Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH, the steering wheel locked up suddenly. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the power steering pump and gasket were replaced. The current and failure mileages were 56,954. Updated 3/7/11 *cn updated 03/14/11
2005 MINI Cooper steering complaints
Page 9 of 10: complaints 221 to 250 of 276, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact stated that while driving approximately 30 MPH and trying to make a turn, the power steering failed making it very difficult to maneuver the vehicle. The failure was intermittent. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
While driving my 2005 mini cooper (approx 48,000 miles) our power steering intermittently seemed to cut out making the steering extremely heavy and unresponsive. While on the highway it made driving difficult, but not impossible. However, on arriving in town we were unable to make a turn without ending up in the lane of on-coming traffic! Luckily there was little traffic around when we arrived at our destination. Turning the car off and back on again while stopped at a traffic light seemed to restore our power steering long enough to get to our final destination.
2005 mini cooper sudden loss of power steering. Due to defect in design power steering cooling fan fails, causing pump to overheat and relay gets fried. Mini refuses to acknowledge problem, and fix. Cost for replacement of pump, fan, labor is $1300-$1400. Vehicle has 59000 miles. Curiously they have redesigned fan with cover to protect it and pump has also been redesigned. Why hasn't there been a recall.
For the second time in two months, I lost power steering in my 2005 mini cooper. The second time happened as I was driving on interstate-84,outside hartford, in connecticut. Very scary and dangerous! My mechanic says I have a leak in my power steering electric pump, and it needs to be replaced for almost $600 for a pump. He says the mini coopers he's worked on all have needed this repair. How can a common power steering problem not be dangerous and warrant a recall?
2005 mini cooper 2 door standard vehicle has a power steering failure. It started 2 months ago with an intermittent loss of the power steering at any given time of the vehicle in use. 60% of the time the power steering goes out. It is very difficult to steer or turn corners. It happens without warning and is very scary as the drive handling is immediately changed and the maneuvering to the end of the curve changes drastically. This problem has now increased as of late to the power steering not turning off, even after the key has been removed from the ignition. The power steering motor hums and whines loudly as the car sits parked and with no key inserted. I had to disconnect the battery to turn the car completely off. I called concord, ca. Mini (bmw), and after having explained to them the above mentioned problems, they state that there are no bulletin claims for this and my warranty has expired. They further state that to fix this problem will cost me at least $1200. I went online and found 225,000 other folks with this exact same problem. I am hoping that this forum and my added complaint will generate enough concern for driver safety and bring about a recall or some level of ownership on mini to rectify this situation. For now I will keep my mini cooper off the street and battery disconnected as it is a danger to the safety of my family and other drivers and pedestrians.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 bmw mini cooper. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 MPH the steering column malfunctioned causing the wiring harness and engine harness to ignite. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who informed the contact that there was a short in the steering pump which caused the fire. . The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 30,209. The VIN was unavailable.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 bmw mini cooper. The contact stated that the power steering failed without warning; it was very difficult to keep the vehicle under control. The dealer replaced the power steering pump, and cooling fan. The cooling fan was previously replaced under the warranty. The failure and the current mileages were 113,306.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. While driving at any speed, the contact stated that the power steering would fail intermittently. The vehicle was inspected by her personal mechanic who was unable to diagnose the failure. The dealer was not contacted. The contact did not inform the manufacturer of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The current mileage was 91,528 and the failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
Power steering pump fails . Power steering goes out intermittantly
After my 2005 mini cooper passed the 60,000 mile mark, the power steering began to fail on a regular basis. After driving the car for about a half-hour, the power steering would simply stop working and it became very difficult to turn the steering wheel. Pulling over, shutting down and restarting the car would temporarily fix the problem. My local bmw dealer repeatedly checked the car and was never able to find any problem. A local independent mechanic determined that the problem was caused by a faulty cooling fan on the power steering pump which was replaced at my expense. The power steering has been ok since. *tr updated 08/03/11 *bf updated 12/05/11
Following rear end impact, there was an engine compartment fire, which was later traced to the power steering pump. Terminals were burned off the pump, and alternator also failed as a result. Note: there was absolutely no collision damage to front end.
While driving about 30 MPH, the power steering suddenly quit working. I attempted to make a right hand turn and controlling the vehicle was very difficult. There was no warning that the steering was about to go.
Over the course of about a month and a half, the power steering began to "stick" in that I could not steer right or left without physically forcing the wheel to the right or left, using all my strength to do it. I thought I lost control of the car. The first time, it was a terrifying event. Then it would go back to "normal" the next day, but then "stick" again on various occasions with no rhyme or reason; there was no pattern as to when it would occur. But it did happen at least once a week. The steering wheel would "stick" no matter if the car was at a complete stop, or while driving. After checking with local garages, they suggested to have my mini dealership repair it as no one could find the cause of the problem. Mini diagnosed the failed power steering, and installed a fan with protecting "gri" (part # 32-41-6-781-742 @ $222.43) and installed a repair kit, lower "sect" (part # 32-30-6-763-722 @ $186.63). Mini service found the steering shaft knuckle seized up, making it hard to turn the steering wheel. Mini replaced the steering shaft, and also found the power steering fan to be seized, so they also replaced the steering fan. Included in this diagnosis, mini found the control arm brackets, which are part of the steering of the car, needs repair in the near future too.
I own a 2005 mini cooper. As I was driving it, I suffered a complete loss of power steering. I have had little to no problem with my mini before this, but completely lost ability to steer. Luckily I was in an alley at the time and was able to safely pull over. The car has been towed to the bmw dealership who was unaware of any investigation into minicooper.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact was driving 65 MPH and attempting a turn when the steering wheel became abnormally stiff making causing limited control of the steering wheel. The contact pulled over and shut the vehicle off. After restarting, the steering resumed normal operation. The contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic for diagnostic testing yet no failure codes were generated. The mechanic stated that the module would possibly need replacing. The steering module was replaced yet within six months, the failure recurred. The contact called both the manufacturer and dealer regarding the steering failure and was advised by both parties that they had not received any similar complaints regarding steering failures within his year, make and model. The contact was concerned that the steering failure could potentially cause a crash. The contact was no longer driving the vehicle. The failure mileage was 91,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact noticed an oil leak on the ground under the vehicle while parked in a residential driveway. The contact inspected the vehicle and found that power steering fluid was leaking. The vehicle was taken to a local repair facility where the mechanic replaced the power steering pump, steering hose, pressure hose, return hose, and the suction hose. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 54,000 and the current mileage was 61,400.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact was driving 55 MPH when the power steering failed without warning. The steering wheel became increasingly tight when the failure occurred. The contact replaced the power steering pump himself. The manufacturer was not contacted. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 88,000 and the current mileage was 113,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. While traveling 40 MPH and turning right, the power steering suddenly stopped functioning. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The current and failure mileages were approximately 117,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 chrysler mini cooper. The contact was driving 10 MPH and attempting to park the vehicle when the steering wheel became extremely stiff without warning. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer where the dealer diagnosed the vehicle and located the failure at the power steering pump. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 85,000 and the current mileage was 100,000.
I have lost the power steering on my 2005 mini cooper about six times. This has become a big, frustrating, and potentially dangerous problem.
The power steering in our 2005 mini cooper has a recent history (within the past year) of intermittently failing, making the car difficult, if not impossible, for our small-sized drivers (about 100 lbs.) to maneuver. This has proved dangerous on the road, but injuries have so far been avoided, just when we were going to get it fixed, the problem appeared to self-correct. This week, however, the car has failed to start or take a charge to a one-year-old battery. Our reliable and trustworthy mechanic cannot diagnose the source of the problem, but we are wondering if there may be a drain on the battery from this power steering problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. While driving approximately 55 MPH the steering wheel became very stiff and difficult to turn. The vehicle was driven onto the emergency lane and shut off. Within a few minutes he was able to restart the vehicle. The vehicle drove normally for approximately 15 minutes before the failure recurred. The failure began to recur intermittently, so the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 61,000. The VIN was unavailable.
While picking my grandson from school on oct 18 2010 at 2:30 pm I was backing out of a parking space onto the highway , half still in parking space and half on the highway my car stopped--- it would not go forward or backward --- could not turn the steering wheel, it would not turn--the motor running all the time --I turned the key off and on twice before the car would move .only reason we were not hit by traffic is because we were in a school zone and traffic was slow at that time. I called my mini dealer in baton rouge and asked if they had other people with trouble with their mini they said no-- asked they to check if mini had anything going on with mini s they would not check they just saying they had not received and official notice they said I could bring it in and it would cost me about 800.00 to have it fixed.
The power steering in my 2005 mini cooper has gone out. It started failing intermittently for about 6 months then as of september 2010 has failed completely. It is extremely difficult to steer and turn the car. I took it in to my local mechanic when it was failing intermittently and they could not recreate it. Nothing has been changed/fixed at this time.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact stated that the power assist locked up and he lost power steering functionality. The steering wheel would become extremely stiff, making it difficult to steer the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the contact was informed that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle had not been. The contact called the manufacturer who offered 15% off for the repair costs. The current mileage was 44,389. The failure mileage was approximately 44,370.
The power steering suddenly stopped working while I was making a left turn. Oncoming traffic had to stop suddenly because I was not able to turn safely within a normal turn. I had to turn very hard and with great difficulty.
I just bought a 2005 mini cooper which is in excellent condition upon buying. After a week, my power steering went out on a turn that I could barely make. I couldn't make any of the turns all the way home! I thought maybe it's because the key wasn't in the ignition right. I took out the key and re-started my car. It worked and the power steering came back on! Well, a couple days later this issue has now become a dangerous problem. I would make a right turn off a main road and I was shocked that my car wouldn't turn. To make things even worse, there was a school bus I almost hit! I had to slam on the brakes and try to make this impossible turn. After this incident, the problem has happened every time I have driven my car. Its becoming more frequent! It goes out all the time and I'm not able to drive my car for short distances. I have been keeping track of how many times this has occurred, I'm now at 31 times! Many of those times, I was very close to hitting many people! I'm am very lucky to have not been in an accident or driven off the road!! *tr updated 08/17/11*bf updated 1/27/2012 *ln
Power steering pump failure without warning and intermittent steering system degradation prior to total failure. My wife was driving the 2005 mini when steering started failing. Pulled over and was towed to garage for repairs. Poor design and no accommodation for system failure.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. The contact stated that while driving 60 MPH, the power steering suddenly malfunctioned without warning. The contact called the local dealer but was told that there was nothing wrong with the vehicle. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 49,000. The VIN was not available.
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