Power Steering Pump problems of the 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible

Power steering pump stop working while driving turning in a city street.

Battery died and replaced. Drove 2 days and battery died and again replaced. Drove and steering became extremely stiff. Checked fluids and no power steering fluid. Happened again with both battery and p/s fluid. Became aware of recall in 04 and 05 Mini cooper's and took to dealer. Bad power steering pump and fan as well as 2 hoses. Was told my car was not covered under recall because the build date is may. Was quoted $1300+ for repairs.

Power steering goes out. Very hard to turn the wheel. Its like having no steering at all at times. I have two Mini coopers. This one has not yet to get the recall for the steering pump. I have a recall for the other Mini that I own but that one doesnt have a problem.

Power steering pump goes out from time to time, brought it to Mini dealerships once and was working fine when we brought it in, and was told nothing was wrong, and was sent on our way. Now had to disconnect battery to replace a part, and when reconnecting the battery, power steering pumps runs and wont shut off. Vehicle was stationary. Please hep, and thank you.

The power steering pump starts and stops whenever it wants to. You can be driving and the pump stops and the steering gets very hard. The pump also runs after the car is shut off. I took the car to the dealer and was told that there was an extended warranty to cover the problem but they could not repair it for two months until parts came in. I took the car back when the parts came in and then when they ran the VIN they said the cutoff was in Feb and my car was built in April so it is not covered under the extended warranty. I called miini and they said that they worked extensively with you to figure out what years had the bad parts. When I look on line I see many problems noted for 2005 and even 2006 and it looks like canada made them recall the cars. Would you revisit and see what is going on with the 2005 models before someone is seriously injured. Thank you.

The manufacturer has recently stated they are going to extend the life of the warranty for the power steering pump for models ranging from the years 2002-2005 and some 2005 Mini convertibles. I have a 2005 Mini convertible, and have the faulty power steering pump that they have extended the warranty life for. I immediately called my local Mini dealership to get my car fixed and found that there is a waiting list to get the work done. From what I have been told the parts are entirely unavailable, and I can expect to wait up to a month before I can expect to be able to get my car fixed. Till then however I cannot get my cars inspection renewed as in my state a car cannot pass without power steering. I have been left without any feasible means of transportation, and upon begging Mini to help with my problem which they have created I was told that they were going to do nothing about it. This leaves me with either having to break texas state law and drive the car without current inspection, or drop out of school as I will have no way of getting there until the Mini fixes the problem.

After igniting my car, sometimes power steering doesn't work. All I can do at this moment is that I turn off and restart my car again. And most of times if I restart my car, power steering works fine. Also power steering once in a while stops to work when I drive slowly, e. G when I drive local. I have to restart my car in this case too. Until a couple of days ago, I felt this problem only happened when I ignited my car or drove local, so I thought this is a minor issue as long as I can restart my car safely. But the most dangerous moment occurred two days ago when I was making a turn to exit on parkway. Suddenly it was very hard to control the car on highway, and I had to stop at side road and restart. I brought my car to local mechanic and had him examine it yesterday. He said power steering wheel pump needs to be replaced.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible. The contact stated that while driving 45 mph the power steering became unresponsive. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who diagnosed that the power steering pump was defective and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who did not offer any assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 44,776. Updated 01/18/lj the stated she experienced a total failure of the power steering as she rounded a curve. The sudden loss of power steering forced her off the road and nearly into a ditch. The consumer was informed it would cost $1400 to replace the steering pump. Updated 02/28/12.

The power steering on my 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible suddenly failed on a turn, nearly causing me to go into a ditch. My Mini dealer told me it was probably the power steering pump & would cost $1400 to replace. I researched the problem on the internet & found this was a common issue with the Mini cooper & that an investigation was taking place into the defective pump & that a recall might be forthcoming. I called Mini USA's customer service dept. Their rep told me that they were aware of the issue & that they might be able to offer "goodwill" assistance in getting it replaced if I took it to my dealer for verification that it was a pump failure. I took it to the dealer who verified that the pump needed replaced. Their service department said this had been a common problem & that they were aware of the complaints made about the pump going bad. I called Mini USA's customer service, spoke to a supervisor who told me she'd get back to me. A week later, she called & told me that my request for assistance has been denied & that I would be responsible for the replacement. I strongly feel that, in light of the numerous complaints about the power steering pump, BMW/Mini should be held accountable for its replacement. $1400 is an incredible amount of money to replace something that shouldn't have gone bad in the first place. There are no local mechanics who can take repair this so Mini USA/BMW has us right where they want us - powerless to fight a big company & helpless because we need our vehicles. I would have never expected this to happen on a car with less than 45,000 miles on it. Suddenly losing one's power steering can be extremely dangerous. I encourage NHTSA to further investigate this vehicle's power steering pump defect & issue a recall to ensure the safety of the vehicle's drivers, passengers & anyone who could be injured due to sudden loss of its power steering.

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible. The contact stated the steering column locked and the vehicle would not move. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated there was a failure with the steering electric power assist. The cost would be $1000 for the repairs. The dealer stated they would give her a return call if they repair the vehicle under warranty. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 102,000. Updated 07/08/lj the dealer replaced the power steering pump. Updated 07/29/11.

I had two separate incidents of losing power steering in my 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible. About a month ago, I was driving and made a right turn. The steering wheel felt very heavy and it was extremely hard to make the turn - complete loss of power steering. The problem persisted for any turn on the way home. The next time I drove the car, the steering seemed fine, and continued to seem fine until yesterday afternoon (March 8, 2011). Once again, I made a right turn and found that I had no power steering. I needed to stop for gas, so after some rather tricky maneuvers to get parked by a gas pump, and shutting the car off, the power steering seemed ok again. I have seen where there are multiple reports of similar problems, so I wanted to add my incident to your database.

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

The contact owns a 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible. The contact stated that after she parked the vehicle and shut the vehicle off, she heard a loud noise from the vehicle. The vehicle was driven home and the contact unplugged the battery, which stopped the loud noise that she was hearing. The vehicle was taken to a dealer who informed the contact that she needed to replace the power steering pump. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that there was nothing they could do. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was 69,998.

I own a 2005 Mini cooper. It has a power steering pump fan that has gone out, and is causing unsafe steering issues. I understand NHTSA is investigating this issue.

I was on my regular commute through city streets. After about 10 miles of driving I was going about 40mph on a fairly straight road. On the next light curve I noticed the wheel was more difficult to turn. I slowed down to turn into a side road and that's when I realized the power steering must have been out. I checked the reservoir and it was full. I called the dealer and they said they were aware of many complaints of power steering going out. They also mentioned that there is no recall for the power steering. Dealer notified me there would be a $100 charge for diagnostics. If its found to be the power steering fan it would cost $300 plus labor. If it's the pump it would be $800 plus labor. Warranty expired 5 months ago. Apparently Mini does not want to have to pay to fix a problem that numerous Mini owners are having. This is a safety issue! having the power steering go out mid-drive can easily cause an accident!.

I was driving on the highway when I noticed my steering felt "tight". It was difficult to navigate a curve. I tried to pull into a rest area when I realized I had almost no steering ability. I was able to turn the car by using both hands. I almost crashed on the ramp. It was a very scary experience. The problem is still there. I spoke with the dealer. It is my power steering pump. It is a very expensive repair and it seems there are lots of complaints. I am very glad I did not have to do any emergency turns, I would not have been able to steer the car. This could have been a disaster.