I was on the freeway when my power steering failed and I nearly crashed while trying to change lanes and exit the freeway.
2002 MINI Cooper steering complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 61, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Power steering froze up car could not be steered in any direction.
I was trying to get onto an off ramp and when I was into the turn I almost ran into a concrete barrier because the whole steering wheel locked up. The steering wheel always locks up sometimes it with a few miles and others it is good until it locks up. Very dangerous.
After a short trip, I had just parked the mini. Fortunately, it was outdoors and within 50ft of my tool chest. On turning off the ignition and removing the key, I noticed an unusual noise; the [electric] power steering pump continued to run. A few seconds later, smoke appeared. I raced to my tool drawer, grabbing the first suitable tool, channel lock pliers, and proceeded to hastily disconnect one of the battery terminals. Smoke was heavy at that point. Disconnecting power prevented further damage, and was fortunately done in time, before the wiring harness was incinerated, or the situation became a self-sustaining conflagration. Apparently, although there is a 100a fuse present, the fault protection on the power steering pump circuit is inadequate. I removed the power wire to the pump, to allow the vehicle to be driven, with heavy [non-assisted] steering, pending service. Since the outcome is not so bad, why should I complain? Consider if the vehicle were parked indoors, and/or if the same event were to happen to someone with less electrical aptitude. I don't expect accessories to last forever; the vehicle is 11 years old with 123k miles. I do object to the failure mode, in which the power steering pump circuit becomes an incendiary device...
Power steering fails- car loses all power assisted steering pupm continues to run after engine shut off, possible fire result.
My power steering fan continues to run even after the care is turned off. It completely drained my battery so I replaced the battery. Two weeks later the same thing happened and I learned that my power steering pump and fan are defective. Also intermittent loss of power steering while driving and needless to say this can be very dangerous.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper. While driving approximately 20 MPH the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact was able to park the vehicle but stated that the power steering had become inoperable. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 45,065.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper. The contact was traveling 20 MPH when the power steering assist failed. The vehicle was not taken to dealer for inspection and the manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileages were 66,000.
Faulty power steering pump causing a loss of complete control of the vehicle. 80,000+ incidents reported with this make/model of vehicle with the knowledge of vehicle manufacturer. The pump has since been re-manufactured to fix the issues but mini of north america refuses to issue a recall for the serious safety aspect of their failing part.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper. The contact was driving 20 MPH when the steering assist failed. The dealer was notified and informed the contact that the steering rack, power steering pump and the fan might have to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 102,000.
My wife has been complaining of intermittent loss of power assist. I drive her car very little however I recently had the problem happen to me. One of my hobbies is sport car racing (most recently at summit point raceway in wv) so I do expect the unexpected however it is so intermittent it is often forgotten. It will be fine for weeks then it happens again. Thousands of reports in the uk and canada issued a recall. You don't lose your steering just the assist. Next time you are alone on a back road with a curve turn your car off and you will see what the described problem feels like. Lets not have a serious incident before bmw resolves this issue. This has been going on for years.
I was driving along and lost the power steering. It was very difficult to steer. I got home parked the car and let it go. The next morning it was fine. However, this morning, 6/8/2012, it happened again as I was turning in an intersection. Fortunately for me there weren't many cars on the road, as it was very difficult to turn. If this had happened in even a semi-busy intersection, I would have been in trouble.
While driving steering became stiff. Almost unable to turn wheel when I slowed to park. After turning car off and back on, problem resolved. Still happens at least once per day usually while slowing or downshifting. Always resolves after restarting car.
Power steering pump stopped functioning making car unsafe to drive.
I was driving the car in lacey wa. Smoke started issuing from the car. I immediately pulled into a parking lot. I opened the hood and smoke was issuing forth. After 5 minutes, I spotted flames. I had a small fire extinguisher but it was insufficient to put out the flames. A passing motorist arrived with a larger extinguisher and put out the flames. An insurance adjuster informed me that the fire was due to a faulty power steering pump.
Complete loss of power steering while in oncoming traffic lane during overtaking on two lane road. Steering required an extreme amount of effort. Barely managed to move back to right hand land before getting dangerously close to oncoming traffic. Power steering did not recover for another 2.5 mins of driving. Pulled over to side of road, turned car off, on again, power steering returned. Electric power steering pump now runs continuously even when key is turned off. Indicative of electric power steering pump controller failure. I continue to have concerns that power steering may cut out at any time again, and that if the pump continues running constantly even when the key is removed it may start a fire at some point. I have to disconnect the negative terminal of the battery to prevent the pump from running continuously.
Power steering failed while car was being driven. Luckily the car was at low speed at the time and I was able to get to a safe stop by using brute force to steer the car. Power steering than reappeared intermittently over the next few days, finally failing completely. Mechanic says power steering pump failed and that it is a common problem with minis. Cost will be over $1200 to repair. It appears the issue is already being investigated by bmw, yet they have taken no action to recall or fix.
I would like to report a power steering failure on my pregnant wife's 2002 mini cooper. The car only has 61k miles on it. She was driving last night, in the rain, and the power steering pump went our as she was on a freeway transition ramp at a speed of 40-50 MPH. She almost lost control of the vehicle and almost hit the side rails. Fortunately she was able to avoid crashing. The power steering pump started to work intermittently after the car was shut off and restarted. This is a huge safety problem and mini/bmw needs to address this problem before somebody gets seriously hurt or dies.
Power steering failure--the power steering in my mini cooper s 2002 began "cutting out" and became more frequent over a few days. The "cutting out" happens without warning and is potentially quite dangerous as the vehicle becomes almost unmanageable when making a turn. This makes driving the vehicle very unsafe. Upon researching this problem, this is a very common problem which will eventually occur with most mini coopers even through fairly recent years of manufacture and often at fairly low mileage accumulation.
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper. The contact stated that the power steering pump continued to run while the engine was turned off. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer nor repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileage was 49,000.
The power steering failed when driving. It became impossible to steer. It was as though the car steering became locked. I was very lucky to have a police car stop to assist me to move me to a safe spot on the street.
Power steering failure. This occurs intermittently. Most recently, last week, it was out for 3 days and then it started working again.
Power steering failed while going down a multi-story parking lot. Very scary. Car corrected itself. Later that day it happened again. Called my mechanic (a mini mechanic) and was told this happens all the time with 2002-2005 mini coopers. Will need to replace pump and fan which will cost me $1200 inc. Labor. This is a problem that mini USA is very aware of. They released a car with known problems (inc. Cvt transmission issues) how can they do this? So far o one has been killed (that we know of) but I know it will happen one day. This is a very dangerous issue.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 bmw mini cooper. The contact stated the steering failed while driving at a low speed and had to be held with force with both hands in order to turn it, or keep the vehicle under control. There were no warning lights before or after the failure occurred. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who performed a diagnostic test that located the failure in the power steering pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer stated the failure was not recalled, and they would not assist with the repair. The failure and the current miles were 114,000. Updated 07/20/11*lj the consumer stated the vehicle then began to make a humming sound in which the power steering pump was running when the vehicle was off, which caused the battery to die. Updated 08/01/11
Power system on my 2002 mini cooper went out. This seems to be a common occurrence. And very dangerous and costly. Bmw had better do something about this because I almost creamed a cop...
Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mini coopers. The contact was driving 40 MPH when the power steering failed. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic shop where they informed him that the fuse that controlled the power steering charging system had blown. The component was replaced at a the contacts expense. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was contacted to report the failure. The failure mileage was 36,000. Updat ed 06/03/11 *bf updated 08/08/11
I always maintained my 2002 mini cooper and at 80k miles the transmission blew up just before I was to enter a very busy freeway in los angeles, downtown area. There was plenty of oil in the transmission. I was told it was not a fault of my care after the mechanic looked at it upon tow in. It just stopped fast and short with a huge jerk forward and explosive noise. The mechanic said it blew in big chunks. I couldn't move it from traffic in neutral and had it towed to the shop. 80k is early for something like this and I see many people are reporting this happened with even less mileage, 34k, 48k ...no replacements and so many failures like this? Mini turns their heads; would not replace or even talk to me. Previously too the power steering pump also just stopped and no movement on the wheel. Seriously dangerous. I was told by the dealership one time in mountain view, I had an oil leak. At the time the amount they wanted me to pay was high, 700.00 or so (just after warranty ended). I took it to another mechanic. He took me under the car and showed me there was not a spot of oil under that car in any nook or cranny. In thinking about this after transmission problem I realize these things are telling me mini knows about their mini mechanical problems. Also when the new ($4350.00) transmission was purchased, la, mini told the mechanic they had 5 transmissions in stock in their parts department at all times because this was so common. That's proof they know it's a problem. Yet no recall to people with these issues and these can cause serious life threatening problems.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper. While driving approximately 25 MPH and attempting to make a left or right turn the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle will be taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure and the current mileage was 82,426. Updated 05/03/11*lj updated 05/16/11
I bought a 2002 mini cooper and while driving the power sterering quit working. I contacted a mini repair shop and found that the power steering pump is electric and it's relay or or one for it's cooling fan might have failed. They told me that it is very common and would cost over $1000. To fix it. Had I been in the wrong mode of driving this failure could have killed me.
Power steering failure on my 2002 r50 mini cooper. The power steering would act up the previous couple oe weeks by then resume as if everything was fine. Then prior to first of the year, it just went out totally.
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