Power Steering Failed problems of the 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible

Driving up a residential street on my return from work, steering very abruptly became very difficult. Apparent power steering pump failure.

Parked at shopping mall and not running for at least 30 minutes, come out to Mini cooper on fire. Smoke coming out of engine area, high pitch fan whirling, electrical smell. Power steering failed, shorted out, and caught on fire. Vehicle was not even on and parked when this happened. Appears to be a major failure many others owning a Mini cooper have experienced. BMW/Mini cooper of USA did nothing for us and put it all on our and my insurances shoulders. Amazed so many cases of this same issue have happened yet they do nothing and seem to expect everyone else to foot the bill. Got the run around by BMW and unless it was for my insurance company, the Mini would have been scrapped.

Drove on the highway at 65 mph for about 15 mins. After exiting the highway, I realized the steering wheel was very difficult to turn. Fortunately, I was coming to a traffic junction and I was able to stop the car and pull aside without any incident. From what I've read on the internet, there is an inherent problem with the power steering pump that causes the power steering to fail intermittently while driving. This is a very serious problem that can easily cause an accident. There is also a whining noise that I hear coming from the engine compartment while driving the car which I found is also related to the power steering pump problem.

Power steering started failing approx. 3000 mile ago, at lower speeds the power steering would fail. Needed to restart the car to have power work agin. Finally the power steering fan would stay on when the car was turned off. Took the car to Mini dealership, technician was approx. 30 feet from car and he had a diagnosis . Power steering pump had failed and so did the power steering fan unit. Since the car did not properly shut down I had to replace the battery. I had contacted Mini USA whe the problem started and they would not do anything until the could replicate the issue of the power steering failing. This went nowhere fast. When pump and fan finally again they still would nothing for me and would not acknowledge any issues with the car.

Power steering failed on low and high speed. Had to slow down to stop,key off and rekey several times to get power steering to return. This has happened many times since the first time. It happens without warning and with no notice. By looking at this website and online forums I see this is a ongoing concern,and that this concern resulted in a recall in canada. I would hope that NHTSA would adopt the same recal as canada,as this defect is not the fault of the consumer. The appx cost of a known defect in the 1200. 00 to 2000. 00 dollar range that is not the fault of the consumer seems grossly unfair.

2005 Mini cooper power steering abruptly failed while driving at 55 mph on a winding 2 lane rural road. I was able to keep the car on the road and was able to drive the car home with great difficulty. Had this been a heavily traveled highway, the results could have been much different. When it happened, it took a little time to figure out what was going on and I found myself in the oncoming lane before I was able to recover.

My power steering failed as I was making a turn in my neighborhood. The problem is intermittent and a little unnerving. I am strong enough to drive the car without the power assist, but this is not true of my wife. If the problem were to occur when she was driving she might lose control.

Same issue as complaints 10378962 and 10380308, related to investigation 10-038. Power steering failed while attempting to make a right hand turn.

The power steering pump failed suddenly and was unable to turn the car. Updated 08/24/11 updated 08/29/11.

Same issue as complaint 10378962, related to investigation 10-038. Power steering failed when attempting to make a left hand turn.

Power steering failed while attempting to turn corner. Failure continued for several miles/hours and then began working again after a period of inactivity.

While driving my 2005 Mini cooper, my power steering went out. I was in the middle of a right turn from a very busy street when the steering went out in the middle of the turn. I nearly crashed head-on into oncoming traffic and the steering was so difficult, I pulled a shoulder and back muscle just trying to complete the turn. The power steering was out for the rest of my trip. Since then, the power steering has failed intermittently on a daily basis and comes with no warning. It will drive for several miles with no problem and then suddenly stop working.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible. The contact heard a high pitched squeaking noise while making left and right turns. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where she was told that the power steering pump was failing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileages were 72,000. The VIN was unavailable.

After about 77,000 miles on my 2005 Mini cooper, I encountered sudden and intermittent difficulty with the steering wherein the power steering would abruptly fail. The first two incidents occurred ~3-4 months ago, both directly after starting the vehicle's engine and pulling out of parking. The most recent incidents occurred within the past 6 weeks, randomly during the first 40 miles of my commute. After each incident, I was able to regain full control of the steering by pulling over and shutting off the vehicle's engine and then reengaging it. There have now been a total of 6 incidents. The most recent incident, a few days ago, occurred while I was driving the vehicle on a winding highway and was making a turn. When the power steering failed, it was extremely difficult to correct the angle/speed of the vehicle's turn and a crash into the oncoming traffic lane seemed extremely likely. After cautious braking and relying on the remaining manual steering, using very firm and swift hand-over-hand motion on the steering wheel, I was able to maintain some control over the vehicle's wheels. Then, engaging the vehicle's hazard lights, I was eventually able to pull over at the next available highway's shoulder, but it was an extreme awkward maneuver requiring some of the drivers of vehicles around me to adjust their own speeds and turns. I have since brought the vehicle to the dealership's service center and am awaiting the results of the vehicle inspection in response to my complaints. I do not intend to drive the vehicle again until the issue with the power steering is completely resolved, for my own safety and the safety of other drivers. A crash in the future would seem inevitable, otherwise, with inconsistent power over the steering during any commute that involves many winding turns. (if the power steering could be completely disengaged, allowing only manual steering, it would seem far safer than for it to randomly turn off in the midst of driving).

Power steering pump failed and lost steering ability. The relay for the cooling fan remained in the closed position causing the battery to fail. I had to replace the power steering pump and battery. There have been many complaints of the same problem. There should be a recall to fix this before someone gets killed.

2005 Mini Cooper Convertible at first intermittent power steering failure and now complete power steering failure. The first time it happened very suddenly while making a left turn, I almost ran into another car. Now I am not driving the car until I can afford to have it repaired.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini cooper s. The contact stated that the power steering failed intermittently. When the failure occurred it became extremely hard to turn the steering wheel. The vehicle was not inspected by the dealer when the complaint was filed. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage and current mileages were 15000.

2005 Mini cooper power steering pump failure, while making a turn, without notice my power steering pump failed my vehicle has aprox. 80k miles on it. Mini is remanufactuing the pump with design improvements this tells me they know something is wrong with the original pump, they should be made to repair the original pumps fee of charge not the $800. 00 they want just for the pump. This is not an isolated incident.

2005 Mini cooper s convertible. Just over 50,000 miles. Today, whilst driving to lunch, my power steering failed. There was no warning, it just quit, mid-drive. The car is now very difficult to steer. This could have easily caused an accident. Looking online, I see that this is a common failure, yet there have been no recalls. . Read more...

2005 Mini cooper - sudden loss of steering on interstate highway at 70 mph. Dealer stated power steering pump failure & not uncommon in 5 year old car. Not covered under warranty. Power steering pump replaced.

Regular driving at around 6pm at about 40mph around a bend, complete power steering failure, the car became very heavy to steer, with no prior warning, and no warning lights. Almost caused an accident as the car failed to steer. Nothing has been done, the warranty has been over for 3 months and Mini are saying a goodwill repair might be available, but will not do a free diagnostic, help us get to a dealership or promise anything beforehand. A new power steering pump is likely needed, as per the evidence of the european recall, and other Mini driver testimony.