Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. While driving 30 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the power steering line and pump failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v660000.(steering). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 106,000.
2006 MINI Cooper S steering complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 48, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. While driving 55 MPH, the steering became very difficult to maneuver without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 40,700. Update 01/15/16 ma;update 04/25/18*jb the consumer stated vehicle was repaired on nov. 26, 2015 by the owner.
Signs of the power steering pump failure. Whining noise randomly got louder. Fluids topped up, no leaks. There is a recall from bmw that covers 2002-2005 models. This pump only has 82,400 miles on it.
My mini cooper has a problem with the power steering pump that will eventually cause an accident. I noticed that 2002 through 2005 has been recalled because of this issue but not 2006? And now I have an issue with my power steering?
Simply driving to the store on my day off the power steering abruptly stopped, making the vehicle extremely hard to control. I turned around and headed back home slowly. I parked it and researched the issue. First I found out how expensive a new pump was. Then I had to wait till I could afford to buy one. But even the new one does not work. I installed it yesterday 18 apr 2015. I followed strict instructions and made sure everything was clean and secured. But when I lowered the car and started it the new pump did not operate at all, hence the car is still unusable.
I bought my daughter a 2006 mini cooper s a little over a year ago. Today I decided to drive it to work here at fort hood, texas. A little over an hour after I got to work I decided to go get breakfast so when I walked out of my office I heard a car alarm going off and when I rounded the corner I saw my daughter's car billowing smoke! I ran inside to get help and was able to find tools to disconnect the battery. I raised the hood and was meet with a lot of heat, smoke and a strong odor of burnt plastic. The car wasn't running and like I stated, had been sitting for over an hour. After conducting research online I found out mini USA had recalled several mini coopers for the power steering pump that had the same exact symptoms. After calling the closest dealership, an hour away, and mini USA I was told that my car was not part of this recall and I am left to pay for this repair myself. The dealership quoted me a cost of $1000 to replace the power steering pump. During my online research I have found many other mini owners with the same year model that had the same problem. It seems that mini USA isn't wanting to fully cover the repairs. I am glad I wasn't driving down the highway when this happened!
My power steering pump is failing. Very loud and whiny. Ready to fail at any second.
Power steering failure while driving. Steering became very difficult. Persisted until car was turned off for several minutes. Happened sporadically afterward, then disappeared for a couple months. Issue returned and now affects the car most of the time while driving. Will happen upon starting the car, or while driving.
I heard a loud humming/squealing type sound--unable to turn the car's steering without great effort while driving down a side street and pulling into a parking spot. I had wondered where the sound was coming from and having to make it home I struggled to keep the car in my lane and make left turns at intersections--making it home I noticed a dark stain where my car was parked and checked the steering fluid which was bone-dry. I have children--after reading these posts I am afraid to drive them and am afraid to be on the road even after putting more fluid in the receptacle am finding it on my driveway. I just purchased the car in november with 50,000 miles on it.
I had issue with the steering wheel pump a year ago, and I replaced it. But last night when I was driving home, the steering wheel wouldn't turn and I almost got into a car accident. Luckily traffic was slow and I was close to my house. Unfortunately, it was extremely hard for me to make any turn. I had to call a towing company and my car is now at the mini dealer in chicago. I already spent over 2 thousand dollars a year ago and I don't understand why my car is having these issues again.
In april 2013 I was merging onto highway i20 with my children in the back of my mini cooper s 2006. As I was speeding up to merge onto the highway the car completely cut off. I veered over into a median in the middle of six lanes of high-speed traffic. The car had completely shut off, even the hazard lights. I was very lucky that the median was there and that I had not yet entered the main stream of traffic. The police came, then a friend. After about a half hour it restarted without power steering and he was able to slowly drive it, and he fixed a belt that he said had looked like it had blown out. About four times in the year prior to this the car had cut off, but not while I was driving; it shut down as I was pulling out of a parking spot but then immediately restarted. No one could explain it. After the april incident I went to the mini cooper dealer and spent close to $3000 to ensure that the car was safe for my children. However, yesterday, 11/5/13, I was backing out of a parking spot and the car completely shut down. I called the dealership for assistance and they said they had never heard of this kind of problem and couldn't help; fortunately the car restarted about ten minutes later. However, I am extremely concerned that this car is unsafe and I have heard from an acquaintance who also has a mini cooper s 2006 who said this has happened to her, that something random happened with her car and it completely shut down while she was driving. She told me that there was a recall, but I called mini corporate today, and was told there was no recall and referred me to the federal safety agency.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. The contact stated that when turning in either direction, the power steering assist would sporadically fail as the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis where it was stated that the power steering pump and fan needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired and the manufacturer was notified. The approximate failure mileage was 51,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while driving 30 MPH, the power steering system malfunctioned. The steering wheel then became tight and became difficult to maneuver. The contact took the vehicle to dealer but did not diagnose the failure. The contact then took the vehicle to a local mechanic. The mechanic stated that the steering pump and pump cooling fan was defective. The mechanic replaced both the steering pump and pump cooling fan. The failure mileage was 52,000.
The power steering when out on the car. This makes it difficult to steer. Also, because of the failure, the steering/car will not straighten itself out after making a turn. One has to make an extra effort to straighten the wheel out. I almost hit a parked car because of that problem. I see canada made mini do a recall on this issue. Is it going to take an injury or worse before the USA makes mini recall the cars ?
Power steering went out making vehicle very difficult to control. Was told by mini dealer $1500 to replace.
While driving the vehicle, at any speed, the automatic power train does not shift gears properly. It will shift up, and down, and not engage the proper gear. The vehicle transmission will "wind-up", then jump into a gear. At times, the vehicle will not shift out of first gear.
I was slowing down to make a left hand turn and all of the sudden the power steering went out on it. Being a front wheel drive car made it extremely difficult to turn. Had someone with less arm strength been in the driver's seat they could have hit oncoming traffic head on and killed someone.
I purchased this vehicle about a month ago in a private sale. A few weeks ago, the mini developed a strong power steering whine. This is not the electrical buzzing noise typical of these models but a noise heard above the engine at all speeds or in neutral regardless of whether you turn the wheel. Several days ago, the steering began to stiffen up especially when parking. Yesterday, it failed entirely and this was while driving! Now, I'm a 6' 180 lb male and was able to react and wrestle it safely but I'm thankful that my 5' 100lb wife was not behind the wheel. Make no mistake this is a safety issue that the manufacturer refuses to address!! Just research the problem and you will see hundreds (probably thousands) of complaints across the globe about the same thing and it appears to be primarily 2001-2007 models. Other countries have mandated a recall but not the safety conscious u.s. Which surprises me greatly. When other major manufacturers have listed recalls for things like seat belt anchors "that could crack" or air bag switches "that could corrode" why the heck isn't a mini cooper recall done for power steering systems "that are failing"? If you value your family's safety, do yourself a favor and steer (no pun intended) clear of this vehicle. I will be dumping this t urd as soon as possible. My family is too important to waste on a fad car.
Executing a left turn and all of a sudden the power steering went out. Was unable to control the car due to the fact that I was not expecting this issue. Damage front right side of car against curb. I have learned that this is a serious problem. This issue needs to be addressed on a recall!
Purchased 2006 mini cooper s brand new at a mini dealer in boston. The vehicle has 108k highway miles. I had serviced the vehicle at the dealer until warranty ran out and transitioned to a national car care chain. I began to notice the vehicle slipping between second and third gear when traveling in stop and go traffic. I brought the car to my regular mechanic and they indicated that I should bring it to a transmission shop. Delivered the car to the shop and have been informed that my CVT transmission had failed and would need to be re-manufactured. I was also informed that my power steering pump is leaking and failing. The power steering fan had seized and was likely the cause of the power steering failure. The mini dealership quoted me over 10k for the transmission replacement only did not inquire about power steering and there were no programs for customers in this situation. This cost is more than the car is worth. The transmission shop will do the repairs for 6k.
Power steering failed completely upon warm engine re-start. The smell of overheating components is in the passenger cabin.
The power steering went out while my wife was driving home making driving extremely difficult. Having only 12 miles to travel she drove home fighting the steering all the way home when she arrived home I open the hood and could smell and see smoke from what I have discovered to be an electrical melt down on the power steering pump. The entire wiring connectors are melted and ash and un usable. We were lucky the car did not catch fire. However there is clear evidence the wires were on fire.
Power steering fails when engine is turned on. Also occurs while driving. Mechanic stated that the power steering pump failed.
My 2006 r53 only has 40,000 miles and out of nowhere the steering became periodically stiff. After persisting for 2 weeks, it has become incredibly hard to move the wheel and the pump seems to have cut out completely. It is much stiffer then any car with manual steering that I have ever tried, rendering my mini totally undriveable. Somehow the cooper s is not included in the recall from transport canada? ( http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/saf-sec-sur/7/vrdb-bdrv/search/recalldetail.aspx?lang=eng&rn=2012029 )
Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving 5 MPH. Upon restart, the vehicle would operate as normal. The contact also stated that the steering wheel would intermittently seize. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 19,650. Updated 03/05/12*lj the consumer stated the vehicle was ultimately taken to the dealer for a diagnosis. However, they were unable to determine the cause of the stalling. Updated 03/06/12
My power steering is going in and out. I might have it, and drive another minute its not working. The car only has 58740 miles on it I have had it checked out and the pump seems to be the problem. Mini says there is not problem with their steering pumps but when I go on line and check there seems to be a lot of others having the same problem at the same approximate mileage mark give or take a few. This is over a thousand dollar fix. Is mini going to wait until there are enough accidents before they admit there in problem? I have checked the fluid and the fan all is working and fine. It's just the malfunctioning pump.
Complete power steering failure occurred while I was driving around a street corner! I was traveling around 15 MPH(not very fast) and I was fortunate not to have an accident. There was absolutely no warning and took me by surprise.
My wife noticed an unusual electrical humming noise that rapidly became progressively louder coming from somewhere in the engine compartment when the car was running. Very quickly it became harder and harder to steer until it felt like there was no assisted steering at all. She has not been able to drive it since. Recently went to a mini dealership to have it checked out with the result that they said the pump did indeed fail. No recall has been issued as of yet, even though this seems to be a widespread problem.
A problem developed with the steering wheel of my mini cooper "s" (2006). The problem started somewhat gradually, over a period of several days to a week, during which the wheel became more and more difficult to turn. My vehicle has never been in an accident or in any sort of incident. It has less than thirty-five thousand miles on it. I took my mini to an authorized mini-cooper repair facility who informed me that the knock (sp?) sensor and steering motor had failed and needed replacement. This was at a cost of approximately $2,000.00 dollars, however it did not resolve the issue. The steering wheel continues to be sluggish and difficult to maneuver. It is my belief that whatever is wrong with the steering is a design flaw, as no car with less than thirty-five thousand miles on it should exhibit such a strange and critical failure.
Sudden complete loss of power steering. Several days after the original battery failed and was replaced, there was a continuing sound like a fan or electric motor running constantly. This noise continued until the power steering ceased completely during a parking maneuver. After the steering failed the previously noted noise stopped.
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