general problems of the 2002 Mini Cooper

So I bought a 2002 Mini Cooper less than a year ago and it currently has 74k miles and attempting to pull into a parking spot at the grocery my steering goes completely out while I was trying to turn into my spot and ripped off a black molding that goes over the front passenger wheel and a significant ding and scratch.

Power steering froze up car could not be steered in any direction.

The contact owns a 2002 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, the vehicle became extremely difficult to steer. The vehicle was taken to a dealer for diagnosis but no cause for the failure was identified. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was unavailable. The failure and current mileage was 130,000.

The contact owns a 2002 Mini Cooper. While driving approximately 20 mph the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The contact was able to park the vehicle but stated that the power steering had become inoperable. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 45,065.

Driving car normally when power steering went out causing a great deal of loss of vehicle control, making turning very difficult. Ended up swerving into other lane, fortunately no cars were in the lane at the time. Had to re-start vehicle to gain steering back. Has happened numerous times since this date. Mini USA keep dodging the issue for a full on recall, instead extending the warranty, but my vehicle missed the warranty by 3 months so they will not replace without a hefty amount of money involved.

I was trying to get onto an off ramp and when I was into the turn I almost ran into a concrete barrier because the whole steering wheel locked up. The steering wheel always locks up sometimes it with a few miles and others it is good until it locks up. Very dangerous.

While driving steering became stiff. Almost unable to turn wheel when I slowed to park. After turning car off and back on, problem resolved. Still happens at least once per day usually while slowing or downshifting. Always resolves after restarting car.

Power system on my 2002 Mini Cooper went out. This seems to be a common occurrence. And very dangerous and costly. BMW had better do something about this because I almost creamed a cop. . .

The contact owns a 2002 Mini Cooper. While driving approximately 25 mph and attempting to make a left or right turn the steering wheel was difficult to turn. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle will be taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The failure and the current mileage was 82,426. Updated 05/03/lj updated 05/16/11.

The contact owns a 2002 Mini Cooper. While the contact was driving approximately 2 mph, there was a loss of power steering which caused difficulty in turning the steering wheel. The engine was turned off and restarted. The vehicle was able to continue in operation. The failure occurred four different times. The contact stated the power steering fluid reading was at the correct capacity level. Also, he mentioned that the power steering fan motor could have possibly overheated, causing the failure. The vehicle had not been diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 98,500.

2002 Mini Cooper. Power steering quit (my wife driving and by herself) in a turn with oncoming traffic. No injuries but very close.

Abrupt failure of the power steering system in a 2002 Mini Cooper.

2002 Mini Cooper power steering hydraulic assist fails without warning making car difficult to steer. Failure is intermittent and may occur on the highway or on surface roads. In either case there is absolutely no warning.

My wife has been complaining of intermittent loss of power assist. I drive her car very little however I recently had the problem happen to me. One of my hobbies is sport car racing (most recently at summit point raceway in wv) so I do expect the unexpected however it is so intermittent it is often forgotten. It will be fine for weeks then it happens again. Thousands of reports in the uk and canada issued a recall. You don't lose your steering just the assist. Next time you are alone on a back road with a curve turn your car off and you will see what the described problem feels like. Lets not have a serious incident before BMW resolves this issue. This has been going on for years.

I have 2002 Mini Cooper original owner and I had windsheld, transmission replaced. Main issue I still have is streering loose power. I got a letter from Mini said it extended warranty not a recall. Mini CO. Never recall any issues. Call dealer for this streering problem but my 2002 Mini is not under this campaign. I have that streering loose power middle of driving but this is not even recall? I have to pay for diagnose fee for extension warranty per dealer. Mini/BMW will not recall this issue until drivers get seriously hurt.