2005 MINI Cooper S electrical problems

Filed Sep 30, 2020 · Electrical, Steering · 172,450 miles · FL

Battery light flashing, power steering cutting out intermittently while driving. Alternator and serpintine belt replaced but problem continues. Electric power steering seems to be draining electrical system.

Filed Mar 12, 2019 · Airbags, Electrical · 62,527 miles · NM

When adjusting the driver and passenger seats, the airbag light illuminated. After researching online, I conducted troubleshooting. I verified that the wiring harnesses and connectors for the airbag sensors under both seats had come loose, and certain wires de-pinned. The car was running, and parked when this occurred.

Filed Dec 10, 2017 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · CA · fire

I got home from work parked car and heard a whining noise under hood I could see smoke and buring smell coming from steering cooling fan the fan stayed on and went into extreme high speed and continued to smoke and wiring burning ,I was fortunate enough to be able to disconnect battery which stopped fan and electrical burning I have car parked in drive way and contacted my insurance to file a claim ,I am afraid to start car and need to have car repaired

Filed Feb 17, 2016 · Electrical, Steering · 53,000 miles · CA · fire

On 2/11/2016 I got home from work and I parked my 2005 mini cooper s (53,000 miles) on the driveway, turn off car and stayed with my kids & wife since they were waiting for me outside, my wife notice a sound & smoke coming from the car, the smoke were coming from the engine, I immediately open the hood & there was more smoke coming out, the headlights & all the lights turned on & stared flickering, also the wipers turned on, couple of seconds later the botom of the engine was engulfed in flames. My wife ran to get the water hose & I were able to put the fire out, we were lucky that I didn't walk inside the house like I always do, it could have been a horrible tragedy for me, my family and even our neighbors. The next day I had the car towed to my mechanic who after an inspection found out if was the power steering pump that got on fire and damaged all the wires around it, since he is a mini specialist he told us about a recall for that specific part, but to our disappointment he ran our VIN # and found that our car is excluded from that recall since its a late 2005 production. That exactly same thing happend to us with the actuators, one day while my wife was shopping with my kids, they just got locked inside the vehicle with the windows rolled up, it was a summer day and luckily she was able to get out through the back trunk, we contacted mini because there is also a recall for the actuators and they also excluded our car saying that it was a late 2005 production and were not able to get the recall. The way we see it mini is not taking responsibility for their defective components, it is not fair since I have no way to find out if my car was build with not defective parts, obviously it was. I am terrified by the idea this could have been worst since we r always driving with our kids. U need to do something about this & make mini liable for these safety issues.

Filed Oct 13, 2014 · Electrical, Steering · 49,000 miles · PA · fire

Power steering system fire.

Filed Jan 15, 2013 · Electrical, Seats · 135,000 miles · AZ · fire

Driving to work in the am. I smell something in the car. When I look at my passenger side seat I saw smoke. Pull over and got a better look at it. I have a holes in my car seat and the two vest that I place on the seat. It appears the heated seat had a electrical failure. Took car to mini dealer. They said it real odd this happen. They also nice to say I would have to paid to fix it. Look at many site on internet and seen bmw/mini and other company have issues with heated seats. It do not seem to odd to me. I did not even had the heated seat on because no one was seating there.

Filed Dec 13, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 76,525 miles · MA

Started vehicle in the morning of 11/14/2012. The shift indicator on the dash shows ep mode instead of d,r,n,etc. The car seemed to drive fine but there's something wrong with the shifter electronics. The car does not seem to know what drive mode is in. Putting the auto manual transmission into sports mode does not change the shift indicator on the dash. In sports modes it still showed ep. In ep mode the car does not rev beyond 3000rpm and drives rough at certain speeds. This may be a manufacturer defect with a transmission sensor, or the shifter electronics.

Filed Jul 26, 2012 · Electrical, Steering · 105,916 miles · NY

Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper s. The contact stated that power steering failed. In addition, the vehicle was unable to be started. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic who advised that the failure caused damage to the electrical system, which had become inoperable. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 105,916 and the current mileage was 105,960.

Filed Jul 23, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 60,000 miles · NV · fire

Earlier in the day I took the car on a day trip to lake tahoe driving a combination of interstate and mountain pass road. 3 hours later, my wife had taken the car to run an errand and came home and parked the car in the garage completely off and locked. 10-15 minutes later we hear the car alarm going off. We opened the door to the garage and saw white smoke coming from the engine compartment. There was high pitched wining also. When I opened up the door the put in neutral, the lights on the instrument panels were all on with no keys in the ignition. Opened the garage and moved the car to the driveway and away from the house. Called the fire department and I used an extinguisher underneath where orange glow was visible. The glow of the flames were toward the back part of the engine compartment and low. Saw no visible flames in the main compartment when the hood was popped open when fire department showed up they used a garden hose to cool engine compartment and suggested to disconnect the battery which I did. I had the car towed to the mini dealer in reno, nv. *tr updated 8/8/12 *cn the consumer stated the parts that seemed to have caused and were damaged in the incident were the power steering pump, power steering cooling fan, and electrical harness all in the engine compartment of a 2005 mini cooper s. Updated 08/14/2012

Filed May 4, 2012 · Electrical, Engine · 59,930 miles · WA · fire

Vehicle fire 5/2/2012. Car parked for 4 hrs. Returned to car & drove it $3500 from mini dealer. The dealer's assessment: "verified power steering pump has overheated to the point where it has burned up internally as well as externally (melting all three connectors and the wiring leading to them). Inspected power steering cooling fan and verified cooling fan is seizing up which very likely LED to the overheating and eventual failure of the power steering pump. Removed engine compartment fuse box to examine megafuse powering the power steering pump, fuse is intact and did not burn up. Inspected power steering pressure hose and it appears the rubber section of the power steering pressure line was subjected to the heat/melting of the main power connector (it's in very close proximity to the connector) and it appears the hose has taken a level of damage from the heat. Recommend replacement of power steering pump, the wiring section/connector pigtail from the fuse box (this is the main power connector), the engine wiring harness (contains two other electrical connectors to the pump which received extensive damage), the power steering fan (likely cause of failure), power steering pressure line (high pressure hydraulic line which has been exposed to the main connector melting and subsequent heat), and other miscellaneous items associated with those components (o-rings, crush rings, hose clamps ect...)"