MINI Complaints

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

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2004 MINI COOPER. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING INTERMITTENTLY MALFUNCTIONED CAUSING A LOSS OF POWER STEERING ASSIST CAPABILITIES. ON ONE OCCASION, THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING COOLING FAN REMAINED ON AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS SHUT OFF AND DRAINED THE BATTERY. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A LOCAL REPAIR FACILITY WHERE THE CONTACT WAS AWAITING REPAIRS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 58,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 58,325.

I HAVE A 2004 MINI COOPER S BUILT IN LATE SEPTEMBER OR EARLY OCTOBER 2003. AT APPROXIMATELY 54,000 MILES IN SPRING OF 2010, I LEFT TO GO ON A TRIP ACROSS TOWN. AFTER ABOUT 2 MILES OF THE UP TO THEN NORMAL DRIVE, THE POWER STEERING SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT WARNING STOPPED WORKING IN THE MIDDLE OF A CURVE. FORTUNATELY I WAS ABLE TO RETAIN CONTROL OF THE CAR AND MAKE IT TO MY DESTINATION A COUPLE MORE MILES AWAY. AFTER SITTING ABOUT 15 MINUTES, UPON RESTART, THE CAR PERFORMED NORMALLY AS FAR AS I CAN TELL. CHECKING THE INTERNET, IT SEEMS THAT THIS IS A SOMEWHAT COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE AND THAT IT WILL CONTINUE ON AND OFF UNTIL THE POWER STEERING DOES NOT FUNCTION AT ALL. THIS CAN ALSO LEAD TO A FIRE AT THE POWER STEERING PUMP THAT MAY LEAD TO COMPLETE LOSS OF VEHICLE AND OR ADDITIONAL PROPERTY DAMAGE. SOME WITH FIRES HAVE NOT HAD ANY PRIOR HINTS OF AN ISSUE AND SOME HAVE HAD THE INTERMITTENT PUMP GOING OUT. IN SPEAKING TO THE MINI SERVICE CENTER, THEY OF COURSE SAID THEY HAD NEVER HEARD OF THE PROBLEM AND REFUSED TO GIVE ME ANY HELP UNDER GOODWILL WARRANTY. I HAD THEM REPLACE THE PUMP AT MY EXPENSE TO AVOID THE RISK OF FIRE. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 MINI COOPER S. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 60 MPH WHEN THERE WAS A COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER STEERING WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WITH DIFFICULTY. THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED. THE POWER STEERING BECAME FUNCTIONAL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. THE TECHNICIAN WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE FAILURE CONTINUED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND VIN WERE UNAVAILABLE.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2007 MINI COOPER S. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH, THE CLUTCH BEGAN TO SLIP. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS NO POWER MOVING TO THE REAR WHEELS. BECAUSE OF THE FAILURE, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT ACCELERATE PAST 10 MPH. THE VEHICLE STALLED AND WAS TOWED TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE THE CLUTCH WAS REPLACED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 33,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 35,000.

THE PASSENGER AIRBAG OFF LIGHT COMES ON WITH A PASSENGER IN THE CAR. THE LIGHT COMES ON AND REMAINS ON AT RANDOM INTERVALS. I BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE ONLY MINI DEALER IN COLORADO AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THEY COULDN'T DUPLICATE THE FAULT AND THAT THERE WASN'T A FAULT CODE IN THE COMPUTER. I ASKED TO SPEAK TO THE SERVICE MANAGER AND HE TOLD ME THAT THIS WAS NORMAL AND THAT MY 130 LB. WIFE DIDN'T WEIGH ENOUGH TO WARRANT THE SRS SYSTEM IN THE CAR. *TR

1. POWER STEERING STARTED FAILING 2. OCCURS RANDOMLY THROUGHOUT MY DRIVING ~ DAILY 3. REPAIR/REPLACE POWER STEERING PUMP. *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