MINI Cooper S loss of power problems

Filed May 27, 2025 · Steering · TX

Loss of power steering on startup or at stop light. A message pops up indicating that the Dynamic Stability Control is re-initializing and that steering may become difficult: Drive carefully. The warning message usually appears shortly after the failure. In fact, the steering gets so stiff, that my wife can barely turn corners. The problem comes and goes unexpectedly. This is my wife's car, and it has happened to her on several other occasions. Sometimes we can reset by restarting the car, but that isn't reliable. We put the car out of ECO mode into Sport mode, so that the engine does not stop at stop lights, but the engine sometimes stops anyway. When it happened at a stop light today, we tried several restarts, but the steering remained out. Steering is worse at low speeds. Today, we stopped at a light. My wife was driving. The engine stopped and restarted, and the error message appeared. She had difficulty steering into a parking lot where I swapped places with her. I drove her home. It was difficult for me to steer around corners after today's lock up, but I drove the car to a local BMW-Mini mechanic with whom I had discussed the problem, but it never appeared at his shop. Today, we tried starting at the shop and the difficult steering persisted without an error message. He ran a quick scan indicating that some modules in the steering column were not operating properly. He said the modules were not available for replacement, and that the entire steering column might need to be replaced. Unfortunately, he was booked up until Friday. I drove home and let the car sit in the garage for a couple of hours. I started it while writing this to try to more accurately reproduce the warning messages. However, no messages appeared and the car steered easily. Clearly, sudden loss of power steering poses a danger for my family and others on the road. I've looked on the internet and discovered that others have experienced similar problems with steering in Mini Coopers.

Filed Apr 16, 2025 · Steering · 175,830 miles · WA

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact stated that the vehicle had lost power steering assist. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that a software update was performed on the back over prevention camera. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 15V660000 (STEERING); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The contact was referred to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 175,830.

Filed Aug 4, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · 30,000 miles · MI

The contact owns a 2013 Mini Cooper S. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 23V337000 (Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the engine was running rough while idling. Additionally, the contact stated that the vehicle would not exceed 65 MPH and 4,000 RPM while driving. The message "Reduced Engine Power" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed that cylinder #1 was misfiring because it was not receiving proper communication from the ECU. The vehicle was then taken to another independent mechanic and was informed that the ECU was operating as needed. Additionally, the contact stated that he replaced the spark plugs and the coils; however, the failure persisted. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The local dealer was notified of the failure. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the federal safety agency Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Jan 14, 2020 · Steering · 160,000 miles · SC

Tl* the contact owns a 2006 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while attempting to make a right turn, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The seat belt and check-engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the brown motor works (803‑551‑0991, located at 4041 broad river rd, columbia, sc 29210) and it was diagnosed that the power steering needed to be services. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure was intermittent. The contact was informed that the vehicle was not subjected to a recall. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160.000.

Filed Mar 28, 2019 · Engine · 70,674 miles · OH

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 mini cooper s. While driving 60 MPH, the timing chain fractured, causing a complete engine failure. All the valves and cylinder heads were bent. The contact was able to coast the vehicle over to the shoulder even after the vehicle lost all power. The vehicle was towed to the dealer (midwestern auto group, 6335 perimeter loop rd, dublin, oh 43017, (614) 889-2571 where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced at a cost of over $8,000. The contact notified the manufacturer and was provided a claim number. The manufacturer did not assist with the warranty or recall,s but offered to pay $2,000 towards the repair cost. The offer was good for six months. The failure mileage was 70,674.

Filed Dec 28, 2018 · Fuel system · 140,000 miles · OK · fire

Driving on interstate and lost power. I pulled to shoulder and black smoke came thru air vents. I opened the hood and there was fire. My car completely burned up. I never had any mechanical problems. The tow truck driver said he believed the fire started under my car.

Filed Dec 19, 2018 · Fuel system · 147,000 miles · CA

While driving a 2009 mini cooper s at over 35 miles per hour the engine lost power and would not restart. Mechanic diagnosed it as a high pressure fuel injector failure and mini refused to act in good faith and replace the product despite issuing an extended warranty on that specific component in a safety bulletin.

Filed Sep 6, 2018 · Transmission · NV

The 2013 cooper s we started having issues about a year ago, where the car hesitated to accelerate, as it is usually described in the service history. What happens in real driving situations is that when you cruise at around 2,000 RPM and then decide to accelerate the car loses the power, completely! So basically, when you're on the freeway or on a two-way road and decide to overtake another vehicle, the mini will not only not accelerate, but just completely lose power for a second or two. It is an obvious safety concern. At the beginning it wasn't too frequent, but recently it started doing it all the time, despite the fact that the mini service replaced fuel injectors, performed some cleaning and also suggested to me to use a fuel additive with each fuel up. None of those things helped, the issues progressively started to get worse. It all started when the odometer was somewhere between 75 and 80 thousand miles. The vehicle is currently at around 97,000 miles therefore slowly reaching its warranty end (100,000 and/or 6 years). During my recent service appointment at mini of reno I insisted on repairing the problem. I was told that at this stage mini of reno, nor mini USA know how to fix this problem and only thing they can try is attempt on cleaning the carbon build-up, which they quoted me $1386,86, making it clear at the same time, that this is just an attempt and they cannot guarantee that it will fix the problem. Contacting mini USA yielded no results, they didn't offer to fix or replace the vehicle.

Filed Aug 17, 2018 · Acceleration, Engine · 35,000 miles · CA

Drivetrain malfunction warning - appears and reduces speed at any time of driving - this could cause severe accidents due to loss of power/performance. This warning is engaged at anytime w/o warning. Software update for vehicle should be free of charge as this impacts loss of power. When taking it to auto mechanic, no codes are found and no engine light or fault code. Researching all f56 forum, seems like this has been common complaint. Even though the warning comes on and tells you to drive carefully (slow down). You are still in a high density traffic or freeway that does not allow you enough time to pull on the side. The software should be available to consumer as this impacts the speed of the current driving condition (which is not obvious to other drivers). If it was a flat tire, or smoke coming out of the hood.. This is visible. Mechanics cannot figure out the issue due to a "general / no details" to the specific issue. Therefore, the older software for this model and year should be considered a recall for hazardous driving. Furthermore, software updates should be notified to all consumers and detailing the items that the software will be changing. There is no communication or even on their website to show updates and needs for it. This is a problem if it has anything to do with engine and powertrain.

Filed Jul 26, 2018 · Engine · 136,000 miles · NC

The vehicle lost power while driving on the highway and a mini dealership has confirmed that the timing chain is the problem along with the valves (possibly caused by the timing being off). Multiple conversations with mini customer relations have gotten no where and the manufacturer refuses to take responsibility for the known issues with the timing chain in this vehicle. Despite a class action lawsuit specifically about the timing chain, no recall has been issued and the manufacturer refuses to assist customers with necessary repairs to this defective part (and other damage caused by the defect). These timing chain issues are not only an undue burden on the consumer, they can be potentially fatal if a timing chain fails at an unfortunate moment. Mini needs to issue a recall.