2003 MINI Cooper: fire, smoke or burning smell

Filed Apr 10, 2017 · Engine · 120,000 miles · CA · fire

Tl* the contact owned a 2003 mini cooper. While the vehicle was parked in the parking lot, the neighbors noticed that it caught fire and called the fire department. The police arrived and filed a report. The fire department extinguished the fire. The police informed the contact that the fire originated from the engine. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 120,000.

Filed Dec 31, 2015 · Steering · 47,628 miles · CT · fire

Lost power steering with burning smell and lots of smoke. As evidenced on the attached document, the engine wiring harness was burnt. The car could have lost all power. The repair bill was $4097.91. I was without a car for weeks with no loaner car offered. National mini cooper denied that this was an issue. There is now a pending recall. The new parts might also need to be replaced. I was driving on the highway when this occurred.

Filed Mar 22, 2014 · Steering · 48,000 miles · NY

I have a problem with my 2003 mini cooper power steering its leaking power steering fluids all over the bottom of the vehicle and sometime I smell burning.

Filed Oct 9, 2013 · Acceleration, Engine · 109,400 miles · AL

Accelerating after being stopped at a red light, lost power steering, smoke came out of hood, engine temperature redlined, and battery light came on.

Filed Dec 12, 2012 · Electrical, Steering · 115,000 miles · CA · fire

I parked my car in a parking garage after driving approximately 20 miles. I walked to a dentist down the street for an appointment. While at the dentist I get a call that went to my voicemail that my car (while parked with the engine off) was on fire and was filling the parking garage with smoke. Upon receiving the message I rushed home to find that the fire was already out, but the smell of smoke was still very strong. I noticed that the inside indicating lights of the car were on as if the key was in the ignition of the car. I immediately disconnected the battery and inspected the car to find the source of the fire. Upon inspection I found that the flames had come from behind and slightly below the motor. There was a metal shield that was blackened by the flames that I could not see around so I jacked up the car and removed the driver side wheel to further inspect the source of the fire. After doing so I could then clearly see that the source of the fire was the power steering pump due to the surrounding burn marks. The total amount of damage has yet to be assessed by my insurance company. They towed the car and are inspecting the car on dec 13, 2012.

Filed Sep 26, 2012 · Steering · 89,000 miles · CT · fire

On the morning of sunday may 13th 2012 (mothers day), I drove the vehicle approx 11 miles to my mother-in-law's home. During this 11 mile ride all seemed normal with the vehicle. After visiting for a few hours I drove it approx 5 more miles to a stop & shop, again all seemed fine with the vehicle. Within the 10-15minutes I was inside purchasing mothers day flowers, stop and shop employees had noticed a fire in the parking lot. I walked into the parking lot to find the police and fire fighters approaching my car. When I got to it there was no more fire but still plenty of smoke coming from under the hood and driver side wheel well. I took a look under the car to see that there was no more fire, so the fire department left. I was not able to start the car so I jacked up the front of the vehicle to see what had caught fire. The fire had originated from the electric/hydraulic power steering pump. The socket on the pump was still smoking a lot and very melted. The plug connector on the 12v/grounding cables feeding the pump was also very melted. Since this fire occurred on a 12v line it also shorted out the battery completely. I was able to jump the car started in order to drive it about 15-16 miles home. Since then the pump has been disassembled to find that the entire circuit board was compromised (burned/ashes). I decided to file this complaint after I had researched this issue extensively. Apparently this is a common problem. Most simply fail, either causing accidents or merely making it extremely hard do drive. Few other unlucky owners have there pumps burst into flames. Mini is aware of the issue but offers minimal to no compensation. In canada a recall has already been issued for these defective pumps. I can only hope and pray that the federal safety agency along with mini USA choose to issue a recall before this causes a very serious accident (if it hasn't already).

Filed Jun 3, 2012 · Steering · 121,991 miles · NC · fire

At approximately 35mph the power steering of my 2003 mini cooper erratically engaged and disengaged several times. I responded by slowing down and trying to maintain control of the vehicle. Once stopped, I turned the car off completely. Once out of the vehicle I heard an electric motor running. I opened the hood to investigate and noted a small amount of smoke rising from the aft portion of the engine compartment. I went back to the ignition switch to confirm it was off and removed the keys. The electric motor continued to run and as I went back to the open hood the smoke volume had increased dramatically. The smoke had a very clear electrical smell and color. I immediately began trying to disconnect the battery. While obtaining tools from the hatch of the car, the electric power steering pump assembly erupted in flames. I obtained my fire extinguisher and directed it at the aft portion of the engine compartment. This produced no results and the flames returned quickly. I then got the tools from the hatch of the car and cut the battery cables. This caused the fire to subside immediately. At the repair facility the power steering pump assembly (electric) was removed and determined to be the cause of the fire. The fact that I had tools and 25 years mechanical experience prevented this car from burning to the ground. In my opinion this is a major safety issue on two levels. First: loss of directional control. Second: fire hazard, electrical component that cannot be turned off with the ignition switch. This must be investigated and the manufacture directed to apply a fix to all affected vehicles.

Filed Apr 11, 2012 · Electrical, Steering · 83,567 miles · GA · fire

My 2003 mini cooper (r50), with manual shift and 83,567 miles, was parked on a city street when a passerby noticed smoke and fire coming out of the engine area. The fire department was called to put the fire out. The time from the car being parked until the flames were extinguished is estimated at 10 to 20 minutes. The car was towed the following morning to a mini dealer service center for diagnosis. The diagnosis was that the auxiliary power steering cooling fan had failed. The other items that are estimated to need replacement are the power steering pump, engine wiring harness, auxiliary wiring harness, power steering pump reservoir hose and power steering return hose. At the time I was on a trip out-of-town 600 miles away from home and the car is still at the out-of-town dealer. Prior to the incident no signs of anything suspect with the car were noticed. Approximately 1 hour prior to the incident the bonnet of the car was opened at a military entrance gate vehicle inspection and no signs of any issues were noticed at that time. To my knowledge there is no aftermarket equipment in the affected area. I am the 2nd owner of the car having purchased it at 35,086 miles mid-2007 from a long-time friend who was the first owner. I maintain the car and keep all maintenance records. I believe the manufacturer should be responsible for all repairs and the return of the car to my home. I have read about recalls by transport canada for 2002-2005 mini steering pumps which would indicate this issue is worthy of investigation for recall. This is a dangerous vehicle defect. Please formally investigate this incident.

Filed Mar 12, 2012 · Steering · UT · fire

While driving at high way speed car lost steering assist, intermittently came bad then failed, I then slowed down steering did not came back, once stopped large amount of smoke coming from under hood the smell of electrical burning, even with key off I could hear electric power steering pump still trying to run, the fire was from the heavy battery feed wires into the power steering pump the composite end of pump melted, once I disconnected the battery the source of fire was removed, I have spent the last 4 years working in a gm dealer ship, master ase tech, I feel if I was a typical consumer and had not known to pull battery power the out come could had been worse.

Filed Mar 7, 2012 · Electrical · 90,000 miles · TX · crash · fire · 1 injury

Car impacted the rear end of a jeep at low rate of speed (was braking to avoid crash in the front). Upon impact the car burst into flames. The air bag deployed. Luckily the occupant of the vehicle was able to get out of car. Within minutes the car was totally in flames. No one was killed or seriously injured but if the occupant did not get out when they did the occupant would have died due to smoke or flame injury.my complaint is that this low front end impact should not have resulted in immediate fire and large flames. I have photos of the car just after the occupant got out of the vehicle and also photos of the car after it was towed back to wrecker yard.

Filed Mar 7, 2012 · Steering · 80,100 miles · GA · fire

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini copper. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in a residential garage, smoke emitted from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the mechanic confirmed that the power steering pump caught fire and melted the wiring harness. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 80,100 and the current mileage was 80,600.

Filed Dec 27, 2011 · Steering · 86,000 miles · CA · fire

On the date of incident I parked my car in a wells fargo bank parking lot after going to the gym. Upon returning to my car an individual who had parked next to me informed me that "your car is smoking" I looked and white smoke was coming from under the hood. I opened the hood to inspect it and saw white smoke which smelled electrical. The individual who noticed smoke came out of her SUV to help. She and I looked and she informed me that she saw a small flame coming from under the engine. I saw it and extinguished it with a bottle of water I had. I then heard an electrical spinning/humming as if something was still electrically charged. The smoke then began to intensify and got so out of control I was tempted to call 911 but then I thought to disconnect any power to the car by disconnecting the battery. This action cut all power to the car and stopped the smoke and electrical spinning/humming. I called aaa and had my car towed to my mechanic. On the evening of 12/23/2011 my mechanic called me and informed me that my power steering pump had failed and estimated the repairs at $1,046. On 12/26/2011 my car was returned to me by my mechanic who showed me the failed power steering pump which melted other wires and components of the power steering mechanism. Total out-of-pocket expenses was $1,053.