general problems of the 2004 Mini Cooper - part 2

Was driving home from work, went to turn a corner and the steering got very hard.

Sudden loss of all steering assist at speed, resulting in alarming loss of control of vehicle.

I was on my way home from making some errands, went to turn left and I thought the car had cut off or something. Because it didn't want to turn right, but to my surprise it was running. So I manage to turn it before I hit the curb. When I got home I was able to see what was wrong. The power steering quit working. I let the car cool a little and got back in it and the power steering was working again. Come to find out the power steering works for about 10 minutes and goes out, until it cools off. I started looking on the internet and found out I'm not the only one with this problem. This is very dangerous and I mean dangerous. I called my Mini dealer to see if there were a recall on this problem and they said there wasn't. But I did see they had a Mini dealer notice for them to look out for this problem, but not fix for free. So we need a recall before someone gets killed or hurt, if it hasn't already happened. Thank you, [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The power steering is not working. I am a 280 pound man and I can barely turn . Also while driving at times it feels harder to turn, once again like power steering not working.

At 35 mph I noticed intermittent loss of power steering (ps). I was diving on 2 lane winding country road with no shoulders and ended up in the oncoming lane before I regained control. Luckily was no traffic at the time. The most terrifying thing is when ps it's dead for a while and then suddenly comes back on. If you are in a corner, because you've just been muscling the steering wheel, and ps comes back you will be suddenly over-steer and veer out of your lane.

While driving approx 35 mph my Mini suddenly felt as if I had several flat tires. I pulled over and checked all my tires. I had no power steering, it was extremely difficult to steer the Mini. (I have driven cars in the past without power steering) it took all my strength to drive the Mini to my destination. I turned off the Mini and called my husband. When I restarted the Mini I had power steering. It concerns me that the power steering when out while driving without any warning.

My power steering went out today while driving. It was one of the most scary experiences I have ever had. I adore my little car, but today it made me so scared I am not sure I am ok driving her any more. While driving on a local road, I noticed than my steering wheel was very stiff. I started to turn into the left-turn lane and could barely do it, then tried to turn left and almost hit the cars around me because I had to use all of my strength to make the turn. My power steering went without any warning, none. I have never experienced something like this before, I had no idea what was happening. I immediately looked online when I got home to learn more about what happened and how much this repair will cost and was amazed and very disappointed to see so many similar accounts by other 2004 Cooper owners. I feel lucky after reading others stories that it happened to me on a local road close to home. I also just looked in my file and see that my power steering cooling fan was replaced 9 months ago when my car was at the dealership for other repairs. Mini / BMW, how can you ignore this incredible issue and danger?.

While driving the power steering inexplicably went out without warning making steering and controlling the vehicle difficult. The problem was potentially quite dangerous due to its unexpected nature. If I was not traveling straight at the time of the failure which showed itself as I began my next turn and had begun a turn when the system failed it would have been almost impossible to control the car. Serious and dangerous issue.

With out any advice, the steering turns rigid and hard to manipulate,I checked the fluid and it looks fine and clean.

While driving, I noticed it became markedly more difficult to turn the wheel. I was able, with effort, to drive safely to my destination. When it was time to return home, the power steering was working for the first 4 or so miles, then it gave out again.

The contact owns a 2004 Mini Cooper . The contact stated that while driving in reverse, the power steering seized momentarily before resuming normal operation independently. The contact had experienced the failure at least twice. The dealer was not contacted and the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 75,000 and the current mileage was 84,000. The VIN was not available.

Lent car to boyfriend to drive me to boston (100 mile one way). On the way home he stopped at a store approximately 10 miles from the house. When he came back out of the store ( was in store approximately 10 minutes) the power steering no longer worked. It was like trying to steer through concrete for him. A few days later he tried the car and it all worked fine again. Based on prior complaints filed, I am concerned that the issue will reoccur when I am driving causing obvious safety concerns, or that it may catch fire (based on other complaints filed for similar issues) and that I will be facing the cost of replacing the power steering unit (which does not sound like it has been reengineered since this issue became known).

The contact owns a 2004 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that the power steering only functioned intermittently. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 54,000 and the current mileage was 55,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Power assisted steering will cease working while driving, making the car very, very difficult to steer/control. This problem is currently intermittent, but when it does happen it is very scary. Currently, I will not allow my wife or grandchildren in the car until I fix this problem. Mini USA thru main line Mini, bala cynwyd, PA stated no recall for this vehicle via email. Research of NHTSA online data base shows 113 reported complaints for year 2004 Mini's and 120 for year 2005 for steering problems and no fix by BMW. This is a serious safety problem and suggest readers file complaints and hope it does not take a death to get someone's attention.

Pulled into a parking lot. Was making a right turn into a spot and lost all steering. I turned off the car and restarted and it worked again, but it was impossible to steer without the power assist. I see this morning that this problem is now common and I hesitate to go into Mini to have it fixed right away since it will cost more than $1000 to fix! why isn't this a recall?.

Failure of power steering.

Driving on highway entering turn, and car was hard to steer, had to jerk wheel to avoid hitting another car. When will something be done with mine and others who have this issue. Does it take a death for car dealers to be held accountable.

I was just driving home from work and the power steering just went out, I did safely make it home and got the car in the garage. It has been parked since it seems the power steering comes and goes. I don't know what the problem may be for sure, but I have already had the fan assembly replaced due to it would not cut off, and killed my battery, so of course I had to replace the battery. I am taking the car in for a estimate for the steering, but it seems this is a common problem and it needs to be recalled. It cause someone to get hurt or even killed.

The contact owns a 2004 Mini Cooper. The contact stated while driving 10 mph the power of steering would stop working intermittently. The vehicle was towed to a local mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 51,377.

Backing out of parking place, car is difficult to steer. This the third time it has occurred. I have not replaced the power steering yet due to cost.

On multiple incidents, there is no indication leading up to the sudden loss of power steering. Intermittent loss of power steering to the point where the steering wheel is nearly impossible to turn or maneuver. Problem would occur during initial startup of the car, or after 15 mins of driving, or after 2-3 hours of driving. So far, on all occurrences, once the car is shut off and turned back on then power steering resumes. Took my car to Mini of stevens creek on 8/8/11 and was quoted $180 for diagnostics, $848 for parts, $253 for labor. Mini has declined to honor a no-cost replacement. I need to find more reasonable price for repair as I cannot afford the quoted $1300 at the moment. I have yet to have this power steering problem fixed.

Steering became difficult while driving requiring full arm strength to turn wheel. An accident could easily have occurred if other vehicles were in the area where I was turning. Vehicle now requires wide radius to turn. A very dangerous situation. I have a strong upper body but anyone driving 2004/05 Minis with this steering problem should take care and have dealership fix and pay for the repair.

The contact owns a 2004 BMW Mini Cooper. While driving approximately 20 mph, the contact noticed that the steering wheel became hard to move. The contact did not inform the dealer or manufacturer of the failure nor was the vehicle diagnosed or repaired. The current and failure mileage was 71,331.

Power steering froze up as we turned a corner and then died out completely. It has never returned. Very close to causing a collision because of the loss of power steering.

I was driving on the freeway and my power steering suddenly went out-hard to steer car. I own a 2004 Mini Cooper.

The power steering unit in my 2004 Mini Cooper has been acting strange for several months. It would sporadically cut off making the car difficult to steer. This has happened several times while the car was in motion. Luckily, all of the incidents happened when the car was moving slow. Now the car has no power steering at all. It completely failed today. Our Mini Cooper only has 43,000 miles on it. Imagine if I was driving over 30 miles and hour and the power steering cut off! I feel like the car is very dangerous to drive. I am very nervous about parking the car since the power steering is intermittent, I hope that it doesn't cut out when I turn into a parking space, which would increase the chance of hitting a parked car. I have contacted the dealership and got a quote for $1200 in parts alone. Adding the labor will bring the grand total to $1400.

Purchased a used 2004 Mini Cooper from a dealership. 7 weeks after purchase the steering became increasingly difficult at times in the last 24 hours. Taking it on Monday but the "steering" isn't covered under their 9 month, 9000 mile warranty. Taking it in to the dealership on Monday for their service dept to take a look at it. Hoping it's covered but I doubt it.

Power steering in 2004 Mini Cooper almost completely locks up with no warning whatsoever. No warning lights or other visual indicators depict the status of the power steering fluid or overall steering system. Ability to steer car changes instantaneously from full "normal" control to nearly impossible to parallel park (at extremely slow speed) or make a basic 90 degree turn (at any relevant speed). Makes the car dangerous and stressful to drive.

Power steering assist in my 2004 min Cooper failed while driving on highway.

Power steering in my 2004 Mini Cooper went out while going around a turn and caused me to swerve off the road.

The power steering on my 2004 Mini Cooper intermittently fails. To date, 5 failures have happened lasting from 10 to 30 minutes in duration. Last failure was December 3, 2010.

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.

Power steering wheel goes on and off. When I turn the wheel I can feel it go from heavy resistance to regular in seconds, which has been more than once in a day. If there is a car coming from the opposite direction, it could easily crashed into my side. Due to this suddenly wheel malfunction, I had to slow down because I was at the corner of the road, trying to turn. This is so dangerous, and it will only take seconds to kill people in this situation. I did research online and found out this is a pretty common issue for the Mini Cooper.

While driving the power steering cut out creating an unsafe driving condition. Over the next 20,000 miles the power steering would intermittently come back and go out more than a dozen times until eventually failing completely.

Occasional difficulty in steering my 2004 Mini Cooper. The steering becomes difficult and I have to turn the car off and restart it for it to work again. This happens about once a week.