Steering Rack And Pinion Problems of Mini Cooper

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA campaign number: 15v660000 (steering); however, the failure of the power steering pump caused metal fragments to enter the rack and pinion, which caused a failure. The manufacturer was notified. The contact was informed that because of the tread act, the manufacturer was only obligated to repair the power steering pump under the recall. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 67,155.

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My power steering failed. Cause unconfirmed as yet, but this apparently is a known problem. Power steering started again when I restarted the car, but now the pump motor (or perhaps the fan) won't shut off and there is no fuse to disable. Must disconnect the battery to shut it off and avoid draining the battery. Steering did not lock up, but very difficult to overcome the rack-and-pinion steering linkage resistance.

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Power steering failed. Car is rack and pinion steering and can be driven without the pump but had I been going around a curve when it failed, the increased wheel effort required could have resulted in a serious accident!.

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Driving home from work at about 70 mph, the power steering failed. I was going around a bend in the road when suddenly the power steering failed that almost caused an accident. Without notice the car reverted to "rack-and-pinion" mode. I was fortunate that time to gain control of the car and did not go over the side of the road or hit another car. I didn't drive the car for several months then took it to a few mechanics for an estimate. Dealer says replace the steering pump at $1200 but they will not honor any assistance due to the premature failure of the steering pump or the electrical connection to the cooling fan failure. The power steering fan quits then the pump gets hot and shuts off. I called Mini USA today and they said they will not assist me in paying for the manufacturing defect. My pump failure is intermittent suggesting that the problem is electrical and on point for a recall on 2004 Mini Coopers. My car has the same problem and was manufactured in 2004, but is the 1707 car outside their "official" recall range. Mini/BMW sent a "mr. Driver" letter out on 12/2004 for this "recall. " my car had not been purchased yet. The dealer says that replacing the steering pump will solve all the problems including the electrical issue. Apparently, the new steering pump has a design feature that eliminates the electrical failure problem (defect code: 0032630100 & labor code: 0055719). The more the pump overheats because of the fan non-operation problem, the pump will need to be replaced, it will be burnt out. One thing is sure, I have a premature failure of the steering pump making my car dangerous to drive. I can't afford to fix it. Nor do I believe, I should be responsible for the manufactures design failure. The car is not fit to drive as intended. Why is BMW getting away with this? many thousands and thousands of drivers have this same problem.

My 2004 Mini experienced intermittent steering problems in Feb. Of 2011. Steering became difficult at times and then nearly all the time. Got new power steering pump. Mostly fixed but felt odd at times. Steering became permanently difficult in June 2011 and had pump replaced but didn't fix the problem. Advised to replace rack and pinion. Plan to do so. Steering bills at about $2,000.

The contact owns a 2004 Mini Cooper. The contact was driving 70 mph when the power steering malfunctioned and the vehicle became difficult to control. The contact stated that the power steering pump was replaced several years ago by a local mechanic. The vehicle was taken back to the local mechanic for the most recent failure for a replacement to the power steering pump and the rack and pinion. The contact stated the vehicle was unsafe to drive and was concerned with the possibility of the failure causing a crash. The failure mileage was 96,000. Updated 06/24/11 updated 06/30/11.