The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. The contact stated while driving 35 MPH, the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that the failure was related to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 15V660000 (Steering). The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who determined that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 117,300.
MINI Cooper power steering loss problems
315 of the 2,237 owner complaints about the MINI Cooper describe loss of power steering, most of them for the 2005 model year.
- owner complaints
- 315
- worst model year
- 2005
- typical repair cost reported
- $1,200
- typical mileage
- 77,000
Is there a fix? There are 2 recalls for this area of the car. See below
By model year
Often reported together
Loss of power 65Battery drain 9Overheating 7Fire or smoke 7Steering lock-up 5Engine failure 4Jerking 3Check engine light 3
What owners say
When I plugged my phone cord into the USB port on the Click and Drive while the car was on but stationary, the screen indicated that the stabilization system was resetting. I promptly unplugged the cord and notifications started popping up on the screen. There were 4: steering assist not working, drive with care; stability control not working, drive with care; front collision detector not working; I do not recall the fourth notice. I was parked at a Starbucks 2+ hours from home so decided to try driving around parking lot hoping to continue journey. The steering was inoperable and all I could do was pull straight out of parking space and go straight back in. Turned car off, waited about 5 minutes and turned car back on, no change, no steering. Waited 3 hours for AAA tow and finally impatient, tried turning car on again. All notices cleared and I drove car home without incident (150 miles). My local Mini dealer said it was a wiring issue and they fixed it. Salesman at same dealer, who sold me the car 9 days before the incident, admitted he had heard of similar incident with Click and Drive once before, about a year ago. If I had plugged the cord in while I was driving I would likely have been unable to control the car in motion.
The car completely lost steering in traffic. I brought it back to the Mini dealership, they informed me this is a known issue for Mini Coopers equipped with the click-and-play system, and they needed to re-wire the click-and-play to fix it. However Mini decided this should not be a recall. I strongly disagree with Mini's assessment considering losing steering on the road could cause severe accidents.
The vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not repaired. The dealer informed me that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure is the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 15V660000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall.
The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle experienced a loss of power steering assist. The dealer was made aware of the failure; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The dealer informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact related the failure to the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 15V660000 (Steering) however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The failure mileage was approximately 167,000.
The air conditioning had stopped blowing cool air. Then when I was parked, and idled, my power steering stopped working while trying to back out. After wrestling with the wheel for a minute to get out of a parking lot area, the power steering came back on. The mechanic said one of my coolant fans does not work. This may be part of a recall that affect 2005 minis with coolant fan/power steering, however my car was made just a few months past the recall.
The power steering assist has all but stopped working, with steering now difficult at lower speed--especially when I first start the engine in the morning. The clutch doesn't respond well and the vehicle no longer goes into second gear. The rear left brake caliper seized in place, not allowing the brake pad to retract completely and therefore the brake pad continuously rubbed against the disc, but without noise. Not until the left rear brake made noise because of the metal on metal braking was the seized oem caliper identified, when I put on a set of new brake pads. None of the other three brakes had the seized oem caliper.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 mini cooper. While driving approximately 50 MPH, the steering became very difficult to maneuver. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and turned the vehicle off. Once restarted, the steering operated normally. The contact also stated that the failure occurred approximately one and a half months and was getting worse. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic. Testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 92,500.
Bought this car for 16 yr old daughter. Steering was cutting out while driving took car to mini of dallas recall was done on harness, pump, cooling fan. Next week no steering again while driving took car back. Mini stated drive belt broke and was repaired for 260.00. 3 days later was called at a 11:30 at night my daughter stating the steering had cut out again. I don't want my daughter in this car or anyone else for that matter what should I do with this car.
Power steering failure - intermittent and during motion, mini dealership provided records that the claim was cleared with # and mileage, but this is false information if still covered by the federal safety agency # 15v660000. Original recall # that was entered in the "repair history" from mini that never occurred is m320215. Thank you
Related recalls
Steering: linkages: tie rod assembly
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain 2018-2019 BMW X1 sDrive28i, X1 xDrive28i, 2019 X2 xDrive28i, MINI Cooper S Convertible, Countryman, and John Cooper Works Countryman vehicles. The steering gear tie rod may have been assembled incorrectly, which may result in excessive wear of the tie rod end, eventually causing it to break.
- Risk
- A broken steering tie rod would lead to a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- BMW will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the vehicles and replace the tie rods and ball joints as necessary, free of charge. The recall began October 11, 2019. Owners may contact BMW customer service at 1‑800‑525‑7417 or MINI customer service at 1‑866‑825‑1525.
Recall number 19V601000 · Recall details
Steering: electric power assist system
- What is wrong
- BMW of North America, LLC (BMW) is recalling certain model year 2002-2005 MINI Cooper and Cooper S vehicles and 2005 Cooper and Cooper S Convertible vehicles. The affected vehicles may experience temporary or permanent loss of the electro-hydraulic steering assistance.
- Risk
- If the vehicle experiences a loss of power steering assist, extra steering effort will be required at lower speeds, potentially increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- MINI will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the electro-hydraulic power steering system, replacing the components and wiring, as necessary, free of charge. Interim notices were mailed to owners on December 10, 2015. Owners will receive a second notice when remedy parts become available. Owners may contact MINI customer service at 1‑866‑825‑1525.
Recall number 15V660000 · Recall details
Questions about the MINI Cooper power steering loss
Which MINI Cooper years have loss of power steering problems?
The model years with the most reports are 2005 (117 complaints), 2004 (95 complaints) and 2003 (65 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix loss of power steering on the MINI Cooper?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $1,200 (median of 35 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used MINI Cooper?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history