2003 MINI Cooper electrical problems

Filed Dec 31, 2023 · Electrical, Steering · WA

No air or blower or heat to defog windshield. Water in driver-side foot well. Power steering intermittent fault. Engine continues running and panel gauge lights remain on with ignition off and key removed.

Filed Nov 17, 2022 · Brakes, Electrical · PA

i Purchased the car in Dover Pa . INspection sticker had same milage as on car so i shoulda knew he slapped a sticker on . drove 150 miles dash lit ip like chrismas tree. 1st thing left window wont work , then left lock wont work had to lock from passenfger dide. then door wont open at all . have to get ou t passenger door . know that wont open have to put down passenger window pull handel to get out . car is possessed light work whren they want does all kinda crazt stuff . batter has problems . charge and still cant start it . and hatch locks so i cant get to battery. power steering leaking going bad . timing belt making noise . no power on hills .cracking noise in right front pulls to right had . hazard to me ive been locked inside three times could get out of car i coulda sat in heat and died or cold and froze . cant get out of car when it ts electric doors dont work . car sucks . this has been gradual thing these events from feb to may . now i just hate the car

Filed Jul 4, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · CA

Windshield cracked from the bottom where it meets the hood of the car. Driver's side window does not go down. I only hear a clicking sound. Water pump, oil pan and valve cover gaskets failed prematurely. I can't shift the car into first gear without multiple attempts.

Filed May 19, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 102,000 miles · VA

While traveling north on us 221 from bent mountain, va to roanoke va my hydralic steering totally failed. As I travelled a short distance my brake light warning lights, ABS light, other brake system light, battery light and air bag warning light came on. I looked at the engine temperature guage and the temp was normal. I pulled into a parking lot, raised the hood, checked the fluids in the engine compartment and reentered the car. While sitting in the drivers seat I heard a loud explosion, looked forward and noted thick steam coming from the engine compartment. I turned the engine off, exited the car and when the steam dissipated I noted that the cooling system filling/overflow tank was split in half damaging a protecting cover on the firewall and sprayed a building wall and window with engine coolant 10 feet away in front of the vehicle. I had the car towed to martin's german service in cave spring, va. Because the closest dealership in located in north carolina 150 miles away. Due to service volume they will not be able to evaluate the problem until 24 may 2016.

Filed Feb 16, 2016 · Electrical, Steering · 168,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper. While driving approximately 15 MPH, the power steering seized. The battery and temperature gauge warning indicators illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 15v660000 (steering); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 168,000.

Filed Feb 14, 2016 · Electrical · 79,000 miles · NJ

Our 2003 mini cooper was driven in october 2015 in first and second gear, in bumper to bumper slow traffic, uphill for about a mile. When we shut the car off and got out of it, a fan in the engine compartment continued to run. We went back into the car, started it again, then shut if off for a second time, and the fan continued to run. The fan ran about 5 to 10 minutes while the car was parked. We have been told that the stage 1 cooling fan has failed and that the stage 2 cooling fan was running to cool down the engine.

Filed Dec 14, 2014 · Electrical, Suspension · 130,000 miles · TX

This mini cooper a 2003 w/130k miles driven by a young female. She had no idea her wheel was going to fall off the driver side front. She had called for a check engine light on and intermittent battery failure. It was ask that I drive the car and listen to a pop coming from the wheel section. The pop was the entire wheel assembly moving forwards and back bumping the wheel wells as the car went forward. Needless to say I didn't drive far nor did I accelerate faster than 10 MPH. I told the parent of the driver that the car was not drivable under any condition and that it needed immediate attention. The lower control arm bushing rubber was completely gone. I do not know if this is a defect. This part is a mount and it's holding many components of this car together. It is nothing like I have seen before used as a mount. I have seen the rubber worn from this type part but they were not being used as a mount. When the rubber on this part deteriorates it causes the mount to be unstable resulting in the whole wheel assembly moving like a swing forwards and backwards while driving. In a traffic situation this could be devastating to more than just the driver of this car but also to the cars driving near if the wheel were to come off in their traffic. Needless to say the mini cooper would immediately fail in traffic with the brake cylinders hitting the road causing flying sparks, if rear ended it would more than likely flip. This is a dangerous scenario. This car was purchased second hand as are a lot of cars. This is not a part on anyone's check list and not one you consider to be one of this type of failure. I am filing this complaint but I am not the owner of this car. I am merely concerned at the implications of the deterioration of the rubber and what those implications mean to the other purpose this part is suppose to perform and can't when the rubber is gone.

Filed Aug 14, 2014 · Body, Electrical · 68,000 miles · OH

Drain hose from sunroof drain running down a-pillar came dislodged through "normal wear and tear" causing massive flooding to the interior of my car. It was rendered unserviceable and totaled, on june 16, 2014, but uncovered by insurance. This was nothing that I was aware of that was an issue, nor were any recalls ever issued on this issue. I had it in to the dealership in 2012, 2 years ago, for electrical failure, and they thought it was merely the battery, so they replaced it and it seemed to be fine, but they said to keep the battery as a back up "just in case" because it still appeared to be a good battery. Then later in 2013, I took it back to the mini dealer for general service and I said I noticed water in the boot (trunk) and for them to check the hatchback seal to see if there was any leaks, they said no, and no further investigation was done for either event. I believe that both these events were results of the faulty drain hose from the a-pillar being dislodged for so long. Today, the automobile left my possession, to an auction house. I wanted to file this complaint so that you, the federal safety agency can perhaps have mini issue a recall to fix this issue and have them change their vehicle's sunroof drainage system so that someone else doesn't have a car totally ruined by flooding due to this defect in engineering and design. After viewing some mini forums, I am not the only person who has had this issue has happened to their mini cooper. I'm very sad, because I happened to really enjoy this car, and it was totally fun to drive. I was advised by a friend who is a motorcycle mechanic and my insurance agent to file this report with your organization, in hopes that something will be done about this. Too many people don't speak up, and I am not one to let something done wrong to me go without a fight! Do all you can to rectify this issue with mini!

Filed Jul 16, 2013 · Brakes, Electrical · 114,975 miles · CA

The power steering pump, fan, hydraulic fluid pump chf 1 core charge) and hose clamp were replaced by the dealer 5 days earlier. Mini cooper/bmw sent me a letter for voluntary replacement because my mini copper 2003 had too many complaints with this issue. The car was running ok except for the power steering after the replacement I only drove about 70 miles because I was off from my school. The incident happened on july 15, 2013 approximately at 3:45 pm. I drove about 30 miles back from work. Parked the car in front of rite aid in rancho palos verdes. When I returned to the car it wouldn't start. Used jump cables for several minutes without success. Went to my mechanic close by. My mechanic came to look at the car, he was able to start the car. I drove back home about 6 miles. When I parked the car the car was very hot and most of the lights in the panel were lighten. I must mention that my car has a new battery and new starter (both were replaced 9 months ago). It seems that the problem is directly related to the electrical system and to the replacement of the part on 7/17/2013.

Filed May 28, 2013 · Electrical, Steering · 62,000 miles · IL · fire

After driving the car under normal circumstances a short distance and parking the car, a fire ignited in the engine bay. The fire extinguished itself prior to the fire truck arriving. Vehicle was towed to local dealer who, upon inspection, indicated the power steering pump and/or associated hardware had failed and caused the fire.