repair shop where the contact was informed that the power steering pump and column would need to be replaced. The repairs were performed at that time. The failure did not recur. The manufacturer offered no assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 51,000 and the current mileage was approximately 70,000.
Near the end of a 500 mile trip from northern to southern california, the power steering failed. I completed the trip without the power steering. The next day I took the vehicle into an authorized dealer for repair. The power steering pump was replaced. The old part is not available.
I have a 2004 mini cooper s built in late september or early october 2003. At approximately 54,000 miles in spring of 2010, I left to go on a trip across town. After about 2 miles of the up to then normal drive, the power steering suddenly and without warning stopped working in the middle of a curve. Fortunately I was able to retain control of the car and make it to my destination a couple more miles away. After sitting about 15 minutes, upon restart, the car performed normally as far as I can tell. Checking the internet, it seems that this is a somewhat common problem with this vehicle and that it will continue on and off until the power steering does not function at all. This can also lead to a fire at the power steering pump that may lead to complete loss of vehicle and or additional property damage. Some with fires have not had any prior hints of an issue and some have had the intermittent pump going out. In speaking to the mini service center, they of course said they had never heard of the problem and refused to give me any help under goodwill warranty. I had them replace the pump at my expense to avoid the risk of fire.
Power steering pump failed while driving.
Power steering failed while driving normally on the freeway and it became very difficult to control the car. Power steering returned after letting the car sit in a parking lot, but failed again while driving home. We have not driven the car since. The car is out of warranty and we have talked to mini, but they have not offered to help repair the car. We were told that it will cost around $1500 to replace the malfunctioning parts.
I own a 2004 mini cooper s and when driving the power steering failed. I was in the middle of an off ramp and the steering became extremely hard. I was unable to navigate the turn and went off the road. Luckily I did not hit anything. When the car was turned off and then back on the power steering came back on. From time to time now I loose the power steering. I feel this is a major safety issue and do not let my wife or child ride in the car.
I own a 2004 mini cooper s. On september 23, 2010, I was driving on the highway and my power steering went out. This was out of the blue, and I had not experienced any previous problems with the power steering. I was able to take it to my mechanic the same day and was informed that my power steering fan went out, therefore causing my power steering pump to fail. After I had everything replaced for around $900, I saw an article in USA today that this is happening to other 2004 and 2005 mini's. I think mini should issue a recall so this doesn't happen to anyone else. It was very scary to drive my mini with no power steering, and I feel fortunate that I was able to keep the car under control when the steering went out.
Power steering failure. When driving power steering will unexpectedly stop working. Usually after driving for an hour or so. When power steering stops working the car is very hard to control.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while driving 10 MPH, the steering wheel locked up and it was difficult to steer. The contact turned the vehicle off and restarted it; the power steering seemed to reset it. The failure occurred two additional times. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 55,000 and the current mileage was approximately 67,000. Updated 01/20/11 *bf updated 01/31/11
My wife was driving the 2004 mini cooper s to pick up our son from school. After she retrieved him, she went around a corner and the power steering stopped working causing her to crash into a curb. She does not have enough strength to turn the wheel and there was no warning of a possible failure. I am fearful to replace the part and continue to make payments on a vehicle I do not feel comfortable putting my children and grandchildren in due to the possibility that the new powering steering pump will fail if replaced.
2004 mini cooper s - power steering pump and fan failure. Power steering quits working causing incredibly difficult steering. Solution is to replace pump and fan and the expense of the owner, me. I believe this pump and fan should not have failed and also that there should be a nationwide recall since there are hundreds of thousands of mini cooper drivers with this same issues.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. The contact stated that the power steering would fail sporadically and more effort had to be exerted when attempting to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the power steering pump and fan would need replacing. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000 and the current mileage was approximately 83,000.
Unexpected and intermittent power steering failure. Intermittent failures first started around 2008, the failures would last for minutes to hours long, days, weeks, and months would go by between failures. The dealership stated the cause was the power steering pump and since the car was out of warranty the repair would cost ~$700 to replace. When the pump fails the car is *very* difficult to steer at slow and moderate speeds. On a number of occasions a surprise failure occurred on narrow, windy road and it was a struggle to maintain the lane, avoid hitting oncoming traffic and staying on the road. The pump was replaced and as of this writing is new one is now intermittently failing. I just experienced an intermittent failure when turning from a stop and narrowly missed hitting a curb as I struggled to complete a turn. The pump failure lasted about 10 minutes.
On september 8, 2010 2004 mini cooper s power steering went out while driving on san francisco/oakland bay bridge. Able to safely exit bridge and had car towed to auto shop in berkeley, ca where they "performed a diagnostic time check for no power steering. Found pump coming on, no pressure to system". They removed and replaced power steering pump including bleeding the system.
Sudden total loss of power steering on a 2004 mini cooper s in a parking at low speed. Car was extremely hard to drive back to dealer due to high grip the car has. Dealer replaced power steering pump for power assisted gear. Could have been dangerous in a corner. Mileage 20,257.
Intermittent and unexpected power steering failure on my 2004 mini cooper s (r53). We purchased the car with 69,000 miles and within a week had our first power steering problem. We got the vehicle to the side of the road, turned the car off and when we turned it back on the steering was fine. This occurred randomly for the next few weeks. Power steering would quit without warning at slow and highway speeds. Finally took the car to the shop and the mechanic said the power steering unit needed to be replaced. Repair was done the first week of september and we have not had any power steering problems since.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the power steering was absent. There were no prior warnings before the failure. The current and failure mileages were approximately 102,000. Updated 01/03/11
I want to report problem with steering components in my 2004 mini cooper s (based on article in USA today). In july of this year, 2010, my steering suddenly became almost impossible to turn. I stopped, called my dealership, had the car towed in. They replaced the power steering motor. This week, sept. 2010, I heard a strange sound. Took it back in, they replaced the power steering fan.
Power steering pump failed on mini cooper s with approximately 71,000 miles last week.
Power steering stopped working, repair cost app. $ 2.000.-, no help from mini USA.
Loss of power steering assist while driving.
2004 mini cooper: power steering just went out on my way home from work. Made a right hand turn and than it was just gone. On sunday 9-26-10 started the car and the power steering worked fine, until I was driving down the road at 70mph and it went out again for good.. Done nothing yet to fix it.
My 04 mini s just hit 90k and runs great until I was on the freeway overpass the other day. The power steering pump went out suddenly on a 55 MPH turn and almost ran me right into the shoulder barrier which happens to be 50 feet above the lower freeway. Thank god I was able to maintain control. Mini cooper is a great car, but this power steering issue is a well know issue amongst the community of owners and mini needs to acknowledge this issue and help owners who are out of warranty. Once you turn the car off and restart it the steering comes back to normal. When its hot out the steering seems to fail and is almost impossible to control the car once this happens which was the result in my above experience. This power steering failure is well know and has many many accounts of failures on popular mini forums. The part to replace this issue a single power steering unit which can be bought for about $450 and the average mechanic can replace it within and hour or so.
I was driving along a street about to negotiate a turn when the power steering failed. Had it happened a few seconds later, I probably would not have been able to negotiate the turn and may have crashed.
Electric/hydraulic power steering pump failed after only 43,000 miles on the car. It stuck in the "on" position even when key removed from the car, draining my battery and causing a heat buildup under the bonnet. 2004 mini cooper s.
My 2004 mini cooper s, of which I am the second owner has developed progressively worsening steering characteristics. Most times the steering is hard and typically its hardest at low speed. The steering under acceleration is notably of great concern as I have experienced erratic and unpredictable sudden pulls to the left and right without any driver input. The service history for this vehicle is consistent with the suggested service intervals. This is a major safety concern for me.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper s. The contact stated on numerous occasions while driving 40 MPH, the power steering would malfunction which almost LED to a crash. The contact took the vehicle to an authorized dealer to have the power steering motor and the cooling fan replaced. Since the repairs, the contact had not noticed any power steering issues. The failure mileage was unknown.
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