My 2005 mini cooper VIN # [xxx] just lost power steering while driving on the side street, tried to shut off the engine and restart, it works but decided to just park in the garage since I was afraid to get involve in a accident. Then suddenly, a weird sound coming from the engine compartment, left it overnight , next thing my car battery died and could not start the car. Jumped start it let my husband drove it around the block and exactly the same problem occurred. The power steering became stiff and very hard to maneuver even just making a 45 degrees angle and returned to a driving position. I just decided to just park it and wait until a possible recall. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).
2005 MINI Cooper steering complaints
Page 8 of 10: complaints 191 to 220 of 276, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The steering wheel on my mini cooper has become hard to steer on and off for the last couple of days. At the onset, I was going at about 15 to 20mph and turning right. The steering got hard to turn and I was having difficulty staying out of on coming traffic. I pulled off to the side of the road, turned off the car and hood under the hood to see if there was anything to explain what was going on. I was not able to identify anything to explain this occurrence, so I restarted the car and it was back to normal. Since then it has done this on and off several other times. I call the mechanic and was told these vehicles have lots of problems with the steering pump, cooling fan and rely switch.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact stated the power steering failed without prior warning. The contact stated it would be almost impossible to turn the vehicle because the electronic power assist would prevent the wheel from being turned. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 49,000 and the current mileage was 52,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact stated the power steering failed, without warning, while driving approximately 55 MPH. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road and shut off. He inspected the vehicle and was unable to detect a failure. The contact restarted the vehicle and resumed operation with the steering failure. The contact planned to take the vehicle to the dealer for diagnosis. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 57,000. Updated 06/03/11 *bf the consumer was informed by the dealer that the power steering pump failed. Updated 06/13/11
Intermittent loss of power steering of a 2005 mini cooper. It occurred at least twice (3/14/2011 and 4/8/2011).
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact stated that the power steering would fail intermittently without warning. Once the vehicle was shut off and restarted, the power steering would reset itself. The contact had a mechanic inspect the vehicle and they stated that the power steering pump and rack would need to be replaced. The failure mileage was 70,000 and the current mileage was 85,000.
For the past week, the power steering on my car has failed twice. When it fails, I will suddenly be unable to steer the car. This has occurred while driving the vehicle, e.g. While making at turn while driving on local streets, on an on-ramp to a freeway, and also while parking, maybe it impossible to pull into a parking space within reasonable time. While driving local street, I have had to slow down (for fear of not being able to make the turn trying to steer the vehicle with my own arms) and nearly got into an accident. Updated 08/17/11*bf *tr updated 02/02/2012 *ln
The power steering pump failed intermittently while performing turns or actions which could have resulted in over/under steering. The failure could have easily resulted in an accident.
When backing out of garage noticed that steering felt "heavy", then as I proceeded forward, all power steering assist ceased. This has occurred two or three times (with no warning) in the past, and on the highway. The power steering outage may last a few minutes, or a few days. The outage reported here lasted 10 days. The car can be steered, but only with great effort.. Very dangerous.
2005 mini cooper power steering failure. Having problems with the power steering intermittently failing. Have been told by mini cooper dealership that this is not a "problem", but will probably need to replace the power steering pump. After reading multiple posts, and the investigation that your organization has started...this is looking more like a coverup on mini's part instead of an acceptance of responsibility. This is my wife's car, and it has put her safety at risk twice now when it failed while making a turn.
While driving at speeds of 45 to 55 MPH, the power steering of the vehicle fails, causing the car to swerve dangerously into other lanes, as it requires a lot of strength to keep the car in its lane when this happens on a bend in the road. This occurs approximately once a month. At other times, the power steering pump does not even turn on when the vehicle is started. The steering wheel is nearly impossible to turn like this. When this occurs, the steering pump or fan can be heard clearly struggling. The car must be turned off and restarted several times to correct the issue. This occurs usually once weekly. I have heard this was a common problem with the mini cooper and not isolated to me and to file a complaint. Nothing has yet been done to correct the issue.
Although it did not seem noticeable on the highway, when the power steering pump started to fail I was using extra pressure to stay in my lane. The pump would then work again and the car would lurch off to the side I was favoring and I almost went into a guard rail. When coming off the highway and not knowing the pump was quitting again, I would have to jump into emergency mode to negotiate the turn.
Power steering very suddenly failed! Nearly caused a serous accident when negociating a roundabout. The car is next to impossible to manoeuver, especially at a dead stop, or rounding corners. Steering is very hard to return to "middle" position.
Started noticing the steering wheel was very difficult to turn, usually right after starting the vehicle, but turning the car off and restarting would rectify the problem. Initially it would occur every 2 to 3 monthes, but as time went on it became more frequent. I decided to take it to the dealer to have the problem checked out after it happened 3 times in one day - twice while I was driving causing me to pull to the side ofthe road and shut off and restart the car in order to be able to easily turn the steering wheel. Only after getting the power steering pump replaced was I informed of the the frequency of issues like this with other cars. The dealer did fix the problem by replacing the power steering pump at a cost of approximately $900.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact stated that when driving at low speeds and attempting a turn, the steering would become increasingly resistant. The failure would only occur when turning and once the turn was complete, the steering would return to normal. The vehicle was inspected by the dealer and they advised that the steering pump may be the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was approximately 76,000.
Lost power steering while driving. Significant force was needed to turn the vehicle. The problem lasted for one day. The power steering returned the following day, but the motor stayed on after the car was turned off. The dealership has to replace the motor and the fan.
The power steering pump in my 2005 mini cooper intermittently stops working while driving. This makes turning extremely difficult and hazardous and happens at what seems to be 'random' times. I took it to the mini dealer and they charged me $125 to tell me that my power steering pump was fine, but shorted out a couple of times causing the difficulty in steering. They were going to charge $1060 for the replacement. From what I'm understanding this is a problem that effects 223,000 mini drivers and yet there is no recall yet.
The first time I had a problem, I was driving and maintaining speed when suddenly the power-steering failed. I jerked the steering wheel and turned it with force, and then the power-steering returned. Another time, the power-steering failed while I was driving and remained off until I turned off the ignition and then turned the ignition back on.
2005 mini cooper power steering failure. The power steering has failed several times in my mini cooper. The car becomes extremely hard to drive when it fails (much harder than an old car without power steering-its nearly impossible to steer when the power steering fails). Several times it has happened in the middle of the road while making a turn. If I turn off the car and restart it the power steering will come back for a while. Very dangerous situation!
Power steering began intermittently failing on our 2005 mini cooper at approx. 88,000 miles. Steering would become very stiff making maneuvering the car quite difficult. Usually would go out after traveling some distance on the highway. Very noticeable once stopped at intersection and trying to turn to new direction. Does not feel safe to drive. Has occurred about 10 times now in the past 3 weeks. Failed on way to mini dealer today. Mini dealer has indicated the failure of the module in the powersteering pump. Will replace pump for $1,100.00 plus. Having this repair done as I write. No offer to discount even though the federal safety agency is investigating the failure of this part.
There was a strange noise (like a fan running) coming from my 2005 mini cooper when the engine was turned off. It continued to make the noise until eventually the car battery died. I do not want to drive my car in fear of losing the power steering while driving. I took my car to the dealership's service department to evaluate the problem. I was told that it was the power steering pump and that it needed to be replaced. I am not sure why a 6 year old car with 36,600 miles would need the power steering pump replaced or why it is broken in the first place. The cost of the repair with parts and labor was estimated to be $1400. I had concerns regarding the repair and decided to return home with my car. I have done some research and have found that I am not the only one that has had the same problem. There are hundreds of complaints about the power steering pump failing on mini coopers. I have requested assistance from the dealership and ultimately mini USA for the repair as I believe it is a safety issue that needs to be addressed.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper. While driving at any speed, the contact noticed that the vehicle would lose all power steering intermittently without warning. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who performed a diagnostic test which concluded that the power steering pump needed to be replaced and completed the repairs. The contact did not inform the manufacturer. The current mileage was 108,648 and the failure mileage was unknown.
We bought this car 1 month ago for our 16 year old twins to learn to drive on. Twice while driving the steering has locked up to the point they are stranded in the middle of the road. Both times they called me from their cell phones and I instructed them to turn on the emergency flashers and try and get to a safe place. They could not move the car from side to side so I instructed them to stop putthe car in park and shut it off and try to re-start. Each times this seemed to help but when we have the car looked at there seems to be no problems. The car had only 27,982 miles a month ago when we bought it.
I have a 2005 mini cooper I just hit 55k miles and my power steering pump has failed. My battery is now dead, alternator is fried. It was running fine one day and the next it turned on and I couldn't get it out of my garage and then the battery completely died. This is dangerous and an expensive cost that is the fault of the manufacturer. This is unacceptable that in the uk they are paying for parts but in the us it is a minor issue.
Have a 2005 mini cooper with intermittent loss of power steering, driving along and occasionally the power steering just goes. Requires increased force to steer and maintain control of vehicle with great difficulty. Stop the car restart and all appears okay again.
I just bought a 2005 mini cooper and the power steering failed this morning. After researching this issue, I have found that this is a common complaint and that the federal safety agency was looking into these issues already. Since I have had the vehicle one day, I do not have any other information about whether the power steering failure comes and goes or when it is most likely to occur. This morning it was not functioning properly.
Power steering pump failure while driving vehicle. While driving, my wife had to exert strength to drive vehicle to safe place when the power steering failed. Prior to this incident (reporting this as we are not sure if it is related) our 2005 mini required replacement of the power steering pump fan (at cost of $245.60) on 8/21/2009, to fix a loud noise. On 1/12/2011 we had to replace the power steering pump due to power steering failure. Mini agreed to charge me only 1/2 the warranty part cost and reduced labor (total job cost me $443 versus almost $1200 until I complained). Given the number of incidents (and I read of similar concerns in britain), there should be a recall of this system and I should get a refund of what I paid for the pump and the fan I had replaced in 2009. I also had to have replaced front lower control arm bushings at a labor and parts cost of $767.24. Again, not sure if this is related to the power steering pump failure. Our car only has 46,500 miles, so these failures seem unusual for a car with such low mileage. We are original owners.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact stated while driving various speeds, there was a loss of power steering. The contact was able to continue driving. The vehicle was taken to both the dealer and independent mechanic and they informed the contact that the electric power steering pump would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 56,000. The VIN was unavailable. Updated 2/23/11
After starting up my car I attempted to drive out of my driveway, but the power steering wasn't working. I restarted the car and tried driving again. It still didn't work. After about 15 minutes of trying this it finally started to work again. The next day this happened again both in the morning and again after the car had been sitting for 3+ hours. Later that night when I drove my car it worked fine. This has happened randomly approximately 8 times in the last 2 years, but the mechanic can never duplicate the incident nor find anything wrong with the power steering.
My daughter is 18 years old she was driving home from work 2am raining out side when all of a sudden she started having steering problems real bad thank god her brakes worked. Come to find out her power steering box went out and her fan she has a 2005 mini cooper.
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