Power steering will go out without notice at all speeds. It will reset if the car is turned off and restarted, however the interval to the next power outage is unpredictable. It occurred the first time, and then didn't reoccur for a couple of months. Then when the problem returned it did this for approximately two weeks, then didn't happen again for another month. It has no been a fairly common problem. Have also had experiences where making a turn, the power assist will go out, and then return, which has me putting extra exertion into making the turn, only to have it come back on resulting in oversteer.
2005 MINI Cooper S steering complaints
Page 7 of 8: complaints 161 to 190 of 212, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2005 mini cooper s. Intermittent failure of power steering under varied driving conditions. Although the federal safety agency has opened investigation, bmw has not issued a recall yet. Local mini service department will change the electric steering motor at about $1000, but is unaware of the reason for the failures.
The power steering suddenly went out on my 2005 mini cooper s as I was about to turn right onto a highway on ramp. I felt the lack of power and continued straight so I could pull into a service station up ahead. The power steering was intermittent for a bit then totally out, leaving me with a 45 minute drive down the mountains to home without power steering. I have had multiple incidents of the power steering fan running after the car was off. Now it looks as if the fan is no longer cooling the pump causing it to overheat which could start a fire. I am planning to try to replace the fan soon but I am just a broke college student so I really hope this recall goes through.
The power steering failed during a left turn, almost causing me to head straight into opposing traffic waiting at the left turn signal opposite me. I managed to pull the wheel hard enough to get it to the curb. I restarted the car and it was fine. This happened again months later on a canyon road and finally on a 2 hour road trip where I was freeway driving approximately 70 MPH when I felt the wheel tighten. As I was on straightaway, it wasn't obvious until I had to exit. Again, I pulled over, turned the car off and restarted with no problem. I brought it in on 11/30/2010 and had to have the power steering pump replaced. Now I have to go in because there is an electrical current coming through my steering wheel. There have been several other issues with this model that are not life threatening but have been an unnecessary expense. Without quick reflexes and, quite frankly, a bit of strength, this could have been a very serious accident.
2005 mini cooper s power steering pump failure. This is the second time within a two year period that I had to replace the pump. The result is a sudden loss of steering control and degradation of the battery.
Drove car to work - someone came in a few minutes after I arrived at work and told me my car was smoking. Went out and looked but smoke had stopped by time got bonnet open. Came from front passenger side. When started car to leave work - had warning light and power steering would not work. Mini manual said to stop immediately. Had car towed to local german repair shop and the said power steering motor had burned up and melted all the adjacent wiring. Had to replace motor and wiring.
2005 mini cooper s intermittently loses power steering, this happens without warning and renders the vehicle nearly impossible to steer. The first time it happened was on an elevated exit ramp and almost caused me to strike the safety wall. After a drastic slow down I was able to strong arm the vehicle back on course. This has happened several times since - most dangerous when it cuts out and the randomly comes back on causing severe over-steering.
Found need more turning of steering wheel at traffic light into the cross street, then parked the car, turned off engine but still found something running in engine bay. Thought it was the fan to cool the engine off, so didn't pay attention. At lunch, come back to pick up the car, and found its battery was drained almost totally. Jumped the car without issue and drove back home without issue. Turned off engine and still hear the noise of something running in the engine bay. Pulled all fuses to see if can identify the problem, doesn't help, something still run with load noise. Searched internet, found other owners also experienced the same and is the power steering pump failure, some even found failure while driving.
I was driving my 2005 mini cooper and took a sweeping right turn onto a freeway on ramp. During the turn the power steering stopped working and it took an extreme amount of force on the wheel for me to avoid hitting the side of the overpass as the car wanted to continue going straight.. It proceeded to cut out again as I tried to get it home. Luckily I was able to control it and park it. When I turned the car off the pump continued to run and drained the battery overnight. The car would not start in the morning.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini coopers s. While driving 30 MPH, the power steering begin to fail and the vehicle became uncontrollable. The contact shut off the vehicle and when restarting, the power steering resumed normal operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where a diagnostic test was performed. The dealer informed the contact that the power steering pump would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified who advised the contact that there were no recalls on the vehicle and offered no further assistance. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 93,000.
2005 mini cooper s power steering failure, while turning power steering failed, no leaks, and fluid reservoir full. Researched possible problems and found an article on http://new mini.word press.com report published on http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog talks about this same problem effected 175,000 mini's between 2001-2007. This seems pretty serious and with that many vehicles I shouldn't incur any costs for repair.
My 2005 mini cooper s appears to have lost its power steering. Just happened today (11/22/10) as I was driving on the interstate. I did not lose control or anything like that. It just became exceedingly difficult to steer the car.
My power steering in my 2005 mini cooper failed while driving. This is a common issue for all 01-07 mini coopers and before someone dies or is seriously injured bmw mini needs to issue a recall and replace this faulty part. I was driving home from work and the steering started to lockup on the highway, I then pulled over and turned off the car then restarted and the steering worked just fine. Two days later I was pulling off of the highway again and the steering started to lock up once more. I barely made it to a nearby parking lot strong-arming the car with each turn. I pulled into a parking spot and turned off the car once again. After restarting the car the steering still would not work, I even let it cool down for a few minutes to try once more. Still unable to steer. Had to get my car towed and had to replace power steering pump and fan on car. This car is less than 5 years old and the power steering should last the life of the car.
Power steering pump and cooling fan failure. Unsafe to drive and safety hazard. Poor engineering design with regards to placement of pump / fan and electrical load. Defective (rebuilt and not new) parts from mini dealership repaired under warranty one time. Mini does not stand by its products or engineering. Replacement and repairs occurred 3 times in less than 5 years and less than 65,000. *tr updated 07/26/11 *bf updated 2/29/12
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper s. While driving 30 MPH, the power steering failed. The failure was intermittent. At times, the power steering would reset itself after being turned off and restarted. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The manufacturer had not been notified. The VIN was unavailable. The failure mileage was approximately 63,000.
I drive a 2005 mini cooper s, with approximately 49,000 miles driven. On october 22, 2010, the power steering on the car completely failed while driving on the highway, leaving barely enough control over the car to drive very cautiously. The car was diagnosed by two mechanics, one a reputable new england chain and the other an expert mini cooper facility, and both determined that the power steering pump, rack and fan had all failed on the car. Even using refurbished parts, the repair is costing $1,100; with new parts, my understanding is that the repair would have been upwards of $2,000. My understanding is that the federal safety agency is already investigating frequent power steering issues for minis in this date range. The mini shop doing the work for me certainly confirms the stories I've read about other shops around the country - the manager told me that they're doing about 6-7 power steering jobs per month on these cars. Hopefully the addition of my situation to the database can help justify a recall - it certainly seems warranted based on the volume of problems that mini owners have had.
2005 mini cooper s, 50,000 miles on the odometer, loses power steering which causes significant problems at slow speeds. The car will still steer at faster speeds, but with very heavy, unpredictable response. The problem began with an increased droning noise when the steering wheel was in the neutral position which would diminish when the steering wheel was turned. The problem was intermittent, and therefore, I thought it was related to a low fluid level issue. I went to the dealership and purchased "special" steering fluid, and no mention was made to me about any steering pump defect. I installed the fluid to the recommended level with no change in response. I telephoned the dealership service department and the person who answered the phone said he knew the problem, and that I needed a new steering pump, cooling fan, hoses, and reservoir, and the cost of the work was $1600.00. I then did internet research and learned that this problem is frequently experienced in 2004 and 2005 mini cooper models. I then telephoned mini cooper's corporate complain department and I was told to spend the money to repair the car. This problem is undoubtedly a persistent defect, and should be the subject of recall repair program.
1 normal driving all the sudden steering wheel got hard to move , then it loosened up and then caused oversteer 2 power steering pump failure put car into ditch damaged 2 tires/rims 3 replaced the fan unit once then the entire pump the second time it is currently out for the third time.
I own a 2005 mini cooper s 2 door hard top with currently 90,000 miles. Just recently a semi loud whirring sound started from underneath the hood as soon as the engine is started. Immediately I can notice that the pitch of the noise subtly changes when you go to turn the steering wheel in either direction. I had a certified mechanic look at the car and he confirmed to me that the power steering pump is failing. When I am driving the mini cooper the steering will intermittently begin to get a little harder to steer. The pump is on the way to complete failure and hard steering will end up being the result. I have been researching this issue via the web and have discovered that the failing power steering unit in mini coopers has been a known issue with bmw but I have yet to find any information as to what they are doing about it. Aside from speed, steering a motor vehicle is one of the most important safety concerns when in operation.
2005 mini cooper s. Complete power steering failure. Shutting off engine and restarting corrected problem for a short time, then problem resumed. Happened numerous times over the course of the next two weeks.
The power steering on my 2005 mini cooper s began malfunctioning on 8-9-2010. While going left on a mixmaster, the power steering failed and I thought I was going to hit the side of the bridge and perhaps drive off of the side of the bridge. The passenger in my car helped me steer (with force) to the left and drive to the straightaway. The power steering is intermittent, working five percent of the time. My car was serviced in june of 2010 due to a problem with the tension belt, which caused the car to have a burning smell and no air conditioning. The "service engine" light is on ten percent of the time and the "check tire pressure" light is on often, though I no longer have run-flat tires. My car is difficult to drive due to the lack of power steering. At the time of the first incident, my car had approximately 75,000 miles.
Complaint in association with the federal safety agency action number: pe10038 2005 mini cooper s - power steering failure while driving. I own a 2005 mini cooper s with approximately 60,000 miles on the clock. Recently while driving home from work, in the process of turning a corner, the steering on the car became instantly heavy causing me to temporarily veer in to the oncoming traffic lane. Fortunately at the time there were no other cars coming in the opposite direction and I was able to compensate for the loss of steering control and correct the direction of the car. The situation remained for the duration of my journey, but I was able to safely navigate the car home. I restarted the engine and this appeared to correct the problem. However, during the next 2 car trips similar failures occurred (fortunately I was prepared for the possibility and so did not end up in the opposing traffic lane). The mini dealership diagnosed this as a failure of the power steering pump, a problem which I understand to be the subject of a recently opened the federal safety agency investigation (pe 10038). Personally I believe this situation to be potentially extremely dangerous. There was no warning that the power steering was going to fail, and when it did, the impact was immediate and caused me to steer in to the oncoming traffic (as a result of not being able to turn the corner at the required angle). Due to the immediate nature of the failure I was not able to correct the problem safely in time. I am writing this report to be added to the existing the federal safety agency investigation (pe 10038).
On september 12th I was making my commute home from work in my 2005 mini cooper s. Upon my return home, my battery indicator light went on. I parked and turned off the car and the next morning when I went to run errands the power steering was non-existent. I had he car towed to the bmw/mini dealership where they gave me a diagnosis of a failing power steering pump and a bad alternator. *tr updated 09/08/11
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper s. The contact was driving approximately 5 MPH when the steering wheel became extremely stiff. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop where the contact was informed that the power steering pump would need to be replaced, but it was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 104,304. Updated 01/20/11 *bf the power steering pump was replaced on october 15, 2010. Updated 03/28/11 updated 03/28/11
Steering on my mini cooper 2005 failed this morning, resulting in a near accident in a parking garage. It felt like the power steering was failing. It came back briefly on the way to the repair shop, but the tech confirmed that there is a problem. It is currently being diagnosed, but it is likely the power steering pump.
I have a 2005 mini cooper s. Last year the power steering pump randomly stopped working on my way to school. I did not crash or anything but it was very hard to steer my car. I have not replaced the pump because honestly I do not know how to and I believe the pump costs nearly $1000. The pump on my car still works fine most of the time. Now every once in a while on sharp corners the pump will give out and if I pull over, shut the car off, and turn the car back on the pump will work again. This is obviously either a defect with the pump itself or the electronics which run the pump. The fact that shutting my car off and turning it back on makes me think it is mostly an electrical problem, possibly inside the pump itself.
My 2005 mini cooper s has had the power steering go out several times. This happens with no warning and has caused me to almost be involved in an accident. As I was changing lanes on major highways I couldn't turn the wheel and almost went into a concrete wall. It also went out while on a trip in the mountains, I was very concerned about going off the side of a mountain road. This power steering pump also has stayed running and killed my battery leaving me to find a jump. The issue is that it turns off and on at random times and with no warning.
2005 mini cooper intermittent power steering started at 55,000 miles. During right hand turn at approximately 30mi/hr had near head on collision with the car in the left hand lane do to the unexpected power steering outage. Repair was not covered under warranty (5,000 miles over) cost estimate at $1,200. Car is safer without power steering. Predictable, but difficult to drive.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle lost steering power. He turned off the ignition and restarted; after the restart, the steering capabilities returned. The failure progressed and became worse. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer but they could not duplicate the failure. The current and failure mileages were approximately 80,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper s. While driving 35 MPH and at other speeds, the power steering fan became inoperable and power steering functionality was lost. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the power steering fan was replaced at the contact's expense. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000.
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