2004 MINI COOPER Complaints

POWER STEERING PUMP IS FAILING. SO FAR NO MAJOR PROBLEMS BUT I HAVE HAD OTHER MINI OWNERS REPORT THIS SAME PROBLEM AND WORSE. I AM HAVING MY PUMP REPLACED THIS WEEKEND WITH THE HOPE OF AVOIDING ANY FURTHER ISSUES. HOPEFULLY THIS ONE WILL LAST A LONG TIME. *TR

CAR IS VERY NOISY ON COLD STARTS WHEN TURNING THE STEERING WHEEL. STEERING WOULD JUDDER WHEN BEING TURNED. WHEEL WILL FEEL HEAVY AND STUCK AT TIMES. POWER STEERING RESERVOIR WAS EMPTY WITH NO SIGNS OF LEAKS. POWER STEERING FLUID FLOODED INTO STEERING RACK DUE TO FAILED SEAL. STEERING RACK NEEDED REPLACEMENT. *TR

DRIVING NORMALLY WHEN SUDDENLY POWER STEERING FAILS COMPLETELY CAUSING INSTANT CONTROL ISSUES. POWER STEERING RETURNS INTERMITTENTLY. *TR

ON MY WAY UP DRIVEWAY I NOTICED A SHARP STINGING SENSATION IN THE LUMBAR OF MY BACK. FELT SORT OF LIKE AN "CONTINUOUS ELECTRIC SHOCK". I IMMEDIATELY ARCHED MY BACK AS A REACTION TO THE STING AND HAD TO STRAIGHTEN MY BACK IN ORDER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. WHEN STRAIGHTENING MY BACK I FELT SOMETHING HOT, VERY HOT THIS TIME LIKE SOMETHING THAT WAS ON FIRE. I COULD NOT LONGER CONTROL THE VEHICLE GRABBED FOR THE HANDLE OPENED THE DOOR AND ROLLED OUT ONTO THE DRIVEWAY WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS MOVING. THE VEHICLE BUCKED AND STALLED OUT. I IMMEDIATELY LOOKED AT THE VEHICLE INTERIOR AND NOTICED THAT THE SEAT WAS SMOLDERING AND THERE WAS A HOLE THE SIZE OF A QUARTER BURNED THROUGH THE SEAT IN THE LUMBAR. IT WAS A 100 DEGREE DAY SO I WASN'T USING THE SEAT HEATER, NONETHELESS IT WAS ON, MALFUNCTIONED, CAUSED A FIRE WHICH RESULTED IN ME JUMPING OUT OF THE MOVING VEHICLE. I ALSO READ ONLINE ABOUT THIS HAPPENING TO ANOTHER 2004 MINI COOPER S "PASSENGER SEAT" AS WELL. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY 2004 MINI COOPER ON THE HIGHWAY FROM LA TO SAN DIEGO. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE POWER STEERING IN MY CAR EVAPORATED AND I ALMOST HIT THE SIDE OF RAIL. THE CAR WOULD RUN BUT I COULD HARDLY STEER IT. I TOOK IT INTO A AUTO SERVICE CENTER AND THEY TOLD ME THAT IT WAS THE POWER STEERING PUMP. SEVERAL MINI COOPERS HAVE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM. I CONTACTED CUSTOMER CARE FOR MINI COOPER AND THEY TOLD ME I HAD TO TAKE IT TO A BMW/MINI DEALERSHIP EVEN THOUGH I HAVE ALREADY GOT A DIAGNOSTIC. THE DEALERSHIP IS CHARGING $145.00 JUST TO LOOK AT THE CAR EVEN THOUGH WE ALREADY KNOW WHAT IS WRONG. THEY TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT TELL ME HOW LONG THIS WOULD TAKE TO GET RESOLVED. THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL ON THESE CARS AND THIS PART REPLACE FREE OF CHARGE. IN ADDITION, I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO WAIT FOR AN UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME TO GET MY CAR FIXED WHEN THIS IS CLEARLY MANUFACTURING DEFECT IN THE CAR. I WOULD LIKE THE DOT TO RECALL THIS CAR AND MAKE THE PART AND SERVICE AVAILABLE FREE OF CHARGE. *TR

ON A 2004 MINI COOPER S, INTERMITTENT FAILURE OF THE POWER STEERING PUMP CAUSING EXTREME DIFFICULTY STEERING. CAR HAS 43,000 MILES. MANY SIMILAR CASES REPORTED IN ONLINE FORUMS. *TR

DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AND THE POWER STEERING FAILED FOR NO APPARENT REASON. CAR HAD JUST BEEN INSPECTED AND THERE WERE NO OTHER MECHANICAL OR ROAD HAZARD ISSUES BUT I ALMOST COLLIDED WITH A VEHICLE BECAUSE THE STEERING WHEEL FROZE. IN ACTUALITY, IT REQUIRED A GREAT DEAL OF STRENGTH--UNEXPECTEDLY SO IT FELT FROZEN. *TR

INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6) WHY HAS THE NHTSA ADMINISTRATION TAKEN NO ACTION AGAINST MINI AND BMW FOR THE KNOWN DEFECT IN POWER STEERING SYSTEMS. I AM WONDERING, AMID ALL THE TOYOTA CONTROVERSY AND RECALLS, ESPECIALLY NOW ABOUT THE BROKEN STEERING RODS, WHY THERE HAS NOT BEEN A RECALL, OR AT LEAST A PUBLIC WARNING OF SOME KIND ABOUT STEERING ISSUES ON THE MINI. THE POWER STEERING PUMP IN MINI'S OF ALL AGES AND MILEAGES ARE PRONE TO FAIL WHILE DRIVING. THIS HAPPENED TO ME WHILE DRIVING MY 2004 MINI COOPER S ACROSS A SNOWY AND ICY MOUNTAIN PASS HERE IN WASHINGTON STATE. IT WAS QUITE A SURPRISING, FRIGHTENING, AND UNSAFE EXPERIENCE TO SAY THE LEAST. OTHERS HAVE FILED COMPLAINTS WITH YOU FOLKS, AS WELL AS THE COMPANY, BUT SO FAR AS I KNOW NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE. IF INJURIES AND FATALITIES ARE THE CRITERIA, HOW WOULD ANYONE KNOW THE STEERING WAS AN ISSUE UNLESS THEY HAD EXPERIENCED THE TERROR OF LOSING STEERING AT SPEED? THIS ISSUE PROMPTED A RECALL IN GREAT BRITAIN. WHY NOT HERE. EVEN A CURSORY SEARCH OF THE INTERNET REVEALS THE DEPTH OF THE PROBLEM, YET NEITHER BMW NOR MINI HAVE TAKEN ANY STEPS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE HERE IN THE US. CAN YOU TELL ME WHY?? [XXX] *TR

HAVE A 2004 MINI COOPER WITH 65,000 MILES TOTAL AND ONLY 6200 MILES IN LAST 20 MONTHS AND CAR SERVICED REGULARLY. AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION HAS NOW STARTED TO NOT SHIFT PROPERLY AND MINI SERVICE REPROGRAMMED TRANSMISSION BUT PROBLEMS HAVE RECURRED AND AGAIN MINI WANTS TO REPROGRAM TRANSMISSION. IF THIS DOES NOT WORK, TRANSMISSION WILL HAVE TO BE REPLACED AT COST OF $6500.00. THERE IS NO REPAIR OR REBUILDING OF THIS TRANSMISSION. THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF REPORTED PROBLEMS WITH THIS TRANSMISSION BUT BMW HAS NOT ACKNOWLEDGED ANY PROBLEM. *TR

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. *TR