general problems of the 2004 Mini Cooper S

The power steering is very stiff to drive and cannot drive my cooper because I can no longer steer the vehicle.

Merging onto interstate I accelerated and suddenly lost power. Engine was running but I could not get any speed. Eml message lit up on dash. This was very dangerous situation, losing power as I merged with traffic that was going at highway speed. I managed to limp to side of the road. Shutting off car and restarting reset something and eml message disappeared and engine operated normally. Googling problem showed my experience was not unique and that could expect it to occur again. And it seems dealer can only diagnose source of problem if error message is on.

The contact owns a 2004 Mini Cooper S. The contact noticed that the vehicle's air bag warning indicator was constantly illuminated and both front windows hesitated to roll up and down. Also, the air bag indicator would illuminate when the front seat belts were buckled or unbuckled. The dealer stated that there was a positive cable in the fuse box that malfunctioned. The contact was informed that the failure could destroy the electrical system, cause a fire, and keep the air bag from deploying in a crash. The seat belt buckles were repaired, but the failure recurred. The dealer also discovered that the cable was being stretched and the center switch pack case was separated, which could cause the windows to detach from the vehicle while driving high speeds. The vehicle was not repaired and the manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 124,500.

Traveling east on 376 approx. One mile from the squirel hill tunnels, a women in another vehicle alerted me, trying to tell me my car was on fire. I pulled off the highway to the side of the road, pulled up the hood and saw fire. I called 911 and the fire company came and put out the fire. Googled the interenet and found there was approx 200,000 cases of fire without the manufacture recalling all vehicles.

I was unable to get my vehicle smogged. The obd was not communicating with smog machine. Took it to dealer and found the power steering electrical was causing a short circuit in the system.

Parking assist alarm stopped working completely then the next time as soon as the vehicle was in reverse the alarm sounded as though impact were imminent though nothing was behind the vehicle. Alarm continues to sound whenever the Mini is in reverse.

Cooling fan stopped working already installed 3 fans from time of purchase of vehicle this will be my fourth one its has issue with low speed. It burns only low speed on it tried to install aftermarket fan did not last more than a month had to purchase from a dealer now another one this can has nothing but a problem with this issue.

The electric power steering pump failed. . . Saw smoke coming from engine area, even when power to engine was shut off and key removed. After several attempts to restart vehicle after talking with service mechanic, he advised to "restart" car until the power steering unit possibly turned back on. After 6 attempts (appox 3 mins apart), the system started to work again, but with a "stiff & grinding" noise coming from the pump being transmitted thru the steering wheel. Cause of failure is "power steering pump/fan unit". Very dangerous, as this happened at speed on freeway, and lost almost all control of steering.

Power steering fails. On multiple occasions the power steering has failed, both while driving as well as after just starting the car. The problem is intermittent and I see no pattern to it's occurrence. Typically it is remedied by turning off the car and re-starting. There has been a few occasions where it will sputter in and out before it goes out completely but the most common occurrence is when I start the car, there's is no power steering.

On my way up driveway I noticed a sharp stinging sensation in the lumbar of my back. Felt sort of like an "continuous electric shock". I immediately arched my back as a reaction to the sting and had to straighten my back in order to control the vehicle. When straightening my back I felt something hot, very hot this time like something that was on fire. I could not longer control the vehicle grabbed for the handle opened the door and rolled out onto the driveway while the vehicle was moving. The vehicle bucked and stalled out. I immediately looked at the vehicle interior and noticed that the seat was smoldering and there was a hole the size of a quarter burned through the seat in the lumbar. It was a 100 degree day so I wasn't using the seat heater, nonetheless it was on, malfunctioned, caused a fire which resulted in me jumping out of the moving vehicle. I also read online about this happening to another 2004 Mini Cooper S "passenger seat" as well.

When the weather is cold, the center console controls (heat, rear defogger), the headlights, front/rear wipers will not function. When car starts to warm up, those items will start working when the steering wheel is turned to either side. When car is fully warmed up, will work most of the time unless you hit a bump. Mini shop said it was a bad computer - $800 to fix. Engine had an oil plan leak 2 years ago resulting in major loss of oil. Fixed under warranty. When getting electrical problem fixed, Mini shop found 3 oil leaks. Total cost to fix was $3200. Not necessary to get the fix but need to watch the oil levels.

I own a 2004 Mini Cooper S model, with 39,000 miles. The car is well cared for. My warranty expired at 30,000 and I began receiving annoying calls and letters from Mini to purchase an additional extended warranty. I did not, believing that simply maintaining my car properly would take care of any future issues. I trusted BMW/Mini that they would stand behind their product if some unusual failure or breakdown occurred. Approximately one month ago my power steering would intermittently go out. At first, only after starting the car and then it started occurring while driving the car. We checked the power steering fluid and all was well. Took it in to my mechanic and he informed me that the power steering pump needed to be replaced. He explained that Mini had told him "they" had been experiencing a high instances of steering power pump failures. He asked if the power steering pump was on the recall list. "they" told him no and explained that the pump was electrical and not manually therefore it was considered wear and tear. Crevier Mini, where I purchased the car told me it would cost $1100. 00 to replace the pump! my mechanic told me he would replace it for $880. 00. My mechanic informed me that in order for him to get a power steering pump, he needed to turn my old pump into them. Crevier told him that "they" were rebuidling these!. They could not keep enough of them on the shelves. This is a scandalous outrage, particularly after reading various blogs and complaints about the exact same problem that I am experiencing with my Mini. I should consider myself lucky in that my car did not catch fire, since it is always garaged, or that I did not kill myself or hurt some innocent people by the problem occurring on a steep curvey grade while driving. Additional problems approximately six months ago, my driver side window stopped working!! took it in crevier wanted $900 to fix the problem, again stated wear and tear!! my mechanic charged me $400. 00.

A year after purchasing the car, the front driver's window's automatic motor worked intermittently, then would not work at all. The dealer fixed it since it happened to be under full warranty. Two years later, the passenger's automatic window motor ceased working at all. At the same time, the driver's side window was making a scratching sound as it was automatically rolled up /or down. I only had a few months left on the warranty, and the dealer was required again to replace the window motor. I have read several other Mini owners that had to replace at least one window motor as well, but at their own cost since the warranty had run out. If this is a incessant and obvious defect by Mini cooper, it should be recalled or addressed in a fair consumer manner.