Power Steering Failed problems of the 2003 Mini Cooper - part 1

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper us. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, the vehicle's power steering completely failed without warning. The contact was able to regain control of the vehicle however, the steering was rough and stiff. The contact performed his owns inspection on the vehicle and noticed that the power steering pump was leaking; the contact spoke with his mechanic and informed him that they may be a recall on the vehicle. The manufactuer was informed of the failure and informed the contact that his vehicle was placed under NHTSA campaign number: 15v660000(steering). The contact took the vehicle to a dealer(Mini of the woodlands 16675 I-45, conroe, TX 77385 936- 344-1258) where he dropped off the vehicle to be serviced for the recall. The dealer then informed that contact that his vehicle would not be serviced under the recall because the steering pump was not the original Mini Cooper steering pump; the dealer offered no further assistance. The pump had not been replaced. The failure mileage was 83,000. Jo.

Power steering failure - intermittent and during motion, Mini dealership provided records that the claim was cleared with # and mileage, but this is false information if still covered by NHTSA # 15v660000. Original recall # that was entered in the "repair history" from Mini that never occurred is m320215. Thank you.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15v660000 (steering) ; however, the part for the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated that the power steering failed without warning at various speeds, especially when turning the steering wheel. The approximate failure mileage was 171,000. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was invalid. The failure mileage was unknown. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

Power steering failed and difficult to steer. Power steering would then cut in and out. Warranty repair by Mini dealer on September 16, 2015 replaced steering pump but power steering hose leak was not covered by warranty and charged $607. 59 to do all necessary repairs for the power steering to work. The lack of consistency of having power assist steering or not could contribute to an accident since there is no way to predict the amount of effort to steer the car. The needed power steering repairs were not free but cost $607. 59.

Night driving in colorado mtns. Lights began to flicker and power steering failed. Found safe place to pull over and turned off lights and engine. Restarted and turned lights back on to resume driving within a few minuets lights flickered and power steering failed again. Had to continue for several miles until it was safe to pull over again. Attempted to turn off head lights and use fog lights on county dirt road, still lights flickered/dimmed and power steering failed. Currently vehicle is parked and we are attempting to research recall matters with this malfunction. Superior driving skill is required to operate this vehicle with nonfunctional power steering. Average operators will have great difficulty maintaining safe operation of the automobile. This issue will lead to loss of life if not addressed. Nearest dealer for Mini is 130 miles distant.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 60 mph, the power steering failed without warning causing the contact to nearly loose control of the vehicle. Additionally, the contact stated that the power steering motor remained activated although the vehicle was shut off. As a result, the contact had to eject the battery out of the vehicle every time the vehicle was shut off because the vehicle overheated and could potentially cause a fire. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 101,000.

We bought 2 2003 Mini Coopers in 2003. Both vehicles had electric power steering pump failures, one in March 09 at 143060 and the other Mini in July 2010 at 133380. We received the eps extended warranty letter and sent in our claim, usps documented delivery to Mini USA on June 29, 2013. I have called Mini "customer service" on August 8, August 29, and today September 26. No one there can tell you anything and they do nothing except apologizing for not knowing anything. They say responses are taking 12 weeks which is where I am on the calendar. My repair costs were in excess of $2000. Today I am sending a hand written complaint letter with copies of all receipts to jim mcdowell vp Mini USA. Nhtsa needs to followup on this. The extended warranty was intended to head off a recall but they are not handling it in a proper manner. Turn up the heat!.

Power steering pump failed. Once it came back on it doesn't shut off running the battery dead.

Power steering failed. Car was very difficult to steer. Almost caused an accident.

Power steering function failed; steering is now non-powered.

Power steering failure. Power steering failed while driving at approximately 35-40 mph. Upon turning off and restarting vehicle power steering worked for a short period of time - followed by intermittent failures/normal operation.

Power steering occasionally fails during low speed turns, e. G. U-turn or driving in parking lots.

On 6/12/12 I was driving my car towards my small neighborhood at speed of 10-15 miles an hour. For no apparent reason the steering wheel felt as if it was locked in place. With all my force I had to pull over to the side. I had the car checked and confirmed that the hydraulic power steering pump has failed. There was no service engine light on or any warnings what so ever, the power steering pump failed without any notice. If I were driving at high speeds of 70 miles an hour on the freeway I could have seriously been hurt. This is unacceptable.

My power steering suddenly failed as I was driving on a windy back road, almost didn't make the turn, and since it has failed completely. When I called the local Mini dealership (Mini of fairfield county, CT) last week to finally get the part replaced (quoted $1700 at multiple locations) the customer service person replied with, "how did you know about the recall?" overjoyed I drove my Mini in this morning at 7am only to be told that there is no official recall and I am still on the hook for the $1700. Not pleased. Calling Mini today.

The power steering system failed. It comes from the power steering pump failure and also made the alternator and battery go bad. It becames very difficult to turn the wheel.

My 2003 Mini Cooper (r50), with manual shift and 83,567 miles, was parked on a city street when a passerby noticed smoke and fire coming out of the engine area. The fire department was called to put the fire out. The time from the car being parked until the flames were extinguished is estimated at 10 to 20 minutes. The car was towed the following morning to a Mini dealer service center for diagnosis. The diagnosis was that the auxiliary power steering cooling fan had failed. The other items that are estimated to need replacement are the power steering pump, engine wiring harness, auxiliary wiring harness, power steering pump reservoir hose and power steering return hose. At the time I was on a trip out-of-town 600 miles away from home and the car is still at the out-of-town dealer. Prior to the incident no signs of anything suspect with the car were noticed. Approximately 1 hour prior to the incident the bonnet of the car was opened at a military entrance gate vehicle inspection and no signs of any issues were noticed at that time. To my knowledge there is no aftermarket equipment in the affected area. I am the 2nd owner of the car having purchased it at 35,086 miles mid-2007 from a long-time friend who was the first owner. I maintain the car and keep all maintenance records. I believe the manufacturer should be responsible for all repairs and the return of the car to my home. I have read about recalls by transport canada for 2002-2005 Mini steering pumps which would indicate this issue is worthy of investigation for recall. This is a dangerous vehicle defect. Please formally investigate this incident.

While driving the 2003 Mini, the power steering failed making the vehicle difficult to steer. Since the orginal incident, the power steering works intermittently. Research shows the likely reason for the problem is a power steering pump failure. I am ordering a new pump to replace the failed pump. This seems to be a common issue with Mini for this year model. Mini should be held responsible for the cost of the repair including labor as the pump appears to have had issues since 2002.

My power steering first failed as I went into a turn on a highway. It suddenly became very hard to control the car, but luckily it started working again in time for me to complete the turn and not crash. I took it to my mechanic, who said it could be the power steering, but to wait and see if it does it again, as this is extremely expensive to repair. Then, two weeks later, the power steering failed permanently as I was attempting to make a turn after waiting at a stoplight. Luckily I was able to force the wheels to turn and avoid an accident, but now I will have a costly repair bill. I am fortunate that I was not injured in these incidents because I very easily could have been, especially when it failed on the highway.

On the date of incident I parked my car in a wells fargo bank parking lot after going to the gym. Upon returning to my car an individual who had parked next to me informed me that "your car is smoking" I looked and white smoke was coming from under the hood. I opened the hood to inspect it and saw white smoke which smelled electrical. The individual who noticed smoke came out of her SUV to help. She and I looked and she informed me that she saw a small flame coming from under the engine. I saw it and extinguished it with a bottle of water I had. I then heard an electrical spinning/humming as if something was still electrically charged. The smoke then began to intensify and got so out of control I was tempted to call 911 but then I thought to disconnect any power to the car by disconnecting the battery. This action cut all power to the car and stopped the smoke and electrical spinning/humming. I called aaa and had my car towed to my mechanic. On the evening of 12/23/2011 my mechanic called me and informed me that my power steering pump had failed and estimated the repairs at $1,046. On 12/26/2011 my car was returned to me by my mechanic who showed me the failed power steering pump which melted other wires and components of the power steering mechanism. Total out-of-pocket expenses was $1,053.

Power steering failure. Power steering pump failed suddenly without warning,causing the vehicle to become unresponsive to normal steering wheel operation, resulting in driver having to take unexpected and sudden steering correction to avoid running off the road or colliding with an oncoming vehicle.

Driving at slow speed turning right into parking garage power steering failed and almost caused vehicle to contact another car. This is the second time in the past week that the power steering has randomly failed. Turned off and restarted car and steering starts working correctly again.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper. He contact was driving and the steering wheel became very tight indicating that the power steering failed. The contact did not have any warning prior to the failure. The vehicle was not inspected to diagnose the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage and current mileage was 52,000.

The power steering failed and stooped working as I was driving through boston. Now, the power steering pump stays on even when the key is taken out of the ignition.

While cruising 60mph I was approaching the curved ramp from I-26 to the Cooper river bridge in charleston SC. All of a sudden the power steering failed. I had to "man handle" the steering wheel to enter the left curve. Part way thru the curve, the power steering started again and immediately took the vehicle in a severe turn to the left. Just about lost control of the car and several other vehicles on the highway swerved to avoid me. Very dangerous situation. Stopped at the Mini dealer in charleston, service was absolutely no help. Spoke with the parts guy and was told it is a real problem with the Mini, they have them in stock and may usually get another delivery everyday. I would hope that the manufacture step to the plate and remedy this dangerous condition.

Repeated power steering failure. Have replaced pump (as well as belts, fluids, etc. ) new pump fixed problem for about 2 months. Now it just stops working again! no computer code showing problem. May work fine on start then just go out a any point. May stay out. May be fine after restart. No power steering without notice is dangerous! car has 90k miles. Should not have this problem! this happens repeatedly at all speeds, at all driving times, at many varying circumstances (wet/dry, hot/not hot, engine cold/engine warm, straight roads/curvy roads). Date below is today's date, but this began happening 2 months after bought car used. Dealer has made numerous good faith efforts to repair, but the problem keeps returning. It is a defect and a dangerous one!!!!!.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while driving approximately 15 mph the power steering was lost and the wheel was extremely difficult to turn. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer where they informed the contact that the power steering system failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure and current mileages were 49,387. I stopped at the red light in the right lane. I then accelerated to make the right turn and the car would not turn in the middle of the street. Then it barely let me turn it to drive, and pull over. The tow truck came and took it to Mini dealer. It cost 2240. 00 to fix. They said it was the steering system failure. Updated 10/07/2011.

Several months ago, the power steering failed on my 2003 Mini Cooper at the beginning of a 40 minute drive home. The next day, all was fine and continued to be so until this afternoon. Briefly this afternoon, the power steering failed again, but returned when the car was shut off and turned back on. However, once the engine was turned off again, the fan in the power steering column continued to run for at least 2 hours. The car started and drove fine, and again upon returning home, the fan continued to run. When the car was turned back on, the power steering again did not work, and now the fan is not running. I have read message boards detailing almost the same phenomenon and describing upwards of $1000 to fix this problem. The Mini was just in for it's 100,000 mile service three weeks ago at the cost of $1700 and no mention was made of any issue with the power steering.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper. The contact was driving approximately 55-60 mph when the power steering failed without warning and the steering wheel would not turn. The vehicle was not been inspected or repaired and the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 82,500. Updated 06/13/11 updated 2/15/2012.

I own a 2003 Mini Cooper. I am experiencing unexpected power steering loss that is currently a temporary condition. It often occurs while exiting onto hwy 10/61 cloverleaf in woodbury, minnnesota. On a couple occasions I have nearly driven off of the roadway down an embankment. It is an exit that is taken at 45-50 mph and an hill downward. When it occurs the car veers hard left as the power steering fails. The steering requires a heavy driver input in order to maintain direction of travel. The first time it occurred I was off the roadway briefly until I could muscle it back onto the roadway. A very scary experience. I am sure if this occurred with my wife or daughter behind the wheel, an accident would have occurred. I am trying to figure out what the issue is, so I conducted an internet search and found many complaints from other owners. Seems clearly to be a problem that is more an issue of design that wear and tear. What should I do?.

Power steering pump and fan failed at 55,000 miles. While it happened in my case while I was trying to park, it could easily happen at highway speeds and created a serious hazard.

Power steering failed as car was moving. No apparent reason for failure. It was very difficult to control car without the steering. I was not going too fast but if it had happened at a higher rate of speed it would have been a disaster. Steering remained unusuable until car was turned off and cooled slightly. When I started it, it was fine. It has happened several times since then after the car has been running about a half an hour or so.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper. While driving approximately 40 mph, the power steering failed making it impossible to control the steering wheel. The vehicle then jerked violently followed by an independent reset of the power steering. The contact barely missed crashing into another vehicle as a result of the failure. The contact did not inform the dealer or manufacturer nor was the vehicle diagnosed or repaired. The current and failure mileage was 104,000.

While backing out of a parking spot I noticed that the steering was stiff and it was soon evident that the power steering was not working at all. There was no prior warning that the power steering was starting to fail. The failure was sudden. After pulling back into the parking spot, shutting the car off and then restarting, the power steering became functional. After a few minutes of driving the power steering failed again without any warning which made it difficult to steer. Luckily no accident occurred. Power steering now appears to be completely non-functioning. Coincidentally, this car has already had a steering pump replacement in December 2004 with 23070 miles on it. The first power steering pump failure was gradual, but alarming for such a low-mileage vehicle. This most recent failure occurred with less than 48000 miles on the new pump and suggests a faulty part/design which has the potential to cause more serious incidents.

Yesterday I was driving home normally. When I slowed to turn into the alley where I park my car my power steering failed. I missed slamming into the corner of the building by a couple inches and was able to park. I checked the fluid level and even put a little in. Since the then the power steering is almost completely gone, but "catches" every now and then. This makes it extremely hard to drive. After reading of numerous others having this issue, I called BMW today. They recorded my information and said I would be informed if there was a recall by NHTSA, but that nothing was being done at this time.

There were no warnings or events leading up to the power steering failure. Fortunately, in my case there were no accidents or injuries resulting from the failure. My wife was driving when the power steering failed as she was close to home. She does not have enough strength to make the turn without the power steering so had it occurred on her way to work around a curve, there would have been a crash for sure. A couple of turns she needs to make have steep drop offs and oncoming traffic that may have resulted in death. I don't know if any deaths have been reported due to this, but I can see where it could easily happen and not be pinpointed as the cause since the failure was immediate and while she was driving, not after being stopped.