Power Steering Failed problems of the 2004 Mini Cooper S - part 2

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.

Power steering pump failed to work, it worked off and on for a short period. I am in the process of replacing it.

While driving my 2004 Mini Cooper S, the power steering failed while making a turn at low speed. Without the power steering, it is hard to steer during low speed. After turning off engine and restarting, the power steering came back. But the power steering pump seems to be on all the time with a humming noise even after the engine is turned off. Which leading to the draining of the battery. The battery gave out after a couple jump starts. As of 2/15/2011, I have disconnected the power to the power steering pump and fan. Because I cannot afford of the high cost of replacing the power steering pump and cooling fan. I have not replace them yet. I still have these parts.

Power steering pump failure on 2004 Mini Cooper S.

The contact owns a 2004 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that while driving and making a turn the power steering suddenly failed making the steering wheel difficult to maneuver. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed the contact that the power steering pump failed. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 170,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Power steering failure during driving. Became sluggish/very hard to turn on the highway at speed.

2004 Mini Cooper S, power steering failure. I have experienced intermittent failure of power steering in my 2004 Mini Cooper S. This has occurred seemingly at random and causes great difficulty with steering the vehicle. This creates an unsafe driving condition in which it is difficult to control the vehicle. This has happened several times in a given day or sometimes only once in a week. The failure has occurred at various times of operation, including immediately after starting the car in the morning, mid-commute, and at the end of a long drive. The only consistency is that it seems to occur just after putting the car in reverse, then back in 1st gear (though not every time). Power steering is almost always restored by turning ignition off and back on- not a safe action in most of my driving circumstances. On one occasion the power steering pump continued to run audibly after the vehicle was turned off, threatening to drain the battery. This lasted for about 20 minutes and was only resolved by driving the car again for about five minutes. When the car was turned off again, the pump finally shut off.

04 Mini Cooper S with under 40,000 miles. Intermittent power steering pump failure. Car is extremely hard to turn when the power steering is not working. Restarting the car sometimes causes the power steering to start working but it went out while driving at 25 miles per hour on Jan 02, 2011. This is an indication of a power steering pump failure.

The contact owns a 2004 Mini Cooper S. While driving approximately 35 mph the power steering failed. The contact was not driving so he did not know the full details of the failure. The person driving was able to drive the vehicle to their residence. The failure was not diagnosed by a dealer. The failure and current mileages were 60,000.

1. 04 Mini Cooper S power steering failure while driving. Occasionally while driving the pump will loose power and steering will be very difficult. Power steering fan stays on after vehicle is turned off which tends to drain the battery. 2. Eventually the pump started leaking and fan stop working needing replacement. Loss all power steering while driving. 3. Replaced pump and fan with new units and problem is temporarily fixed but problem has come back. Noticing the same symptoms from #. 1 post happening again.

While driving onto a freeway on ramp, my steering became excessively difficult and I almost ran into a median. I pulled over and the steering resumed normal activity and then became very difficult again to the point where I could barely steer the car enough to take it to a repair shop three blocks from my house where they informed me that my power steering pump had failed.

The contact owns a 2004 Mini Cooper S. The contact was traveling 35 mph when the steering became extremely tight. There was no warning prior to the failure. The contact stated that the failure had occurred before but not as extreme as the most current failure. The contact could barely maneuver the steering wheel. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where the power steering cooling fan and electronic power steering pump were replaced. The dealer advised that the power steering failure was a known problem. The failure mileage was 4,053 and the current mileage is 4,509 updated 02/03/lj also, the driver side seat heater grid burned through the cover and the drivers jacket. The second seat cover burned through also and made a hole in the passengers coat. Updated 03/18/11.

My 2004 Mini Cooper S power steering pump just failed and has to be replaced after only 45k miles. Updated 08-29/11.

Power steering failure. When driving power steering will unexpectedly stop working. Usually after driving for an hour or so. When power steering stops working the car is very hard to control.

Power steering failed while driving normally on the freeway and it became very difficult to control the car. Power steering returned after letting the car sit in a parking lot, but failed again while driving home. We have not driven the car since. The car is out of warranty and we have talked to Mini, but they have not offered to help repair the car. We were told that it will cost around $1500 to replace the malfunctioning parts.

Unexpected and intermittent power steering failure. Intermittent failures first started around 2008, the failures would last for minutes to hours long, days, weeks, and months would go by between failures. The dealership stated the cause was the power steering pump and since the car was out of warranty the repair would cost ~$700 to replace. When the pump fails the car is *very* difficult to steer at slow and moderate speeds. On a number of occasions a surprise failure occurred on narrow, windy road and it was a struggle to maintain the lane, avoid hitting oncoming traffic and staying on the road. The pump was replaced and as of this writing is new one is now intermittently failing. I just experienced an intermittent failure when turning from a stop and narrowly missed hitting a curb as I struggled to complete a turn. The pump failure lasted about 10 minutes.

I own a 2004 Mini Cooper S and when driving the power steering failed. I was in the middle of an off ramp and the steering became extremely hard. I was unable to navigate the turn and went off the road. Luckily I did not hit anything. When the car was turned off and then back on the power steering came back on. From time to time now I loose the power steering. I feel this is a major safety issue and do not let my wife or child ride in the car.

I own a 2004 Mini Cooper S. On September 23, 2010, I was driving on the highway and my power steering went out. This was out of the blue, and I had not experienced any previous problems with the power steering. I was able to take it to my mechanic the same day and was informed that my power steering fan went out, therefore causing my power steering pump to fail. After I had everything replaced for around $900, I saw an article in USA today that this is happening to other 2004 and 2005 Mini's. I think Mini should issue a recall so this doesn't happen to anyone else. It was very scary to drive my Mini with no power steering, and I feel fortunate that I was able to keep the car under control when the steering went out.

Power steering pump failed on Mini Cooper S with approximately 71,000 miles last week.

Electric/hydraulic power steering pump failed after only 43,000 miles on the car. It stuck in the "on" position even when key removed from the car, draining my battery and causing a heat buildup under the bonnet. 2004 Mini Cooper S.

My 04 Mini s just hit 90k and runs great until I was on the freeway overpass the other day. The power steering pump went out suddenly on a 55 mph turn and almost ran me right into the shoulder barrier which happens to be 50 feet above the lower freeway. Thank god I was able to maintain control. Mini cooper is a great car, but this power steering issue is a well know issue amongst the community of owners and Mini needs to acknowledge this issue and help owners who are out of warranty. Once you turn the car off and restart it the steering comes back to normal. When its hot out the steering seems to fail and is almost impossible to control the car once this happens which was the result in my above experience. This power steering failure is well know and has many many accounts of failures on popular Mini forums. The part to replace this issue a single power steering unit which can be bought for about $450 and the average mechanic can replace it within and hour or so.

I was driving along a street about to negotiate a turn when the power steering failed. Had it happened a few seconds later, I probably would not have been able to negotiate the turn and may have crashed.

Power steering pump failed while driving.

Power steering pump is failing. So far no major problems but I have had other Mini owners report this same problem and worse. I am having my pump replaced this weekend with the hope of avoiding any further issues. Hopefully this one will last a long time.

Intermittent and unexpected power steering failure on my 2004 Mini Cooper S (r53). We purchased the car with 69,000 miles and within a week had our first power steering problem. We got the vehicle to the side of the road, turned the car off and when we turned it back on the steering was fine. This occurred randomly for the next few weeks. Power steering would quit without warning at slow and highway speeds. Finally took the car to the shop and the mechanic said the power steering unit needed to be replaced. Repair was done the first week of September and we have not had any power steering problems since.

The power steering on my 2004 Mini Cooper S fails intermittently. The car is extremely hard to steer when the power steering fails.

Driving normally when suddenly power steering fails completely causing instant control issues. Power steering returns intermittently.

2004 Mini Cooper S power steering failure after <50,000 miles very hard to steer. Had to replace the pump.

Near the end of a 500 mile trip from northern to southern California, the power steering failed. I completed the trip without the power steering. The next day I took the vehicle into an authorized dealer for repair. The power steering pump was replaced. The old part is not available.

My wife was driving the 2004 Mini Cooper S to pick up our son from school. After she retrieved him, she went around a corner and the power steering stopped working causing her to crash into a curb. She does not have enough strength to turn the wheel and there was no warning of a possible failure. I am fearful to replace the part and continue to make payments on a vehicle I do not feel comfortable putting my children and grandchildren in due to the possibility that the new powering steering pump will fail if replaced.

Power steering pump failure.

I was driving on I-95n when the steering became all tight like I couldn't turn the wheel. No indicatior lights came on. I reached my destination, shut the car off for several min, got in started it up and it was fine. Got back on I-95s and 5 min later the steering wheel felt like it was locked up I couldn't turn it. Again no warnings!!!!! are you people going to wait till some one is killed to make BMW fix this!!!!!! I have read it's beein going on since 2002 power steering pump failures.

The power steering assist failed during cornering. Required me to apply extra force to the steering wheel at which point the power steering assist re-engaged causing the car to over steer. I needed to make a quick correction in order to avoid crossing over the centerline and hitting an on coming vehicle. The power steering assist has been on and off for the first couple of months since that time and has been completely non functional for the last month or so.

The power steering pump suddenly failed. This is an electric-hydraulic steering system and the car is not controllable when the pump fails. The car has been properly maintained and has less than 50,000 mile.

Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u. S. C. 552(b)(6). I have a 2004 Mini Cooper S (BMW) that I have owned for about a year and a half but recently, past 3 months. , I have had the power steering quit suddenly on 3 separate occasions. Thankfully I was not on a high speed road at any of those times because when the power steering went out it I could barely turn the wheel and I'm a 36 yr. Old male with quite a bit more strength than my fiance who also drives the car. I believe this is a very serious flaw with the car as I have checked with other Mini cooper owners across the country who each and everyone of them has experienced the same exact problem with the power steering failing suddenly. I can only imagine what would happen if this occurs at high speeds or during inclement weather, this is a safety hazard that should be recalled by BMW since I am not the only Mini cooper owner with this problem. [xxx].