2004 MINI COOPER Complaints

WHILE DRIVING APPROX 35 MPH MY MINI SUDDENLY FELT AS IF I HAD SEVERAL FLAT TIRES. I PULLED OVER AND CHECKED ALL MY TIRES. I HAD NO POWER STEERING, IT WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO STEER THE MINI. (I HAVE DRIVEN CARS IN THE PAST WITHOUT POWER STEERING) IT TOOK ALL MY STRENGTH TO DRIVE THE MINI TO MY DESTINATION. I TURNED OFF THE MINI AND CALLED MY HUSBAND. WHEN I RESTARTED THE MINI I HAD POWER STEERING. IT CONCERNS ME THAT THE POWER STEERING WHEN OUT WHILE DRIVING WITHOUT ANY WARNING. *TR

I WAS UNABLE TO GET MY VEHICLE SMOGGED. THE OBD WAS NOT COMMUNICATING WITH SMOG MACHINE. TOOK IT TO DEALER AND FOUND THE POWER STEERING ELECTRICAL WAS CAUSING A SHORT CIRCUIT IN THE SYSTEM. *TR

HYDRAULIC POWER STEERING ASSIST SYSTEM FAILED WHILE ON THE ROAD 3 TIMES CAUSING A CRASH HAZARD. THE POWER STEERING WOULD RETURN INTERMITTENTLY UNTIL IT COMPLETELY STOPPED WORKING. *TR

BMW INSTALLED PLASTIC POWER STEERING PUMP THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED BECAUSE THE PART IS FAULTY AND LEAKS POWER STEERING FLUID. I HAD TO REPLACE PUMP WITH METAL POWER STEERING PUMP. *TR

POWER STEERING FAILED WHILE IN TRAFFIC JAM. VEHICLE EXTREMELY HARD TO STEER. FOURTH INCIDENT OF THIS HAPPENING. THIS IS THE SECOND COMPLAINT FILED WITH NHTSA. OWNER WAS CONTACTED BY BMW IN AUGUST 2011 FOR COMPLAINT REVIEW, BUT OWNER HAS NOT HEARD BACK FROM THEM AND CANNOT GET THROUGH TO TELEPHONE NUMBER GIVEN BY BMW. *TR

OCCASIONAL POWER STEERING FAILURE. AT FIRST IT OCCURRED MOSTLY AT START UP FOR LESS THAN A MINUTE. AFTER CALLING THE DEALER FOR INFO, I ADDED FLUID, TURNED THE WHEEL TO LOCK IN BOTH DIRECTIONS AND THAT SEEMED TO HELP FOR A COUPLE WEEKS. THE ISSUE HAS SINCE RETURNED, ABOUT 1 OCCURRENCE PER WEEK. MOST RECENTLY I HAD NO POWER STEERING FOR THE ENTIRETY OF A ~30 MINUTE DRIVE. I'M CONCERNED THAT THE STEERING WILL FAIL MID-TURN, PARTICULARLY WHILE DRIVING DANGEROUS MOUNTAIN ROADS. DOES THE PUMP NEED TO BE REPLACED OR IS THIS AN ELECTRICAL ISSUE AS DESCRIBED IN EXISTING COMPLAINTS? *TR

POWER STEERING PUMP FAIL. NO CHECK ENGINE LIGHT OR ANY WARNING LIGHT. FOUND OUT THAT ITS NOT WORKING WHILE DRIVING!!! I COULDN'T TURN MY STEERING WHEEL IT BECAME VERY STIFF. ITS VERY DANGEROUS AND VERY EXPENSIVE TO REPLACE. ABOUT $900 FOR THE PART ONLY! *TR

MY POWER STEERING WENT OUT TODAY WHILE DRIVING. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST SCARY EXPERIENCES I HAVE EVER HAD. I ADORE MY LITTLE CAR, BUT TODAY IT MADE ME SO SCARED I AM NOT SURE I AM OK DRIVING HER ANY MORE. WHILE DRIVING ON A LOCAL ROAD, I NOTICED THAN MY STEERING WHEEL WAS VERY STIFF. I STARTED TO TURN INTO THE LEFT-TURN LANE AND COULD BARELY DO IT, THEN TRIED TO TURN LEFT AND ALMOST HIT THE CARS AROUND ME BECAUSE I HAD TO USE ALL OF MY STRENGTH TO MAKE THE TURN. MY POWER STEERING WENT WITHOUT ANY WARNING, NONE. I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE, I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS HAPPENING. I IMMEDIATELY LOOKED ONLINE WHEN I GOT HOME TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AND HOW MUCH THIS REPAIR WILL COST AND WAS AMAZED AND VERY DISAPPOINTED TO SEE SO MANY SIMILAR ACCOUNTS BY OTHER 2004 COOPER OWNERS. I FEEL LUCKY AFTER READING OTHERS STORIES THAT IT HAPPENED TO ME ON A LOCAL ROAD CLOSE TO HOME. I ALSO JUST LOOKED IN MY FILE AND SEE THAT MY POWER STEERING COOLING FAN WAS REPLACED 9 MONTHS AGO WHEN MY CAR WAS AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR OTHER REPAIRS. MINI / BMW, HOW CAN YOU IGNORE THIS INCREDIBLE ISSUE AND DANGER? *TR

WHILE DRIVING THE POWER STEERING INEXPLICABLY WENT OUT WITHOUT WARNING MAKING STEERING AND CONTROLLING THE VEHICLE DIFFICULT. THE PROBLEM WAS POTENTIALLY QUITE DANGEROUS DUE TO ITS UNEXPECTED NATURE. IF I WAS NOT TRAVELING STRAIGHT AT THE TIME OF THE FAILURE WHICH SHOWED ITSELF AS I BEGAN MY NEXT TURN AND HAD BEGUN A TURN WHEN THE SYSTEM FAILED IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO CONTROL THE CAR. SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS ISSUE. *TR

STEERING BECAME DIFFICULT WHILE DRIVING REQUIRING FULL ARM STRENGTH TO TURN WHEEL. AN ACCIDENT COULD EASILY HAVE OCCURRED IF OTHER VEHICLES WERE IN THE AREA WHERE I WAS TURNING. VEHICLE NOW REQUIRES WIDE RADIUS TO TURN. A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. I HAVE A STRONG UPPER BODY BUT ANYONE DRIVING 2004/05 MINIS WITH THIS STEERING PROBLEM SHOULD TAKE CARE AND HAVE DEALERSHIP FIX AND PAY FOR THE REPAIR. *TR