Hydraulic Power Assist Steering System problems of the 2002 Mini Cooper

The power steering on my 2002 Mini Cooper s, 62,000 miles, fails intermittently and unexpectedly while driving, causing an instant and unexpected loss of power assisted steering. This is extremely dangerous and can cause injury or death should loss of power steering cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Further research of online forums (mini2. Com, northamericanmotoring. Com, roadfly. Com) indicates that this is a known problem affecting many Mini owners, and power steering pump failure has also been known to cause engine bay fires.

Power steering pump is noisy all the time. I am afraid this may lead to failure of my ability to steer the vehicle . The car is a 2002 Mini.

The contact owned a 2002 BMW Mini Cooper s. The contact complained steering failure. The steering was not operating. . Could drive but could not steer because there was no power steering. The steering system was broke a couple of months ago , and they repaired it. Currently, the dealership will not repair car anymore even though it was under warranty. The steering became very heavy, had to muscle the steering in order to turn the car. While driving on the highway all of a sudden could not steer the car, and it was very dangerous. Did have one steering failure before, and had to replace the entire steering mechanism. Currently, he could not steer under normal road conditions.