Power Steering Failed problems of the 2003 Mini Cooper S - part 1

Occasionally the steering over my Mini Cooper S is becoming very hard. It seems like the power steering is failing. The car then can only be steered with a lot of difficulty. I can no longer risk to have my daughter or wife drive this car. I checked the steering fluid and it is at optimal levels. It usually happens at lower speed, but I have not driven it on the freeway since this issue started to appear.

Power steering pump failed while driving.

We know of twice that our car's power steering pump failed while in motion. After BMW was finally forced into a recall for the power steering pump failure and we received a notification, we took our car to century BMW in greenville, SC. The service department checked our work regarding replacement pump, fan, etc. And deemed it 100% satisfactory. We submitted the paperwork and invoice for the repair and waited (requested . After 16 weeks and no reimbursement or notification, we called and was informed by the service department manager that BMW wouldn't pay us anything because we didn't use oem parts. Why would we keep replacing the pump (this was the 3rd pump that we know of) with a defective one (by zf) that kept quitting? we replaced it with dorman (well-known manufacturer of quality parts) which had a life-time warranty (life-time!) and was much cheaper. The sd manager even said that since he'd seen so many repairs using that brand of power steering pump he had researched them and found nothing wrong with them. But BMW decided they wouldn't pay for this. There was nothing in the recall letter that said oem had to be used or they wouldn't reimburse for repairs. I believe BMW saw so many dorman pumps used they knew they could save a lot of money by refusing to pay. We filed a complaint with the SC dept. Of consumer affairs but BMW wouldn't answer them so they just dropped it, letting BMW get by with this. We were only requesting $721. 04 which is less than half of what a repair shop would have charged. Can you do anything about this? we filed the complaint with SC consumer affairs in December of 2017, took the car to BMW in may of 2017 so this has been going on for a while. Have other owners had this problem? has a lawsuit been started against BMW?.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. While driving at various speeds, the steering became very difficult to maneuver. After turning off and restarting the vehicle 30 minutes later, the power steering returned to normal, but then failed again. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electro-hydraulic power steering failed and needed to be replaced. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15v660000 (steering); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the dealer wanted to charge for the repair because of the mileage on the vehicle. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 181,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

I was approaching a corner on a back road and half way through the power steering failed which caused the car to go off the road rolling two and a half times landing on the roof.

Power steering pump failed at 69,000 miles. Pump and fan were replaced under warranty, but dealer required additional work to be performed to keep extended warranty in force. The work included replacement of all power steering hoses at a cost of over $600. 00.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. While driving 40 mph and attempting to make a turn, the power steering failed. As a result, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. A police report was filed. The contact sustained contusions to the face and lost a tooth. The occupants of the other vehicle sustained unknown injuries. Medical attention was not required. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 213,000.

I was exiting an expressway and while on the ramp coming off, the steering became very unresponsive and heavy. In doing some research on the internet it sounds like my power steering pump has failed.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini copper s. The contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the power steering assist failed without warning. The vehicle was maneuvered into a parking space where the contact shut off and restarted the engine. The vehicle was able to be driven to the contact's place of residence but had not been taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnosis of the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 83,000.

Driving home from work getting off the turnpike to take my exit right, my 2003 Mini cooper kept going straight. Very frightening experience as I could not turn the wheel coming off highway speeds. There is no warning at all when this happens, you just cannot turn the wheel to negotiate your turn. I've driven cars without power steering, but when you have an electric power steering failure it is impossible to steer this car. BMW must take responsibility for this well documented dangerous failure and do the right thing or someone is going to get seriously hurt and/or hurt someone else. Cost to fix the steering pump failure - $1200. 00.

Complete power steering failure. Faulty/failed pump internal control circuitry.

The power steering pump fails causing a loss of power steering in my vehicle while driving. This sporatically occurs while driving causing a safety hazard as it becomes very difficult to steer the vehicle.

I was going around a 90 degree corner at about 15 mph when the steering seemed to lock up. I quickly realized that the power steering had failed, and I wrestled the steering wheel to complete the turn. Since then, the power steering has not worked 90% of the time.

Power steering pump failed, steering became very difficult. Pump remained on after car was turned off and drained battery, now car will not run. Very dangerous issue!.

2003 Mini Cooper S. Car over heated and power steering failed. Pulled off to the side of the road. Fan on power steering pump failed, caused pump to fail and car to over heat.

Power assist steering failed to assist making it extremely difficult to turn a corner.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. While driving approximately 10 mph, the power steering completely failed without warning causing difficulty in maneuvering the steering wheel. The contact pulled over to the side of the road and the engine was turned off. Upon restarting, the contact resumed cautiously with the steering malfunction. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who advised that the failure was related to the power steering pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The failure mileage was 50,000.

Complete power steering failure, on surface road in castro valley, CA. The sudden loss of power steering caused me to continue straight, while trying to regain control of car, I continued into on coming traffic, if another car was in opposite direction a significant accident would have occurred. Prior to this failure this was no evidence of a repair needed.

2003 Mini Cooper S power steering box failure only 70,000 miles.

Power steering abruptly failed in rush hour traffic. Was fortunately able to get vehicle to the shop for repair without further incident. Power steering failures are unfortunately almost guaranteed in my year and make vehicle. The independent mechanic said that this is a very common complaint and Mini USA has even redesigned the power steering pump due to the high failure rate, and also recommended replacing the fan due to high likelihood of shorting or fire. I participate in an enthusiast forum where these reports are common which is why I took it to the shop immediately, to avoid further in-driving failure or worse, a car fire. This issue has been investigated in the past and it is unconscionable that neither NHTSA nor Mini USA has recalled these vehicles for what is an almost guaranteed failure with obvious and potentially grave safety risks. I am paying $1200 for the repair which is expensive but not out of line with what others are paying and worth my personal piece of mind since Mini USA will not publicly admit there is a problem. Vehicle is a 2003 Mini Cooper S with 87,000 miles.

While driving at a speed of approximately 35-40, the power steering assist failed completely. The car became almost impossible to steer and created a very unsafe moment as I made a 90 degree turn. I was able to get the car home with great physical effort involved. The problem seems exactly as described in on-line descriptions from other Mini owners. It is a very dangerous condition . . . . It is also very expensive to repair. I am surprised that a recall has not been required due to the obvious safety issue!.

Power steering failed after 27,000 miles. Intermittently works for 5 minutes in the morning and sometimes intermittently functions when driving which creates a dangerous situation. Had the Mini dealer inspect it from Mini corporates recommendation. Dealer indicated the electronics are malfunctioning and that they had plenty of replacement units in stock for circa $1,600. 00. My claim was rejected because it is not uncommon for earlier Mini cooper power steering units to fail. I have investigated and there are multiple companies now in the business of rebuilding/remanufacturing specifically Mini cooper power steering units. Odd that a relatively low volume vehicle could generate so many business opportunities to fix a problem that apparently does not exist.

2003 Mini Cooper S power steering pump failure. Sudden loss of steering assist and nearly wrecked the car if my wife was driving I doubt she could have saved it. Google search turns up hundreds of like posts. On another quick search, as of 2006, 50 pump failures resulted in the total loss of the car because of fire. And these are people that post. Maybe 10% of the Mini drivers post online. This is a disgrace!.

Hi, I'm the third owner of a 2003 Mini Cooper S since February 2010, located in montreal, quebec, canada. In the begining of may 2011 my car started to have big issues with the power steering. The power steering pump is running discontinous, all the lights (front, back and dashboard) are dimming and after just afew miles of driving the steering wheel becomes stiff and hard to turn. I have this problem now everyday when I try to drive the car. I've checked the power steering pump fan and it spins free. No blow of the f5 fuse (as other people reported). It happend to me in the last year for 3 times, but only for a short time. The power steering pump went out, but few hours after I turned off the engine and didn't drive the car, the pump came back normally (excepting the continous whining noise of it). Didn't take it to the dealer yet for a pump replacement. I know the power steering pump failure is a common problem on Minis 2002-2006 and I want to claim this problem on my car too. Hope this problem to become a recall soon for Mini/BMW. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6).

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. While the contact was driving approximately 30 mph, the power steering failed to operate. The vehicle was driven to the side of the road, and the engine was turned off. The vehicle began to function normally within thirty seconds before the failure recurred. The was able to continue driving. He vehicle was inspected and he observed that electric power steering pump had failed. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 91,000. The VIN was unavailable.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. While driving approximately 20 mph, the power steering failed without prior warning. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The contact was awaiting a response from the technician to determine the cause of failure. The contact discovered that the power steering pump defect was a common problem while doing further research on the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000. The VIN was unavailable.

2003 Mini Cooper S just had a power steering system failure resulting in at least $600. 00 in repair cost. Car only has 80,000 miles on it and when the system failed, steering went to manual effort, no assist, no warning. Fortunately I was driving and not my wife as she would have had difficulty completing the turn. I know the steering still operates, but if you aren't ready for the drastically increased effort required to complete a turn, you will loose control of the vehicle. Half-way through a turn in traffic conditions is no time to find out you don't have the strength to finish it. There was absolutely no warning of impending failure. To have a major safety and control system of your vehicle fail this quickly (only 80,000 miles) leaves me wondering as to the safety of the other vital systems on the vehicle. Mini made changes on the power steering system on later vehicles to address this without having any recall or voluntary repair program for retrofit to the older vehicles. This is not fair and definitely not safe.

Experienced a complete loss of power steering while driving at high-speed and preparing to exit the highway. As such, I nearly drove off the road attempting to turn the vehicle on the exist ramp -- very hard emergency braking was necessary because it was virtually impossible to turn, and thus, control the car. I later discovered by Mini of san diego (who conducted repairs) that the power steering pump had failed and had to be replaced costing approximately $1,100. They also informed me that chronic problems with Mini power steering pumps were being investigated and that a recall might be issued to correct the problem. I researched further and believe that the 1st year being reviewed is the 2004. I believe that the 2003 should also be included as well in the event of a recall since I experienced the very same problem being investigated, and the danger resulting from the defect is considerable.

Power steering pump failure. The failure happened on a snow covered curvy road, lost control and went into the ditch. No damage, was able to get the car slowed enough before crashing. Thankful no other cars were in the other lane. Was able to drive the car out under its own power. Will not drive the car now.

Power steering pump failed, causing hard to control conditions in vehicle.

I purchased a 2003 Mini Cooper S used in November 2007. It had 30,000 miles. Shortly after purchase the power steering pump went out. The dealership replaced it promptly, Dec. 2007. I am now experiencing intermittent power steering failure again, at 79,000 miles, 49,000 miles on a new pump. It comes and goes while driving. Very dangerous while taking curves.

2003 Mini Cooper S - power steering has repeatedly failed at high and low speed driving. Wife ran onto sidewalk once when control was lost. Smells like something is burning when driving. Steering fails. When car cools control comes back, but fails again after less than a mile. Called 3 dealerships who all knew & had repaired cars with the same issues. Estimated $1500-2000 out of my pocket to fix with no help from manufacturer. I complained that the car had barely 40,000 miles on it and failure should not be occurring on german engineered car. One service tech said "the problems are in the pumps and those aren't designed or manufactured by BMW, so it is not bmws' fault. " but they are the ones who sold these cars with theses issues for 4 years. Flushed power steering fluid myself which was burnt and black. Replaced with new recommended fluid. Lasted about 30 miles before burning smell returned and steering problems continued as before. Saw online article where BMW cautioned that 2002-2005 Minis may have steering issues but no recall would be issued. The article estimated 225,000 cars at risk and a recall might destroy the Mini line. So be it. 2002 and 2003 models should be included in investigation of 2004 and 2005 model years. Considering selling the car to recoup investment, but after hearing of numerous steering failures and even fires that total the cars and even burn down homes and garages where they are parked makes me feel like I would be putting someone else unwittingly in danger. The car has currently sat in storage with the battery removed from the car while I debate whether or not to replace the power steering pump in hopes of fixing the problem or get rid of the car. I would have to tell they buyer the issues, which means less money, and I still owe $6500. I would lose all equity I have in a car I paid $20,000 for just a couple of years ago. BMW should fix this problem or I and others have unsafe cars worth a fraction of cost.

Power steering failure. While driving the Mini for about 20 minutes we made a turn on our road home and the power steering failed with no warning whatsoever! it was almost impossible to turn the wheel! we feel very fortunate because we live on a windy road that has many large redwood trees on the sides of the road with a creek down a ravine. We could have easily hit one of those trees head on. Or if we weren't able to turn the wheels we could have ended up at the bottom of a ravine in the creek! extremely dangerous!.

2003 Mini coopers- power steering failed during exit from nys thruway-ran off the ramp due to unexpected loss of steering power. No damage or injury- turned engine off- restarted- power steering back on. Condition has occurred several times since.

Power steering failed, making it very difficult to steer. Nearly impossible to turn wheel while stopped. My wife can barely drive the car. From researching this site and other sites, my situation seems to be the same as thousands of others, and I would like my name to be added to the current investigation.