1. An hour into a highway drive, all the electrical failed. All lights, gauges, radio, etc. All but the power steering returned in a moment, less than a second. 2. The power steering does not work. 3. Power steering pump internal electronics area shows significant scorching and melting. Pump was replaced but power steering system still inoperable. The old pump is available.
2004 MINI Cooper steering complaints
Page 9 of 9: complaints 221 to 238 of 238, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2004 mini cooper. Consumer states while driving power steering malfunctioned.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. While driving at approximately 35 MPH, the contact noticed steering became extremely difficult. After the initial failure, the steering problems became intermittent. The vehicle identification number was unavailable at the time of the complaint. The current mileage was approximately 78,000. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the power steering would fail without prior warning. When this would occur, the contact could not control the steering wheel in either direction. The dealer stated that the failure was common in his year, make and model and recommended replacing the power steering pump. The contact confirmed that the failure occurred intermittently. The failure mileage was 60,000 and the current mileage was 67,000.
Power steering suddenly cut out during normal driving conditions in downtown san francisco, making it very difficult to steer. Driver was able to bring the car to a stop safely, but this failure could have caused an accident had it occurred on a curving road. The power steering pump was determined to have failed, and was replaced by the consumer, for a repair cost of close to $700. The power steering pump is not supposed to fail this early in the lifetime of a vehicle.
2004 mini cooper- 50k miles- power steering fan / motor failure leading to electrical system malfunction, heat/fire damage resulting in inability to turn off engine.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. While driving 15-20 MPH, the power steering suddenly failed. The contact had to pull the vehicle over. A diagnostic has not been performed to determine the cause of the failure. The failure mileage was 37,640.
Power steering failed soon after starting. The car had been outside on a cold day, but not unusual (~20 degrees f). It functioned again when re-started.
While driving on the freeway my power steering pump died I could hardly change lanes on the freeway, it felt like my steering wheel had locked, turning in any angle was very hard worst than driving a truck, I kept a firm grip with one hand while trying to control the gears, my arms, back, and hand is still hurting, had no warning signals, it wheel just locked up and was very hard to managed I wasnt able to handle the car did not feel safe, did not have full control of handling the steering this is serious protential accident waiting to happen I called the dealer and was told that there were recalls but not for my VIN 2004. My mini is now in the repair shop to have the pump replace and the fan. This is a deadly issue and mini should recall and pay for this problem for those of us who had to pay out of pocket we should get refunds, so far out of pocket is over $1100.00, I hope this send a message to the manaufacture that lives are at stake here, great car but not safe to drive without full control. I'm so thankful I didnt have to move quickly out of the way or I would not be here to report this bad experience I lost a day of work trying to get this resolved and the cost of a rental car.
Approximately one month ago I was on ortega highway in southern california with my child in the back seat. As I was maneuvering the mini along the curvy road the power steering went out. Fortunately I had gotten through the worst of the hair pins and was going slower than the speed limit etc. Suddenly the steering began to work again. My husband was informed by a mechanic that it was the power steering fan. We had it replaced and it seemed okay. On november 26th I had my children in the car going to my sisters I went to make a left hand turn and the car didn't want to turn. The power steering failed again. I was fortunate once again as there was no on coming traffic because if there was I would have had a head-on collision. There are no warning lights for this issue and I had never been informed of power steering issues being so sudden on this vehicle. I believe a massive recall for the 02-04 years would be an extremely good idea. I goggled the issue and have found many others with these years that are having the same problem. My vehicle is only 4 years old. I have a truck older than it that has never had to have the power steering replaced. I can not afford to replace it now due to financial issues. The pump alone is between 400-500 dollars. Please, please, please get them to recall this before someone dies! Or is that what everyone is waiting for?!?
I bought a used 2004 mini cooper last year. Under certain conditions on a curvy road the power steering pump would get very hard to turn the wheel, especially in a sharp curve. With no dealerships within 150 miles I put up with it. Now it stays on all the time and cannot be disconnected without taking the battery cable off the battery. It ruined 2 batteries before I realized it was staying on 24 hours a day. I bought the repair book and wiring diagram cd's to find it is straight wired from battery to inside the pump which glows bright red after running a few hours. If I had any type of oil leak, it would catch on fire. I contacted a repair center in atlanta ga and they can change it out for about $1000+ for the power steering pump and the open faced fan that caused the failure in the pump. It failed the exact month my warranty was over and they said sorry charlie. Cannot currently pay to have it repaired so it has been sitting in my yard for almost a year.
Power steering went out in early 2008. Luckily the car was parked when that happened or else it would have been a disaster since mini steering wheel is already heavier than other cars. Had it fixed (replaced) at the dealership and had to pay around $1000 since the warranty expired. It's unacceptable that the steering power pump died this early only after 4 years. It's a ripoff for the consumers. Something must be done about this. A few months later, the steering column and the lower shaft started to have issues as well. They started to make creaking noises. Took the car to the dealership and they quoted at almost $1000 to replace the parts. The steering column and power pump should not have to be replaced after only four years!
Power window on passenger side comes down only sometimes and sometimes it doesn't work for weeks. Steering is making noises.
At first my battery died after I came out of work. I couldn't understand why since I didn't leave anything on. So I got the battery replaced for $200. Recently the steering has been cutting out while driving. If you pull off into a parking lot and turn off the car you can still hear the cooling fan going. After approx 30 min the power steering will return to normal until it overheats again. So my battery was being drained by the power steering cooling fan.
The power steering pump on my 2004 mini cooper has failed. I believe that this failure made the car dangerous to drive. The car is a low-mileage vehicle (43,000 miles at 4 years) and I believe this component has failed prematurely. I am a member of several mini enthusiast communities and am aware that this is a common problem with the mini. Www.mini2.com has reports of around 1 in 4 vehicles having this pump fail prematurely. I believe an investigation is important due to member reports of fires starting under the hood. The part was replace at a mini dealership.
I had driven 2004 mini for about 30 minute, then parked it in driveway. Within 15 minutes I looked over to see smoke coming from the engine. I opened the compartment and got help. We pushed it into a nearby field and called the fire dept. If it had stayed in the drive, it would have also ignited 2 cars, the house and a boat. Who know about people and animals. I almost got run over trying to stop the mini as it was pushed. After the car was out, we had it towed to inskip auto in warwick ri. Jeof said at first it was a power steering hose that burst and got on the hot exhaust...igniting. After looking at it further and with metlife insurance agent, they thought it was the power steering fan and pump failure. This overheated the electrical harness, to start the electrical fire. Neither the insurance nor inskip felt it was covered by them. I am to pay $2,600. Today when it pick it up. This covers labor, a power steering pump, fan and harness. I googled the problem on the internet to upsetting to me and find at least 250 posted mini's with the same problem. I don't understand how mini does not have to recall it. Are they waiting for just as many deaths?
I have a 2004 mini cooper with about 61000 miles, and have recently experienced problems with the power steering. It was a very scary situation as the steering locked as I was driving on a los angeles freeway at a high speed. There is no warning indication, and there is definitely a potential danger.
Driving to work and power steering system failed without warning. This failure created a dangerous situation. I was able to control the car, but it took a tremendous amount of effort. Had my wife been driving, it is likely that she would lost control.
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