Power Steering Failed problems of the 2005 Mini Cooper - part 1

Tl the contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. After turning the vehicle off, the power steering pump continued to operate. Also, while operating the vehicle, the power steering pump sometimes failed and the steering wheel became very difficult to turn in either direction. Also, the low battery warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was taken to orlando Mini (350 lake destiny drive, orlando, FL) where it was diagnosed that the power steering pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was also notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 172,000.

Power steering pump failed while car was being driven. Vehicle only has 90k and for some reason was not covered under the recall per Mini USA. Mini needs to review the recall and correct all 2005 Mini Cooper's with this defect.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. While driving 45 mph, the power steering failed without warning. The contact stated that it was difficult to maneuver the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the power steering failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 15v660000 (steering). The manufacturer was notified of the failure and offered no assistance in having the vehicle repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

The power steering in my Mini Cooper 2005 has been intermittent. The steering wheel becomes very hard to turn all of a sudden, particularly at low speeds when it is needed the most to make turns or to park. There are no fault indicators for this issue on the dashboard either. The very first time this happened in March 2011 when my car had less than 80,000 miles on it. The power steering became completely inoperable. At that time the dealer informed me that the power steering pump failure was a known problem in Mini Cooper and that the pump had to be replaced. The replacement cost was too high though, hence I chose to think about it before having it replaced. Luckily, the power steering started working again and even though steering became a little hard at times I got used to it. But since end of April 2017 the problem has been getting worse. Steering gets too hard at times and requires a lot of force to turn the steering wheel at low speeds. Getting in and out a compact parking spot is exceptionally hard. Making left, right and u turns are also very hard. Even though there is a recall on this issue, I have not received a recall notice in the mail. I don't understand why my car was not included in the recall. Or if the recall is ongoing, why should it take so long since this is a safety issue.

I reported a few months ago that my power steering had failed. It is a 2005 Mini Cooper, and some 2002-2005 Mini Coopers were effected, but supposedly not my Mini with my VIN number. The recall had ended in February 2005 and my car was manufactured in April 2005. However I believe that BMW (makers of Mini Cooper) were using faulty power steering units after February 2005. My car has low miles, I am the original owner and I take pristine care of my Mini. As a result, I hit a curb and had to have the front left tire changed. The weather was clear, no rain and my tires are all just about brand new run flat tires. The range of Mini Coopers affected needs to increased. This is obviously a problem and BMW (makers of Mini Cooper) seem to not take it seriously. My power steering is a major safety issue and needs to be addressed ASAP.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. While driving approximately 55 mph, the power steering failed without warning. The contact stated that the power steering ability had not returned for one month. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that an electro hydraulic steering system would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number: 15v660000 (steering), but the VIN was excluded. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. While driving approximately 65 mph, the power steering failed. The fan for the power steering pump was not working properly. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The VIN was unknown. The approximate failure mileage was 86,000.

Power steering failed at low speed while turning at a stop sign in a school zone. Steering effort increased dramatically then shortly after the battery light, then alternator light came on. Was able to just make it home. I looked online and discovered that this is a common problem and that Mini is offering an extended warranty. I called Mini and gave them my VIN. They told me my 2005 Cooper s is not included in the extended warranty and would not do anything for me. It seems that Mini is not capturing all the vehicles that have this problem. I never received a letter notifying me of the issue. Lot of forums about this issue. So glad this did not happen on the hwy.

Tl- the contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60 mph the power steering suddenly malfunctioned causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the power steering motor had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 75,000. Jft.

The power steering on my 2005 Mini Cooper failed suddenly as I was making a left hand turn through an intersection. It took all my effort to keep the car in the lane. The Mini dealer initially told me that the power steering motor was covered due to the extended warranty on 2002 ? 2005 Mini Coopers which extends the warranty on the power steering motor to 13 years or 150,000 miles. I was called back later to be informed that my car was not covered as it was manufactured after the Feb. 2005 cutoff date. My Mini Cooper was manufactored in June 2005. Global Mini in chamblee, GA charged me $899. 78 for replacing the power steering motor. My sudden power steering failure at 83,025 miles was consistent with the power steering extended warranty issued by Mini USA for the sudden failure of the power steering motor. The warranty, in effect, is saying that the power steering motor of these vehicles should last for 150,000 miles. While Mini USA has extended the coverage to some 2005 Minis, coverage to my Mini Cooper has been denied failing at only 83,000 miles even though it exhibited the same symptoms of failure. Update 9/15/cw.

The power steering on my 2005 Mini Cooper failed while I was driving the car. Fortunately I was traveling at a slow rate of speed when this incident occurred. I have discovered that this is not an uncommon problem in a Mini and that Mini is well aware of the problem. This part is readily available in all dealerships and parts store inventories. It is my understanding through reading discussion on the internet that Mini has extended the warranty in 2002 to 2005 Minis up to 13 years and 100. 000 miles. Mine is not covered and I incurred a cost of almost $1,300 for replacement of the defective parts. I have never in my 50 years of driving had a power steering failure until this incident. If I had been traveling at a higher rate of speed this power steering failure may have resulted in death or serious injury to myself or others. Since this is a fairly low volume vehicle the problem may not be as quickly noticed by your department as if it were a Ford focus or Honda civic. . I have great concern about this problem. .

Power steering pump failure. This is a known design defect of this model and year, however, Mini states that my VIN is not covered (possibly because I purchased the vehicle while stationed with the army in germany). This is a dangerous situation and I am not happy with Miniusa's response to date.

I was driving along at about 35 mph steering through a curve when the power steering failed. It required major effort to keep the car turning through the curve to avoid oncoming traffic. This seems to be common occurrence on first generation Mini Coopers and could easily result in a serious accident. If my 16 year old daughter who typically drives the car had been at the wheel at the time this could have had catastrophic results because of the amount of effort required to maintain the steering of the car. A car shouldn't be at risk of having major component failures with only 50,000 miles.

My cooling fan burned out causing the power steering to fail. I found out that this was a known problem in my model year and that the warranty on that part had been extended. However, Mini claims that they started putting new pumps in Feb of 2005. My car was made in Mar of 2005 and thus they will not cover it. I went the extra step and had the dealer do a diagnostic which found that my car has the same part with the same problem as described in the warranty extension. Still Mini will not cover it. One of the reps tried to cover it up by telling me that there is confusion on the part number matching because they used the same part number when they changed the oem part. That does not compute because if that were true, there would be no way to accurately distinguish the good parts from the bad ones. There 222 other steering complaints at ntsb so I'm not only one. I'm calling a lawyer because this is ridiculous. How can Mini let cars that have a known safety risk continue to be on the roads?.

Wife was driving her 2005 Mini Cooper (r50) when the power steering failed thus causing a very frightening and possibly very dangerous situation.

The power steering failed. Searching, this appears to be a very common problem.

Intermittent power steering failures while car is in motion. One minute power steering functions, next minute, no ps at all. Power steering pump continues to run even when engine is off and key out of ignition. After returning to vehicle, battery is dead as a result of continuously running pump or fan.

After driving around town for 15 minutes power steering stopped working and had to struggle to turn a corner. Had to make a wide turn. If another vehicle had been approaching, there would have been a collision. Very difficult to control this vehicle when power steering fails. This loss of power steering has happened four times within last two weeks. Research on internet shows this to be more than a common problem; it seems to be widespread. This much I do know: it scared the hell out of me and is dangerous. If BMW doesn't voluntarily fix the problem, then the government should force a recall on all affected vehicles before someone is seriously injured or dies.

Power steering pump failure. ## VIN failed ##.

Intermittent power steering failure. After long drive ~150 a loud buzzing under car continued after car engine was shut off. Moving the steering wheel made the buzzing change sounds. Starting and shutting the car's engine did not resolve the buzzing. Disconnected the battery to avoid battery failure.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph, the contact was exiting the highway when the power steering failed. The contact was not taken to the dealer for inspection. The vehicle was not repaired and the failure recurred several times after the vehicle would warm up. The manufacturer was notified and they stated that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The failure mileage was 69,500.

Power steering pump failure.

Power steering failed, called dealer twice and BMW company twice, knew about problems, but sent me in a circle. Dealer said to go to company for help and info, company said to go to dealer, very deceptive practices.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that while attempting to drive the power steering failed. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for inspection. However, the dealer was contacted who stated that the power steering unit might be defective. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 149,000.

Power steering failed when parking the car.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that the power steering failed while driving 40 mph, causing a loss of steering capabilities. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic for inspection where they stated that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 39,207. The VIN was not available.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper convertible. The contact stated that while driving 40 mph the power steering failed and all of the warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 88,000.

After driving at highway speed, I slowed down to turn into a parking lot when the power steering failed. The car could still be turned, but only with great effort and had there been any need to avoid another vehicle or pedestrian, it would have been impossible. After turning off the vehicle and restrarting, the power steering resumed working. The same failure has occurred on several other occasions but is only intermittent.

When this happens, it becomes very difficult to turn the steering wheel. The first time it happened, the power steering was fine and then all of a sudden became stiff. I was driving up a curvy mountain road when it happened and I had to slow down to make sure I could navigate the turns. The problem has happened 8-10 times since - sometimes with a completely cold car, other times after driving 25-30 miles, turning off the car and then turning it back on again. If, when I turn the car on, the power steering isn't working, I turn the car off, let it sit for 10 seconds or so and restart it. This process failed once, but after turning it off and on again, the power steering came back on. I have not experienced the power steering failing while driving since the first incident. However, my partner has experienced this problem twice while driving. I spoke with someone at the Mini Cooper dealership's service department in denver, CO regarding this problem and he didn't acknowledge that there have been any problems or investigations regarding this problem.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper s. The contact stated that the power steering failed and while at a traffic stop, the contact was unable to turn the wheel. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer and was told that the electronic power assist would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage and current mileages were 44,000.

I had been having problems with the power steering in my car going in and out at random times. To fix this problem I would just turn the car off and then back on. Now, however, the power steering is always off. I have managed to drive just fine for months without, because I simply don't have the money to get the system replaced. It has finally come to the time of year when I have to get my inspection renewed, and I have now learned that the car will not pass inspection in my state because of its lack of power steering. If the car cannot pass a state inspection without the power steering, how is it that there has not been a recall made because of the power steering system failure making the car unsafe to drive? there is clearly a design flaw with the power steering system. It is entirely unfair that not only has there not been a recall made forcing BMW to fix this design flaw, but there is also laws in place that force me to either stop driving, get a new car, or spend money I don't have to get it fixed.

The first problem was when the power steering failed for about 15 minutes. The vehicle became very difficulty to control, but eventually the steering started working again. In August the same problem occurred only this time for an hour. This made the vehicle almost useless. Today 10/2/2012 the power steering failed completely while my wife was on the interstate. It was physically tiring to maintain control of this tiny car. This vehicle is dangerous and we no longer feel comfortable driving it.

The power steering failed during driving and the vehicle became very difficult to steer. I had to pull over to access how much control I still had. The car continued to be very difficult to steer but I was able to drive home.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that the power steering failed and the vehicle was unable to be controlled. The contact crashed into a curve and punctured the rear driver side tire. In addition, the was an abnormal humming heard from the engine and the battery failed. The contact was advised by an independent mechanic that the power steering pump would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was unknown, but the current mileage was 102,000.

While driving approximately 45 mph, the power steering on my 2005 Mini Cooper failed and I had trouble turning the car. The power steering failure continued until I was able to pull into a parking lot and turned the car off. I let the car to cool down for approximately one hour before restarting it and the power steering worked fine the rest of the trip home. This was the second time I experienced this failure, but did not record the date, etc. Of the first incident so am unable to accurately report that. Both times that the power steering failed, it was only due to my driving vigilance and arm strength that I was able to successfully avoid an accident. The local Mini dealer cannot look at my car for almost two weeks to identify the problem and I am afraid to drive my car fearing another failure of the power steering.