2005 MINI COOPER S Complaints

POWER STEERING ASSIST FAILED TO OPERATE WITHOUT WARNING WHILE I WAS PARKING THE CAR, MINI COOPER S 2005 MODEL YEAR. THERE WAS NO SERVICE LIGHT OR ANY OTHER WARNING BEFORE THE FAILURE OCCURRED.

POWER STEERING QUIT UNEXPECTEDLY. I WAS IN A PARKING LOT, JUST STARTED THE CAR, AND HAD NO POWER STEERING. I DROVE IT A FEW MILES DOWN THE ROAD TO A GAS STATION, TURNED IT OFF, AND WHEN TURNED BACK ON AGAIN IT WORKED FINE. ORIGINALLY HAPPENED ON 2/12/11 AND HAS NOT RECURRED AS OF 2/22/11. *TR

NOTICED A WHIRRING NOISE FROM THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THEN SUDDENLY THE STEERING BECAME DIFFICULT LIKELY DUE TO POWER STEERING PUMP FAILURE. LOOKED UP POSSIBLE ISSUES ON LINE AND NOTICED THAT OTHER FOLKS HAD VERY SIMILAR EXPERIENCES.

POWER STEERING APPEARS TO NOT BE WORKING. POWER IN THE VEHICLE IS INTERRUPTED AT LOW SPEEDS AFTER DRIVING THE VEHICLE FOR A BRIEF PERIOD OF TIME. SYMPTOMS OF THIS BEGAN OCCURRING OVER THREE MONTHS AGO WITH THE BATTERY OF THE CAR BEING DRAINED AFTER SITTING FOR A PERIOD OF 4 DAYS OR MORE. ALL RELAYS AND FUSES HAVE BEEN CHECKED. THE POWER STEERING PUMP COOLING FAN WAS FOUND TO HAVE BEEN INOPERATIVE AND WAS REMOVED, CLEANED AND REINSTALLED APPROXIMATELY 2 WEEKS AGO.

2005 MINI COOPER 'S' CONVERTIBLE. THE POWER STEERING WILL OCCASIONALLY STOP WORKING WHILE DRIVING MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO STEER. IF YOU SHUT OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTART THE CAR IT RESETS AND WORKS AGAIN. IT NORMALLY HAPPENS WHEN SLOWING FOR A STOP OR MAKING A TURN, WHICH YOU DON'T NOTICE UNTIL YOU START MOVING AND FIND YOU ARE UNABLE TO TURN THE CAR. LUCKILY I HAVEN'T PULLED OUT INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. THE DEALER SAID IT WAS PROBABLY THE PUMP AND THEY WOULD REPLACE IT FOR APPROXIMATELY $680. *TR

I HAVE A 2005 MINI COOPER S WITH 51,000 MILES ON IT. I RECENTLY HAD TO REPLACE THE LOWER CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS AND HAVE HAD A CREAK IN MY STEERING COLUMN THAT IS GETTING WORSE. LAST MONTH, I FIRST EXPERIENCED COMPLETE LACK OF POWER STEERING. THE CAR CORRECTED ITSELF AND WORKED PROPERLY UNTIL A FEW INTERMITTENT OCCASIONS THIS WEEK. TURNING OFF THE CAR AND TURNING IT BACK ON SEEM TO TEMPORARILY CORRECT THE LACK OF POWER STEERING. HOWEVER, IT IS VERY TEMPORARY. WHILE DRIVING, I CAN FEEL THE STEERING RESPONSE CHANGE ON/OFF DUE TO LACK OF POWER STEERING CONTROL. WHEN THE POWER STEERING FAILS, THE WHEEL IS VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN. IT FEELS LIKE A 1961 CHEVY TRUCK WITH A 350 V8. IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO STEER THE CAR FROM A DEAD STOP MAKING PARKING EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. I AM BEING FORCED TO DRIVE BELOW THE SPEED LIMIT TO LIMIT MY LIABILITY IN CORNERS AND TURNS, ESPECIALLY ON THE INTERSTATE. I AM SETTING UP AN APPOINTMENT WITH MY LOCAL MINI DEALER TO ADDRESS AND CORRECT THE FAILURE. I UNDERSTAND THIS IS UNDER INVESTIGATION BY NHTSA, BUT I CANNOT WAIT TO HAVE THE REPAIR. I AM BEWILDERED AS TO WHY THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL YET. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE THAT A VEHICLE'S STEERING SYSTEM CAN FAIL AFTER VERY LITTLE MILES. MINI NEEDS TO BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THIS PROBLEM. *TR

MY 2005 MINI COOPER S SUDDENLY LOST POWER STEERING AS I WAS DRIVING ALMOST CAUSING AN ACCIDENT. I'VE NOT HAD IT IN FOR REPAIRS YET, BUT RESEARCHING ON THE INTERNET IT SEEMS MANY CONSUMERS HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. I HAVE EVEN READ OF THOSE WHOSE CAR CAUGHT ON FIRE AND AM FEARFUL OF THE SAME HAPPENING TO ME NOT TO MENTION THE EXTREMELY HIGH COST OF REPAIR. MINI SHOULD RECALL THE 2005 AND FIX THIS ISSUE. *TR

I HAVE AN 05 MINI COOPER S AND THE POWER STEERING PUMP IS DEFECTIVE ALONG WITH 80,000+ OTHERS. I AM ROUGHLY AROUND 90,000 MILES AND THE PUMP HAS JUST RECENTLY STARED GOING OUT DUE TO WHAT THE DEALERSHIP CALLED A "DEFECTIVE LEAK ON THE ACTUALLY BODY OF THE PUMP". I ASKED THEM WHAT I SHOULD DO AND THEY WANTED TO CHARGE ME $1100 TO "FIX IT" BUT SAID THAT IT COULD GO OUT AND FAIL AT ANYTIME WHILE I AM DRIVING. THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE BECAUSE MY WIFE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL THE CAR IF IT COULD GO OUT AT ANYTIME? THEY ALSO SAID THAT THIS WAS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM IN 04/05 MINI COOPERS. I REALLY WISH SOMEBODY WOULD MAKE THEM RECALL THIS POTENTIAL LIFE THREATENING PROBLEM WITHOUT CHARGING US $1100 FOR THEIR MISTAKE IN DESIGNING/INSTALLING THE POWER STEERING PUMPS??? *TR

MULTIPLE POWER STEERING FAILURES. INITIALLY WHEN DRIVING FOR MORE THAN 1 HOUR, NOW (JAN. 2011) OFTEN GOES OUT WHEN DRIVING MORE THAN 10 MINUTES. SOMETIMES COMES/GOES DURING A TURN. EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO HANDLE WHEN CORNERING IN THE CITY OR PARALLEL PARKING.

ON 1/14/11 WHILE DRIVING MY CAR ON A HIGHWAY MY STEERING WHEEL TIGHTENED UP AND MADE STEERING IMPOSSIBLE. I WAS ABLE TO GET BACK TO MY DRIVEWAY. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN AGAIN UNTIL 1/16/11 AND THEN 1/20/11, ALL WHILE DRIVING MY CAR AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS, ALSO WHILE TRYING TO BACK INTO MY DRIVEWAY. IT HAPPENS WITH ABSOLUTELY NO WARNING. NO WARNING LIGHTS OR NOTIFICATION FROM THE MINI COMPUTER SYSTEM HAS ALERTED ME. *TR