2005 MINI COOPER S Complaints

MY POWER STEERING IN MY 2005 MINI COOPER FAILED WHILE DRIVING. THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE FOR ALL 01-07 MINI COOPERS AND BEFORE SOMEONE DIES OR IS SERIOUSLY INJURED BMW MINI NEEDS TO ISSUE A RECALL AND REPLACE THIS FAULTY PART. I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK AND THE STEERING STARTED TO LOCKUP ON THE HIGHWAY, I THEN PULLED OVER AND TURNED OFF THE CAR THEN RESTARTED AND THE STEERING WORKED JUST FINE. TWO DAYS LATER I WAS PULLING OFF OF THE HIGHWAY AGAIN AND THE STEERING STARTED TO LOCK UP ONCE MORE. I BARELY MADE IT TO A NEARBY PARKING LOT STRONG-ARMING THE CAR WITH EACH TURN. I PULLED INTO A PARKING SPOT AND TURNED OFF THE CAR ONCE AGAIN. AFTER RESTARTING THE CAR THE STEERING STILL WOULD NOT WORK, I EVEN LET IT COOL DOWN FOR A FEW MINUTES TO TRY ONCE MORE. STILL UNABLE TO STEER. HAD TO GET MY CAR TOWED AND HAD TO REPLACE POWER STEERING PUMP AND FAN ON CAR. THIS CAR IS LESS THAN 5 YEARS OLD AND THE POWER STEERING SHOULD LAST THE LIFE OF THE CAR.

POWER STEERING PUMP AND COOLING FAN FAILURE. UNSAFE TO DRIVE AND SAFETY HAZARD. POOR ENGINEERING DESIGN WITH REGARDS TO PLACEMENT OF PUMP / FAN AND ELECTRICAL LOAD. DEFECTIVE (REBUILT AND NOT NEW) PARTS FROM MINI DEALERSHIP REPAIRED UNDER WARRANTY ONE TIME. MINI DOES NOT STAND BY ITS PRODUCTS OR ENGINEERING. REPLACEMENT AND REPAIRS OCCURRED 3 TIMES IN LESS THAN 5 YEARS AND LESS THAN 65,000. *TR UPDATED 07/26/11 *BF UPDATED 2/29/12 *CN

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MINI COOPER S. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE POWER STEERING FAILED. THE FAILURE WAS INTERMITTENT. AT TIMES, THE POWER STEERING WOULD RESET ITSELF AFTER BEING TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN INSPECTED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 63,000.

I DRIVE A 2005 MINI COOPER S, WITH APPROXIMATELY 49,000 MILES DRIVEN. ON OCTOBER 22, 2010, THE POWER STEERING ON THE CAR COMPLETELY FAILED WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY, LEAVING BARELY ENOUGH CONTROL OVER THE CAR TO DRIVE VERY CAUTIOUSLY. THE CAR WAS DIAGNOSED BY TWO MECHANICS, ONE A REPUTABLE NEW ENGLAND CHAIN AND THE OTHER AN EXPERT MINI COOPER FACILITY, AND BOTH DETERMINED THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP, RACK AND FAN HAD ALL FAILED ON THE CAR. EVEN USING REFURBISHED PARTS, THE REPAIR IS COSTING $1,100; WITH NEW PARTS, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE REPAIR WOULD HAVE BEEN UPWARDS OF $2,000. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT NHTSA IS ALREADY INVESTIGATING FREQUENT POWER STEERING ISSUES FOR MINIS IN THIS DATE RANGE. THE MINI SHOP DOING THE WORK FOR ME CERTAINLY CONFIRMS THE STORIES I'VE READ ABOUT OTHER SHOPS AROUND THE COUNTRY - THE MANAGER TOLD ME THAT THEY'RE DOING ABOUT 6-7 POWER STEERING JOBS PER MONTH ON THESE CARS. HOPEFULLY THE ADDITION OF MY SITUATION TO THE DATABASE CAN HELP JUSTIFY A RECALL - IT CERTAINLY SEEMS WARRANTED BASED ON THE VOLUME OF PROBLEMS THAT MINI OWNERS HAVE HAD. *TR

2005 MINI COOPER S, 50,000 MILES ON THE ODOMETER, LOSES POWER STEERING WHICH CAUSES SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS AT SLOW SPEEDS. THE CAR WILL STILL STEER AT FASTER SPEEDS, BUT WITH VERY HEAVY, UNPREDICTABLE RESPONSE. THE PROBLEM BEGAN WITH AN INCREASED DRONING NOISE WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL WAS IN THE NEUTRAL POSITION WHICH WOULD DIMINISH WHEN THE STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED. THE PROBLEM WAS INTERMITTENT, AND THEREFORE, I THOUGHT IT WAS RELATED TO A LOW FLUID LEVEL ISSUE. I WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND PURCHASED "SPECIAL" STEERING FLUID, AND NO MENTION WAS MADE TO ME ABOUT ANY STEERING PUMP DEFECT. I INSTALLED THE FLUID TO THE RECOMMENDED LEVEL WITH NO CHANGE IN RESPONSE. I TELEPHONED THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND THE PERSON WHO ANSWERED THE PHONE SAID HE KNEW THE PROBLEM, AND THAT I NEEDED A NEW STEERING PUMP, COOLING FAN, HOSES, AND RESERVOIR, AND THE COST OF THE WORK WAS $1600.00. I THEN DID INTERNET RESEARCH AND LEARNED THAT THIS PROBLEM IS FREQUENTLY EXPERIENCED IN 2004 AND 2005 MINI COOPER MODELS. I THEN TELEPHONED MINI COOPER'S CORPORATE COMPLAIN DEPARTMENT AND I WAS TOLD TO SPEND THE MONEY TO REPAIR THE CAR. THIS PROBLEM IS UNDOUBTEDLY A PERSISTENT DEFECT, AND SHOULD BE THE SUBJECT OF RECALL REPAIR PROGRAM. *TR

1 NORMAL DRIVING ALL THE SUDDEN STEERING WHEEL GOT HARD TO MOVE , THEN IT LOOSENED UP AND THEN CAUSED OVERSTEER 2 POWER STEERING PUMP FAILURE PUT CAR INTO DITCH DAMAGED 2 TIRES/RIMS 3 REPLACED THE FAN UNIT ONCE THEN THE ENTIRE PUMP THE SECOND TIME IT IS CURRENTLY OUT FOR THE THIRD TIME. *TR

I OWN A 2005 MINI COOPER S 2 DOOR HARD TOP WITH CURRENTLY 90,000 MILES. JUST RECENTLY A SEMI LOUD WHIRRING SOUND STARTED FROM UNDERNEATH THE HOOD AS SOON AS THE ENGINE IS STARTED. IMMEDIATELY I CAN NOTICE THAT THE PITCH OF THE NOISE SUBTLY CHANGES WHEN YOU GO TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL IN EITHER DIRECTION. I HAD A CERTIFIED MECHANIC LOOK AT THE CAR AND HE CONFIRMED TO ME THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP IS FAILING. WHEN I AM DRIVING THE MINI COOPER THE STEERING WILL INTERMITTENTLY BEGIN TO GET A LITTLE HARDER TO STEER. THE PUMP IS ON THE WAY TO COMPLETE FAILURE AND HARD STEERING WILL END UP BEING THE RESULT. I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING THIS ISSUE VIA THE WEB AND HAVE DISCOVERED THAT THE FAILING POWER STEERING UNIT IN MINI COOPERS HAS BEEN A KNOWN ISSUE WITH BMW BUT I HAVE YET TO FIND ANY INFORMATION AS TO WHAT THEY ARE DOING ABOUT IT. ASIDE FROM SPEED, STEERING A MOTOR VEHICLE IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SAFETY CONCERNS WHEN IN OPERATION. *TR

2005 MINI COOPER S. COMPLETE POWER STEERING FAILURE. SHUTTING OFF ENGINE AND RESTARTING CORRECTED PROBLEM FOR A SHORT TIME, THEN PROBLEM RESUMED. HAPPENED NUMEROUS TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT TWO WEEKS. *TR

THE POWER STEERING ON MY 2005 MINI COOPER S BEGAN MALFUNCTIONING ON 8-9-2010. WHILE GOING LEFT ON A MIXMASTER, THE POWER STEERING FAILED AND I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO HIT THE SIDE OF THE BRIDGE AND PERHAPS DRIVE OFF OF THE SIDE OF THE BRIDGE. THE PASSENGER IN MY CAR HELPED ME STEER (WITH FORCE) TO THE LEFT AND DRIVE TO THE STRAIGHTAWAY. THE POWER STEERING IS INTERMITTENT, WORKING FIVE PERCENT OF THE TIME. MY CAR WAS SERVICED IN JUNE OF 2010 DUE TO A PROBLEM WITH THE TENSION BELT, WHICH CAUSED THE CAR TO HAVE A BURNING SMELL AND NO AIR CONDITIONING. THE "SERVICE ENGINE" LIGHT IS ON TEN PERCENT OF THE TIME AND THE "CHECK TIRE PRESSURE" LIGHT IS ON OFTEN, THOUGH I NO LONGER HAVE RUN-FLAT TIRES. MY CAR IS DIFFICULT TO DRIVE DUE TO THE LACK OF POWER STEERING. AT THE TIME OF THE FIRST INCIDENT, MY CAR HAD APPROXIMATELY 75,000 MILES. *TR

COMPLAINT IN ASSOCIATION WITH NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: PE10038 2005 MINI COOPER S - POWER STEERING FAILURE WHILE DRIVING. I OWN A 2005 MINI COOPER S WITH APPROXIMATELY 60,000 MILES ON THE CLOCK. RECENTLY WHILE DRIVING HOME FROM WORK, IN THE PROCESS OF TURNING A CORNER, THE STEERING ON THE CAR BECAME INSTANTLY HEAVY CAUSING ME TO TEMPORARILY VEER IN TO THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC LANE. FORTUNATELY AT THE TIME THERE WERE NO OTHER CARS COMING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND I WAS ABLE TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LOSS OF STEERING CONTROL AND CORRECT THE DIRECTION OF THE CAR. THE SITUATION REMAINED FOR THE DURATION OF MY JOURNEY, BUT I WAS ABLE TO SAFELY NAVIGATE THE CAR HOME. I RESTARTED THE ENGINE AND THIS APPEARED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, DURING THE NEXT 2 CAR TRIPS SIMILAR FAILURES OCCURRED (FORTUNATELY I WAS PREPARED FOR THE POSSIBILITY AND SO DID NOT END UP IN THE OPPOSING TRAFFIC LANE). THE MINI DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED THIS AS A FAILURE OF THE POWER STEERING PUMP, A PROBLEM WHICH I UNDERSTAND TO BE THE SUBJECT OF A RECENTLY OPENED NHTSA INVESTIGATION (PE 10038). PERSONALLY I BELIEVE THIS SITUATION TO BE POTENTIALLY EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. THERE WAS NO WARNING THAT THE POWER STEERING WAS GOING TO FAIL, AND WHEN IT DID, THE IMPACT WAS IMMEDIATE AND CAUSED ME TO STEER IN TO THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC (AS A RESULT OF NOT BEING ABLE TO TURN THE CORNER AT THE REQUIRED ANGLE). DUE TO THE IMMEDIATE NATURE OF THE FAILURE I WAS NOT ABLE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM SAFELY IN TIME. I AM WRITING THIS REPORT TO BE ADDED TO THE EXISTING NHTSA INVESTIGATION (PE 10038). *TR