Technically there were 3 incidents with my 04 mini cooper. Out of nowhere, while driving down a busy street, the power steering just stopped working. Luckily I was in the far right lane, and slowed enough to veer to the roadside and call for assistance. When the car was taken to a mechanic, I was told the power steering pump was bad and needed to be replaced. Also, I was told that it happens frequently with mini's. However, I did not ask them to replace my pump, I wanted a second opinion. Out of nowhere my car started to drive without any issue whatsoever. I got a second opinion and was told in about a year, it would need to be replaced, but they too mentioned this issue with mini's. I was shocked. Weeks later, I was making a left turn and the power steering went out. I barely missed a bus stop on the corner, full of people. Shaken, I again called mini and asked about a recall or any procedures toward having one made. Obviously, they were unhelpful, but they too divulged that this is a common problem. My car started to drive normally once more, but I drove as little as possible while I continued my research. A third time, I couldn't even get my car out of the driveway and I decided that was it. I was just going to take it to a mini dealership and have the pump replaced. When I called with my situation and then told them I believed my power-steering pump was needing to be replaced, they didn't argue or say they'd look into it, they basically agreed, and gave an estimate. I took it in and they again asked no questions, they didn't look into the problem. $1200 later, I left with no questions answered, with a hole in my pocket. If this is a common problem, it needs to be addressed asap. What if I had hit that bustop full of people, or worse? I can still tell there's something wrong with my steering. Mini needs to do a recall. Yesterday.
2004 MINI Cooper steering complaints
Page 5 of 9: complaints 101 to 130 of 238, newest first, as owners wrote them.
With out any advice, the steering turns rigid and hard to manipulate,I checked the fluid and it looks fine and clean.
While driving, I noticed it became markedly more difficult to turn the wheel. I was able, with effort, to drive safely to my destination. When it was time to return home, the power steering was working for the first 4 or so miles, then it gave out again.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. The contact stated that while traveling 35 MPH, the power steering completely failed and the steering wheel seized. The vehicle had to be towed to the dealer for assistance. The dealer replaced the entire power steering system because the electronic power assist pump could not be replaced by itself. The failure mileage was 46,995 and the current mileage was 48,000. Updated 03/14/12*lj also, the auxiliary cooling fan was replaced. Updated 04/18/12
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the steering wheel seized without warning and was difficult to control. The contact inspected the vehicle and the failure was located at the power steering pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 98,000.
Took car into dealer and they said the power steering pump needs to replaced, which would cost $1050.00 for parts and labor. Prior to taking it into dealer, the steering wheel locked up on several occasions, which caused me to use all my strength to get the car to steer. On february 5, 2012, the steering wheel locked up, I parked the car, and the power steering pump fan ran continuously until it drained the battery. I have read online that mini cooper owners are trying to get bmw to recall this defect, but they will not. I also read that the federal safety agency checked into this, but I do not know what the outcome was.
Power steering pump went out completely without warning as I was diving at a low speed. Steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn, making the car very dangerous to maneuver out of traffic and park safely. Narrowly avoided hitting pedestrians due to my inability to turn steering wheel.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. The contact stated that the power steering only functioned intermittently. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 54,000 and the current mileage was 55,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper .the contact stated that while driving in reverse, the power steering seized momentarily before resuming normal operation independently. The contact had experienced the failure at least twice. The dealer was not contacted and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 75,000 and the current mileage was 84,000. The VIN was not available.
Power steering failed making it difficult to drive/ turn vehicle. This has happened multiple times. Typically the power steering comes back after a minute or two but during the latest incident it did not come back on.
Power steering failed while on a highway.
Lent car to boyfriend to drive me to boston (100 mile one way). On the way home he stopped at a store approximately 10 miles from the house. When he came back out of the store ( was in store approximately 10 minutes) the power steering no longer worked. It was like trying to steer through concrete for him. A few days later he tried the car and it all worked fine again. Based on prior complaints filed, I am concerned that the issue will reoccur when I am driving causing obvious safety concerns, or that it may catch fire (based on other complaints filed for similar issues) and that I will be facing the cost of replacing the power steering unit (which does not sound like it has been reengineered since this issue became known).
Power steering froze up as we turned a corner and then died out completely. It has never returned. Very close to causing a collision because of the loss of power steering.
While driving the power steering cut out creating an unsafe driving condition. Over the next 20,000 miles the power steering would intermittently come back and go out more than a dozen times until eventually failing completely.
The cars power steering started failing for a few seconds while driving at slow speed. This has happened at least 20 or more times over the last 2 years. The steering of the vehicle becomes extremely hard. There is no warning that this will occur, so clearly it could result in an accident. In the last 12 months, the power steering has started to fail when the car is started, but started working again if the car was restarted or after a short period of time. This week, after 3 hours of driving, the car was parked for 15 minutes, when the car was restarted there was no power steering at all during another 5 minutes of driving. The care was stopped for another 20 minutes and when restarted power steering was restored. I am very concerned that this failure could occur during high speed maneuvering and could result in a major accident. I feel that I have been lucky to date that I haven't been in a situation that resulted in an accident, precise control of the vehicle is impossible without the power steering.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed without warning, causing extreme difficulty in steering control. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileage was 120,000.
Steering fluid pump was just replaced a few weeks ago, problem has returned and will not go away... Steering wheel very rigid hard to turn. Very difficult to make turns, alot of effort to turn the steering wheel. Trying to make a sharp or quick turn if needed, would be dangerous & almost impossible. I recently researched and found that thousands of 04 mini coopers had this same problem.
Power assisted steering will cease working while driving, making the car very, very difficult to steer/control. This problem is currently intermittent, but when it does happen it is very scary. Currently, I will not allow my wife or grandchildren in the car until I fix this problem. Mini USA thru main line mini, bala cynwyd, pa stated no recall for this vehicle via email. Research of the federal safety agency online data base shows 113 reported complaints for year 2004 mini's and 120 for year 2005 for steering problems and no fix by bmw. This is a serious safety problem and suggest readers file complaints and hope it does not take a death to get someone's attention.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. The contact stated that immediately after starting the vehicle, the power steering failed. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred on three occasions. During the most recent failure, the power steering pump continued to run after the vehicle was turned off. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 89,000.
While driving in a 35mph zone, smoke started coming out from under the hood (bonnet). Driver noticed odd steering response shortly before smoke appeared. Repair shop noted power steering pump failure causing wiring loom fire. Research has found numerous power steering pump failures on mini coopers. When power steering fails, driving is next to impossible given size of steering wheel and power assist design.
I am the original owner of a 2004 mini cooper s, now with a power steering problem. The power steering repeatedly fails for no detectable reason--this according to my mini/bmw mechanic. I drive the car for approximately 15 miles and the power steering fails. I shut the car off, let it cool and restart it. It returns to normal and then again fails after a few miles. The on-board computer records the failure, but does not explain it in a way that would suggest a solution. The car's computer reads: "fault stored: short circuit/open circuit at control unit." hence, my mechanic has no idea of how to fix it short of replacing the entire system which, as he says, is no guarantee that the problem will stop. As it is, the car is unsafe to drive, and I will no longer permit my wife to drive it. I do hope the federal safety agency will look into this issue. I read online that allegedly is investigating the issue, and I would be happy to provide my mechanic's written evaluation if it would contribute to your research. The steering now fails each time I drive the automobile. Thank you for your attention.
About a year and half ago the car was leaking steering fluid, the mechanic stated that the cooling fan on the steering pump was a bad design, he adjusted it and it lasted until november of 2011 again the leaking started, grinding noise from the front left,steering was difficult on turns. I had all the steering components replaced at a cost of @ $1,100. Mechanic still believed it is a design flaw, should have a recall.
Pulled into a parking lot. Was making a right turn into a spot and lost all steering. I turned off the car and restarted and it worked again, but it was impossible to steer without the power assist. I see this morning that this problem is now common and I hesitate to go into mini to have it fixed right away since it will cost more than $1000 to fix! Why isn't this a recall?
Power steering failure while driving; had new steering rack/pump installed at 90,000, worked fine for a year and now the power steering has failed for the second time; a new steering pump/rack needs to be installed...
Failure of power steering.
Driving to work and tried to make a right hand turn. The power steering failed making the wheel very hard to turn. I pulled over to the side and shut the car off, and when I restarted it, the power steering worked again. It does this intermediately a few times a week since then... Mini says its an internal fault in the power steering pump.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH the power of steering would stop working intermittently. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 51,377.
The first time the power steering failed was when I was exiting off a highway rest stop. When leaving the stop, the power steering worked again. For a couple of months, incidents of stiffness became more frequent especially at the end of my commute home from work. Three months later it lacks power steering full time. After all I've read about this online, my concern is that the cost of the repair may be around $1300.
Driving on highway entering turn, and car was hard to steer, had to jerk wheel to avoid hitting another car. When will something be done with mine and others who have this issue. Does it take a death for car dealers to be held accountable.
I was just driving home from work and the power steering just went out, I did safely make it home and got the car in the garage. It has been parked since it seems the power steering comes and goes. I don't know what the problem may be for sure, but I have already had the fan assembly replaced due to it would not cut off, and killed my battery, so of course I had to replace the battery. I am taking the car in for a estimate for the steering, but it seems this is a common problem and it needs to be recalled. It cause someone to get hurt or even killed.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2004 MINI Cooper?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history