2005 MINI COOPER Complaints

RANDOM LOSS OF POWER TO POWER STEERING SYSTEM AT VARYING SPEEDS AND CONDITIONS. LOSS OF POWER STEERING CAN VARY IN TIMES FROM A FEW SECONDS TO A SEVERAL MINUTES. STEERING VEHICLE BECOMES EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN AND MAY RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT DUE TO LOSS OF POWER IN STEERING PUMP/SYSTEM. CONDITION SEEMS TO GO AWAY FOR A FEW HOURS TO A FEW DAYS. *TR

THE FIRST INCIDENT HAPPENED AS I WAS MERGING ONTO THE INTERSTATE. I COULDN'T MOVE THE STEERING WHEEL AND THOUGHT MY CAR HAD DIED, BUT IT HADN'T AND THEN ALL WAS FINE SO I THOUGHT MAYBE I IMAGINED IT. THE SECOND INCIDENT WAS ON 11/11/11. I WENT TO PICK UP MY GRAND-DAUGHTER FROM SCHOOL. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND WHEN I RESTARTED IT I COULD NOT PULL OUT OF THE SCHOOL LINEUP. I WAITED UNTIL ALL OTHER CARS LEFT AND DROVE FORWARD USING ALL MY MIGHT TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL SO THAT I COULD PARK THE CAR WHILE I TRIED TO FIGURE OUT WHAT TO DO. I TURNED THE CAR OFF AND ON A FEW TIMES AND THEN THE STEERING WORKED. I DROVE MY GRAND-DAUGHTER HOME, SAFELY, THANK GOD, RETURNED HOME AND PARKED THE CAR IN THE GARAGE. I'M NOW TERRIFIED TO DRIVE IT AND UPON DOING RESEARCH ONLINE I REALIZE THAT I AM FAR FROM THE ONLY ONE WITH COMPLAINTS. THIS IS A VERY, VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM. BEING UNABLE TO STEER PUTS NOT ONLY ME AND MY PASSENGERS IN DANGER BUT MANY OTHERS ON THE ROAD AS WELL..

I WAS DRIVING DOWN BROOKWOOD STREET AND WENT TO MAKE A CURVE WHEN I REALIZED THAT I COULDN'T TURN THE CAR. I WAS ABLE TO PULL HARDER ON THE WHEEL AND MAKE THE CURVE. I PULLED OVER AND TURNED THE CAR OFF TO LOOK THINGS OVER,CHECKED THE POWER STEERING FLUID WHICH WAS FULL. I RESTARTED THE CAR AND THE STEERING WORKED AGAIN.I FINISHED DRIVING TO WORK WITH NO PROBLEMS. WHEN I CAME OUT OF WORK I AGAIN HAD NO POWER STEERING AND HAD THE CAR TOWED INTO A SHOP WHERE THEY TOLD ME THE POWER STEERING PUMP HAD FAILED AND IT WAS GOING TO COST OVER $1300 TO FIX. I HAD THE REPAIR DONE BUT AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR AS THEY TOLD ME IT COULD HAPPEN AGAIN EVEN WITH THE NEW PART. *TR

AUTOMATIC CVT TRANSMISSION FAILED AT 77,000 MILES. CAR STOPPED WHEN GOING DOWN INTERSTATE, PRESSING GAS, NOTHING. CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I WAS ABLE TO STOP THE CAR SAFELY, TURNED IT OFF, RESTARTED IT, CHECK ENGINE LIGHT AND EP (TRANSMISSION) WARNING LIGHT CAME ON.MINI COOPER DEALERSHIP SAYS MIN IS VERY AWARE OF THIS TRANSMISSION PROBLEM, AND STOPPED PUTTING THE CVT TRANSMISSIONS IN, APPARENTLY IT WAS EXPERIMENTAL. CANNOT REBUILD THE TRANSMISSION, AND MINI ESTIMATES $7100 TO REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION, AND WILL ONLY GIVE ME $2500 ON IT AS A TRADE IN DUE TO THE KNOWN TRANSMISSION ISSUE. *TR

POWER ASSISTED STEERING WILL CEASE WORKING WHILE DRIVING, MAKING THE CAR VERY, VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER/CONTROL. THIS PROBLEM IS CURRENTLY INTERMITTENT, BUT WHEN IT DOES HAPPEN IT IS VERY SCARY. *TT

DRIVING OFF A PARKING LOT ABOUT TO MAKE A LEFT ONTO TRAFFIC, CAR SUDDENLY LOST POWER STEERING, TRY TO CORRECT DIRECTION BUT WEIGHT TONS TO STEER INTO RIGHT DIRECTION AND RUNS STRAIGHT INTO TRAFFIC. *TR

POWER STEERING PUMP FAILED WITHOUT WARNING WHILE I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A LEFT HAND TURN. THE CAR'S STEERING SUDDENLY BECAME SO HEAVY THAT I ALMOST DROVE INTO SOMEBODY'S YARD. SINCE THE ROAD WAS A 3 MILE STRAIGHT SHOT TO MY HOME, I DROVE IT THE REST OF THE WAY. THE PROBLEM SEEMED TO COME AND GO TO VARYING DEGREES OVER THAT DISTANCE. I WILL NOT BE DRIVING IT AGAIN UNTIL REPAIRED. *TR

TEMPORARY LOSS OF POWER STEERING. AFTER DRIVING FOR ABOUT 2 HOURS, I STOPPED TO FILL UP AT A GAS STATION. I THEN STARTED THE CAR AND BEGAN TO DRIVE OUT OF THE GAS STATION. I SOON NOTICED THE POWER STEERING WAS NOT WORKING. I PULLED INTO A PARKING SPACE, OPENED THE HOOD, AND PROCEEDED TO CHECK THE POWER STEERING FLUID. THE POWER STEERING FLUID RESERVOIR WAS FULL. I RESTARTED THE CAR AFTER ABOUT 5 MINUTES AND THE POWER STEERING WAS WORKING AGAIN. THIS TEMPORARY POWER STEERING LOSS HAS OCCURRED 3 MORE TIMES OVER THE LAST MONTH SINCE THE INITIAL INCIDENT DESCRIBED ABOVE. DURING THE LAST OCCURRENCE, I DROVE A SHORT DISTANCE BACK TO MY HOME WITH NO POWER STEERING. I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT STEERING WAS VERY DIFFICULT, NEARLY UNDRIVEABLE AROUND SLOW SPEED TURNS. THE STEERING EFFORT WAS MUCH MORE THAN MANUAL STEERING CARS I'VE OWNED IN THE PAST. *TR

MY DAUGHTER EXPERIENCED COMPLETE POWER STEERING FAILURE WHILE SHE WAS DRIVING HER MINI COOPER, NEARLY CAUSING A COLLISION WITH AN ONCOMING VEHICLE. I DROVE THE CAR AFTERWARD AND COULD NOT BELIEVE HOW HARD IT WAS TO STEER THE CAR (COMPARED TO A MANUAL STEERING VEHICLE). I CALLED MINI AT THEIR TOLL FREE NUMBER AND WAS TOLD THAT THEY HAD NO RECALL NOTICE FROM THE NHTSA, THEREFORE THEY HAD NO OBLIGATION TO FIX THIS INCREDIBLE DEFECT. I HOPE IT DOESN'T TAKE A BODY COUNT FOR THE NHTSA TO RECALL THE 223,000 MINI'S EFFECTED BY THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS DEFECT. *KB

PASSENGER AIR BAG LIGHT READS "OFF" AND CENTER CONSOLE ALERT IS LIT. GETTING VARIOUS DIAGNOSES FROM SHOPS, BUT NO ONE REALLY KNOWS HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM. NO ONE WILL DEFINITIVELY SAY, "YES, YOUR PASSENGER AIRBAG IS OFF" OR "ON." THIS IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH MINIS AND THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN A RECALL. *TR