general problems of the 2003 Mini Cooper S

Power steering went out without warning, causing loss of control while vehicle was in motion; Mini USA advised it was still driveable, but to be cautious due to lack of control/power steering; when parked, smoke began to plume from under hood where a fire was noticed in back of engine. Called Mini USA back and they advised us to not drive vehicle, as it was a safety hazard. Contacted Mini to set up recalled part (hydraulic power steering), but they were not willing to have car towed to dealer (120 miles from my residence).

Steering fluid continuously leaks - replace hydraulic hose twice - known defect - Mini refused to fix for free engine cooling - fan runs after shutoff continuously - known defect - Mini refused to fix for free electrical - doors, windows, sunroof fire off on their own while car is moving and when is parked. Will do this at highway speed or when sitting outside (rain or shine) - car unlocks itself and windows all open up -known defect - kind of distracting at highway speed -Mini refused to fix for free. Dealers will not fix these issues unless you make them recall vehicles with multiple small problems ( not just one big problem) - this model has 73 tsbs that dealers charge you to fix even though the problems are known and dangerous issues. In my mind, many small problems can be more dangerous than a few big ones - steering, door locks, cooling - not good. This is an old car but these problems are old too - known tsbs should not be subject to warranty time frames, they are still dangerous after the warranty expires. When these cars are routinely serviced, these known/dangerous issues need to be corrected or the cars should be taken off the road. I used the date of the last incident, not the first one. Thank you.

Tl the contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that on three occasions the mat occupancy sensor on the front passenger's seat was replaced due to the warning light being illuminated. The vehicle was taken to Mini of birmingham located at (2001 tom williams way, birmingham, al 35210, 205-267-4505. The contact was informed that the mat sensor needed to be replaced at a cost of $1,200. The contact was also informed that the part may also be available at the local junkyard. The mat sensor was replaced however, the failure recurred. The contact was informed that the seat should be replaced which was still pending. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.

Complete failure of the internal controller area network, resulting in blown electronics, service engine soon light, abs light, dsc light and air bag light. Cause was apparently a faulty radio. However, a replacement radio failed when installed in the vehicle, bringing more controller area network problems.

Driver's side electric window would not open for 18 hours. This occurred after a heavy rain storm and did not clear until after a 20 minute drive the following day. Attempts to open the window the day and evening of the failure while parked and driving all failed.