My 2005 mini cooper s has power steering wheel failure. It started happening after the car hit 50,000 miles which I think it's still too low for any cars. I first encountered the problem a couple weeks ago when I was trying to make a left turn on a main rd. The steering was so difficult to turn even with both hands that I had to come to halt in the middle of the road. The car would have hit the building if I kept on going at full speed which is 30 miles. So glad there was no car behind me. Encountered a few more times after this. My car is now parked at my condo lot as it cost over $1300 to get it fixed. It will be very dangerous is this happens on the freeway. A few of my friends have the same problem. Something needs to be done or life will be lost. Bmw/mini needs to do something about this.
2005 MINI Cooper S steering complaints
Page 6 of 8: complaints 131 to 160 of 212, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Power steering has been failing to work intermittently over the last couple of years. It occurs mainly after starting the car and driving away from a stop. Stopping and restarting clears the problem. It did happen once at freeway speed on a left hand off ramp. It made the steering very heavy and hard to turn and could have lead to loss of control had the pavement been slippery. The power steering did return after slowing and completing the turn.
While driving, the power steering stops working. This problem is intermittent and happens every few days. Simply cycling the ignition gets it working again but is a big safety concern in my book.
Experienced abrupt and complete loss of the power steering system simultaneous with an immediate and sharp decrease in power. This incident occurred at 75 MPH on an interstate highway, car in middle lane. Very narrowly avoided collision with a truck when moving vehicle to full stop in emergency lane. Vehicle currently not in use as we feel it is a road hazard and unsafe to operate in current condition. Also awaiting for response from mini dealer.
The power steering has been failing on and off for the past 2 years. I first noticed it when I was trying to get out of a parallel parking spot. Upon turning off the car and restarting it, the power steering was restored. It most often happened when maneuvering out of parallel parked spots. Sometimes it would happen several times in one day and then not again for a few months. Several times when I was driving I felt the power steering lock up and have had to drive the car to safely and restart the steering. I took it in to the mini dealership and described the problem. I was told it sounded like the power steering pump and given a quote of $895 to get it replaced.
On tuesday, 5 april 2011, I drove my 2005 mini cooper s about 20 - 25 miles heading for work - I made a brief stop for coffee. The car operated properly during this drive, however, when I left the coffee shop I notice a very acrid smell in the area. When I got in my car and started it the "battery" indicator light was on. I check the owner's manual and it said this indicated the battery was not being charged. As the car was running I decided I could drive it to work and then address the charging issue. When I back out of the parking spot I realized I had also lost my power steering. I was concerned that my car might not be cooling as well, so moved the car to a spot further out in the parking lot to allow for a tow truck to pick it up. I realized the acrid smoke smell was still with me and decided to check under the hood. When I lifted the hood I found there was a fire in the engine compartment. Fortunately I carried a fire extinguisher and was able to put the fire out - the fire department also responded. The car was towed to sandia mini cooper in albuquerque nm and I have since been informed that the power steering pump malfunctioned and caused the fire. From some research I have done on line it appears this is not an issue isolated to my vehicle, but that it was occurred in a number of cases.
My 2005 mini cooper s had a sudden power steering failure while approaching a highway off ramp. I went to turn into it and the car had become a tank. After some panic braking and all the upper body strength I could muster on the steering wheel... I did not fly into the ditch, but had the road been wet or icy I have no doubt the results would have been different. Contacted the local dealership and was estimated $1200 for the repair of a known factory defect.
Power steering fails intermittently. Failure has occurred numerous times while parking and twice unexpectedly while driving and making a right turn. Makes car hard to maneuver and unsafe because of the unpredictable nature of the failure.
Electric power steering pump & fan failure during left turn. Several thousands of mini coppers in the uk have had similar recalls. In fact I did find a recall for the power steering pump fan for faulty wires. I could fall under the same recall, but bmw mini dealers are stating that it will cost me just for diagnostics (roughly $90), they also states they knew about a filed complaint but said they couldn't even look at the fan without charging me. I did find after days and days of internet searches that their was a recall # issued for the fan but could not locate it again. Website citing bbc article. Www.newmini.wordpress.com/?s=mini+cooper+power+steering+failure. Everyday I feel less and less safe driving my mini. Thanks.
We purchased our 2005 mini cooper less than a week ago. It has 51,000 miles on it. I was traveling on the interstate for about an hour. I tried to take an off ramp to the right traveling about 60 MPH and realized the power steering had failed. I applied the brake and brought the car to a stop. I slowly drove the car to a gas station where I turned the car off. The fan continued to run. I waited for about 10 minutes and restarted the car. The power steering was working again. 2 days later I was driving in town only 10 minutes and the power steering failed again. I was driving in freezing rain...thank goodness I was in town. If the steering had failed on the interstate with these weather conditions there could have been a serious problem. I am taking my mini into the dealership tomorrow. When we bought the mini cooper we thought we were buying a safe and dependable car..now it looks like an unsafe money pit.
Power steering has failed twice. Once was in rush hour traffic and the other was in mid-day traffic. The vehicle became extremely hard to handle. The first time, I almost caused an accident. My car only has 53,000 miles and this should not be happening.
Lost power steering and ability to make turn easily
Power steering pump was making a loud whining noise as soon as the car was started, and would "wind down" a few seconds after the car was turned off. The pump and fan were both replaced thankfully before the system failed.
Power steering unit had to be replaced twice because of ps motor failing suddenly and with no warning. First occurrence nearly caused crash because ps failed while negotiating intersection.
The vehicle has loss the power steering assist due to power steering pump failure. Thus requiring increased force to steer and control the vehicle. Steering has becomes extremely difficult and has made manoeuvring this car far harder and dangerous. The car has spotty electrical failures; example the window just doesn't want to roll up; no, wait, it does. No, wait, it doesn't. The stereo just gives up; no sound anymore,then it plays again. The same with the drivers side door you could here it unlock and re-lock, but the door would not open and then it would. Also both of my keys to open the door both turned off at the same time and I had to have the keys re-calibrated at a mini dealership to reopen the vehicle.
Power steering failure on my 05 mini cooper-s. Power steering just stopped working while driving the car on the road in regular traffic, was turning left into a parking lot from a 5 lane road when it quit working, was barely able to turn the wheel enough to safely make it into the parking lot and avoid a crash. Apparently as of now if I turn the car off and then back on the power steering might come back on; terribly dangerous problem to have on a part on a car that should last the life of the car. Repair estimates are around $800-1300, and is apparently a common problem w/ these cars.
I have a 2005 mini cooper s with mileage of about 72k. The power steering failed on and off for a week and was completely gone on mar 5. Updated 07/26/11 *bf the dealer replaced the power steering pump. Updated 08/19/11
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper s. The contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to control and the steering pump stayed on while the vehicle was turned off causing the battery to fail. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the power steering pump failed and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 74,000.
My 2005 mini cooper s had the power steering fail while I was driving. This car only has 56,000 miles. I took the car into the dealer to have maintenance done on it last week and was told the power steering pump was "seeping" but was not of immediate concern and I could wait on fixing/replacing it. Today there is almost no fluid in the reservoir and I am unable to purchase at any local auto part store as no one carries (chs 11s) apparently a type of mineral spirit. In researching the issue, I found this to be a very common complaint and discovered that the national highway safety administration is investigating the issue so I wanted to add my voice. I was traveling at a low rate of speed in a slight corner at the time and yet still had a very hard time maintaining control of the car. Please look into this issue, this could really lead to a tragedy.
Our 2005 mini cooper s has intermittent steering issues. The power steering comes and goes. When researching the fix, I found that a lot of people are having the same issue. There is even a guy on ebay selling remanufactured power steering pumps at an average of one every three days. (based on ebay feed back).
Power steering assist failed to operate without warning while I was parking the car, mini cooper s 2005 model year. There was no service light or any other warning before the failure occurred.
Noticed a whirring noise from the engine compartment. Then suddenly the steering became difficult likely due to power steering pump failure. Looked up possible issues on line and noticed that other folks had very similar experiences.
Power steering appears to not be working. Power in the vehicle is interrupted at low speeds after driving the vehicle for a brief period of time. Symptoms of this began occurring over three months ago with the battery of the car being drained after sitting for a period of 4 days or more. All relays and fuses have been checked. The power steering pump cooling fan was found to have been inoperative and was removed, cleaned and reinstalled approximately 2 weeks ago.
I have a 2005 mini cooper s with 51,000 miles on it. I recently had to replace the lower control arm bushings and have had a creak in my steering column that is getting worse. Last month, I first experienced complete lack of power steering. The car corrected itself and worked properly until a few intermittent occasions this week. Turning off the car and turning it back on seem to temporarily correct the lack of power steering. However, it is very temporary. While driving, I can feel the steering response change on/off due to lack of power steering control. When the power steering fails, the wheel is very difficult to turn. It feels like a 1961 chevy truck with a 350 v8. It is nearly impossible to steer the car from a dead stop making parking extremely difficult. I am being forced to drive below the speed limit to limit my liability in corners and turns, especially on the interstate. I am setting up an appointment with my local mini dealer to address and correct the failure. I understand this is under investigation by the federal safety agency, but I cannot wait to have the repair. I am bewildered as to why there hasn't been a recall yet. It is unacceptable that a vehicle's steering system can fail after very little miles. Mini needs to be held accountable for this problem.
My 2005 mini cooper s suddenly lost power steering as I was driving almost causing an accident. I've not had it in for repairs yet, but researching on the internet it seems many consumers have had the same problem. I have even read of those whose car caught on fire and am fearful of the same happening to me not to mention the extremely high cost of repair. Mini should recall the 2005 and fix this issue.
I have an 05 mini cooper s and the power steering pump is defective along with 80,000+ others. I am roughly around 90,000 miles and the pump has just recently stared going out due to what the dealership called a "defective leak on the actually body of the pump". I asked them what I should do and they wanted to charge me $1100 to "fix it" but said that it could go out and fail at anytime while I am driving. This is a serious issue because my wife would not be able to control the car if it could go out at anytime? They also said that this was a very common problem in 04/05 mini coopers. I really wish somebody would make them recall this potential life threatening problem without charging us $1100 for their mistake in designing/installing the power steering pumps???
Multiple power steering failures. Initially when driving for more than 1 hour, now (jan. 2011) often goes out when driving more than 10 minutes. Sometimes comes/goes during a turn. Extremely difficult to handle when cornering in the city or parallel parking.
On 1/14/11 while driving my car on a highway my steering wheel tightened up and made steering impossible. I was able to get back to my driveway. It didn't happen again until 1/16/11 and then 1/20/11, all while driving my car at different speeds, also while trying to back into my driveway. It happens with absolutely no warning. No warning lights or notification from the mini computer system has alerted me.
Power steering suddenly failed while driving and the vehicle became very difficult to steer at all speeds. Updated VIN. 02/22/11.
Intermittent power steering loss resulting in several complaints to dealer. Dealer provided no working resolution. Power steering loss in this vehicle made steering very difficult and resulted in excessively dangerous driving conditions. Power pump finally failed and needed to be replaced.
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