general problems of the 2003 Mini Cooper S

I was starting my vehicle and it made a bad knocking noise then it was like crunching noise so I stopped turn it off and waited for a while went back to the car still making a strange noise but once I put it in the drive it stopped making noise drove down the road a bit and talking about apparently slips off of the car so it just pulls over inside all the all the wearing lights came on so pulled over apparently this happens quite often but the harmonic balancer separated and with spinning against itself and knocked the pieces off of it and through the serpentine belt so that needs to replace now that should not happen it's one piece is this one piece this needs to be recalled for these whatever cars had these harmonic balancers is dangerous and it could blow your car up thank you.

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).

Tl-the contact owns 2003 Mini Cooper S. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15v660000 (steering) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Ad.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15v660000 (steering) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

Suddenly out of nowhere as soon as I started the car to back out of my driveway & go to work the steering was completely locked up, only having approximately an inch to inch and a half of mobility in either direction. I then turned the car off, let it sit off for about 5 mins then re-started it and the steering was still the same way.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15v660000 (steering) however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

I was driving down the street and was going to make a right to turn, slowed down to say hi to my roommate who was leaving and went out of gear when I went back in my steering was extremely stiff and I could barely move the wheel.

I drove my car to my sports team practice, parked and promptly had to relocate my car to an adjacent lot. The power steering did not work upon starting the car to move it and there was no evidence or warning of it's failure. Not even the check engine light went on.

After leaving the highway and negotiating the off ramp, the power steering simply stopped working. The steering became extremely difficult so I pulled over, shut the car off and lifted hood to inspect. The was no visual indication of issues an fluid level is fine. After restarting the steering worked fine again. Several days later the same situation occurred in the middle of a corner, it was all I could to maintain control through the corner. I read where there was some "opinions" that if power steering cooling fan was bad it could cause this to happen so I replaced. Still happens intermittently. I will likely pull the steering unit to inspect but the biggest issue is it gives a false sense of security. When you restart the engine everything seems ok so you continue, sometimes for weeks. The problem is that the failure can occur in the middle of a turn and cause a serious accident. There is also no lighted indication of the failure on your dash, so you don,t expect it. This will end up killing someone if it hasn't already.

I purchased a used Mini Cooper S six months ago, in December 2011. I drove my vehicle as I normally due, just across town about 10 miles, and it was fine. I parked my car and went inside. When I came out, about 10-15 minutes later, and tried to back out of the driveway, the power steering was non-existent. I pulled back into the driveway and checked the fluid level and let the car cool down for a few more minutes. When I restarted the car, the power steering was back. Since then, the power steering is intermittent. If the car is hot, it usually does not work, but if the car is given a chance to cool down, then it seems to work, but the problem is occurring more and more frequently and I have found many complaints from other Mini owners.

While driving, it felt as though my power steering had gone out. I continued to drive to my location. Once in the parking lot, steering became near impossible, especially while going at very slow speeds. When I went to back out of my parking spot that evening, it was unable to be done, causing me to call a tow truck to tow my car.

The power steering went out just after I purchased it. I see that there are multiple complaints about this problem for nearly every year model that this vehicle has been produced for the american market. I called a local dealership to see if there was a recall and I stated that message boards online were loaded with angry customers complaining about the same thing. They refused to admit that there's a problem and want to charge me $2500! please, NHTSA, do something about this!.

Power steering seem a little hard but while cruising on the freeway it seemed like it almost went completely out. Hasnt happened like that since but its still a little harder to turn that what I think it should be.

While driving to work at approximately 25 miles per hour and in the process of turning around a bend, my power steering gave out. As the curve was of decreasing radius, this failure was evident by a significant (>100%) increase in resistance to steering angle change and upon completion of the turn a complete lack of automatic return to a neutral steering path (the car wanted to "stay" in the turn). Returning the car to neutral steering angle also required significant (>100%) additional application of force. Upon pull-over and restart of the car, the power steering returned, but only for approximately one minute of driving. For the remainder of the drive the power steering fluctuated in and out making driving difficult. Car will be taken to dealer for fault diagnosis this week as the issue has persisted and continued to worsen (longer droughts of power steering operation) over the past week.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that accelerating from a stop and attempting a turn at approximately 5 mph, the power steering would seize and become difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer nor repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure and current mileages were approximately 114,000.

Power steering unit on my 2003 Mini Cooper S started to operate intermittently making it very difficult to maintain lane control. Without power steering I would grip hard and barely make it through a turn, then the power steering would operate causing me to oversteer into the adjacent lanes or oncoming traffic. I've been driving cars, trucks and motorcycles for over 40 yrs and have never experienced a driving situation as dangerous as this. I will no longer allow my daughters to drive this car until I feel confident the problem is resolved.

Power steering has become intermittent. When the car is started, sometimes the power steering is functioning and sometimes it is not.

While driving, the power steering assist will intermittently fail completely, making it very difficult to steer the vehicle, and greatly increasing the likelihood of an accident. The fluid levels are correct, and power steering will return after shutting the vehicle off and letting it sit for a while. . I have not yet taken corrective action.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph the steering wheel became very stiff and within a few minutes he smelled fumes inside the vehicle. He opened the hood of the vehicle and it was on fire. The fire department was notified; however, there was no mention of a fire report. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or local mechanic for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was contacted and did not offer any assistance since the vehicle was not included in any of the recalls. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and current mileage was 113,000.

I was leaving my home when I notice, as soon as I start my car, that my steering is very stiff. I have to use my whole body to turn the wheel and maneuver the car. It has been going on for almost a week now off and on. Go online and research problem to find its going to cost me near $1000 to fix.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. When the contact started the ignition, the power steering warning indicator illuminated with a sudden loss of power steering. A strong electrical burning odor emitted inside of the vehicle. The failure occurred six times when the vehicle was in motion. An authorized dealer was notified and advised the contact to have the failure diagnosed to determine the cause. The will schedule an appointment for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not aware of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 106,000.

My Mini Cooper S has less than 27,000 miles on it. It has been carefully driven and has sustained no crash damage. Had several warning lights come on the car and had failures with the abs, steering angle sensor, and front wheel sensor. In addition and most importantly, I was told that I had "mushrooming" and cracked front shock tower mounts on both sides of the car, and that alone would cost over $1,400 to repair. I was told that hitting potholes or other road hazards caused this. In addition, the dealer, roadshow Mini in memphis, TN, stated that the shock towers and front bushings were considered wear items, and that they could be redamaged immediately if the car came in contact with another pothole. Additionally, I was told by Mini USA that no engineers or national representatives could be contacted, and that the dealer would handle all questions and concerns. I asked if there were any upgrades and fixes offered by Mini and was told that there were none. However, this problem seems to be fairly common, and there are several aftermarket companies that address this issue,. The service manager at the dealership stated that he sees this problem on 3-4 cars in the shop every month. It appears that this is a design flaw, that there can be strut collapse or suspension failure while driving, and that Mini should have addressed this problem with these cars. For normal driving conditions to have resulted in deformed and cracked strut towers is unacceptable and represents a hazardous situation. I have never owned an automobile that had strut tower failure under normal driving conditions.

The contact owned a 2003 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that while making a left turn at approximately 25 mph, the power steering completely malfunctioned. The vehicle moved off the road and crashed into a telephone pole. The contact sustained minor injuries. There was no police report filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000. Updated 02/08/lj updated 04/21/11.

Power steering lock on it.

My friend and I got into my 03 Mini Cooper S this past weekend. We were driving along IL rte 1 until I got up to a 2 way stop. I was making a left turn but I realized I lost all power to my power steering unit. I barely was able to make the turn in order to avoid getting broadsided by a Dodge ram barreling at me at 60 mphs.

Sudden failure of power steering assist in traffic I was barely able to control car.

Driving home as usual, when I turned to back-in to the driveway and the power steering went out. Very difficult to maneuver car into the driveway. Left car overnight and tried again next day. Fine the next day, but happened again the following day. 2003 mcs 31,700 miles. Looking into cause of failure.

Power steering goes out without warning leaving car difficult to control.

The contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. While the contact's wife was driving 60 mph, the wheel and tire detached from the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and has not been diagnosed at this time. The contact was informed that the cost for the repair would range from $3,000 - $5,000. The affected components were the steering, brakes, suspension, and shocks. A police report was filed and the contact has pictures available. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 30,000.

Attempting to turn into school parking lot, power steering abruptly stopped working, steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn. The power steering has intermittently faltered several times in the last year but has now failed entirely.