Power Steering Fluid Problems of Mini Cooper S

The contact owns a 2004 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that while driving at attempting to make a turn, there was an abnormal grinding sound coming from the steering column. The contact also stated that there was a power steering fluid leak present. The failure was intermittent. The vehicle was taken to Mini of stevens creek located at (4201 stevens creek blvd, santa clara, CA 95051), and diagnosed. The contact was informed that the steering pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 156,000.

See all problems of the 2004 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

Power steering suddenly stopped working. Making a whining noise when turning the wheel and the steering wheel itself is hard to turn. Not leaking any fluids and the power steering fluid in the reservoir is full.

See all problems of the 2002 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

Tl- the contact owns a 2003 Mini Cooper S. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle at low speeds the steering wheel required more afford to turn. While inspecting the vehicle the contact discovered that the power steering fluid had leaked from the power steering fluid reservoir. The cause of the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 136,000. Jft.

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Signs of the power steering pump failure. Whining noise randomly got louder. Fluids topped up, no leaks. There is a recall from BMW that covers 2002-2005 models. This pump only has 82,400 miles on it.

See all problems of the 2006 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

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.

The steering on my '03 Mini Cooper Started making whining/ groaning noises that were not the normal steering noises. The steering has limited power boost, sometimes near normal, other times almost no boost. The steering doesn't return to straight as it used to. After making a right or left turn, the car keeps trying to turn the last direction steered. With effort, I can hold the car straight, but it pulls noticeably the last direction turned. The electric steering motor groans, changing speed up and down, even when the car is not moving. All fluid levels are normal and there are no leaks or drips of any fluid. The power steering fan and radiator cooling fan are operating correctly. The steering effort is not consistent. Sometimes at expressway speeds, as well as slower surface street speeds, the steering stiffens up where it requires much effort to control, then minutes later, will go back to normal boost levels. This often happens when negotiating lane changes or expressway ramps with what should be a steady rate turn. An independent mechanic states the electro- hydraulic steering pump is causing these issues and that BMW is aware of this problem.

Took my car into the mechanic to have it look at for a new clutch. They noticed the the power steering pump was leaking. They replaced the fluid and cautioned me about getting it replaced soon.

The power steering in my car has failed continuously. We had the entire rack replaced in 2011 - the steering fluid constantly leaks, or burns dry - for the last few months, the power steering pump does not stop running when the vehicle is parked - requiring for the battery to be disconnected at every stop, or risk a dead battery.

See all problems of the 2005 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

While on a short vacation out of town, close to 230 miles from my home, my Cooper S' power steering failed and almost cause me an accident. I immediately checked the fluid and saw that there were no visible leaks present. After making arrangements for a rental vehicle, I noticed that the power steering started working correctly again. Because of that I proceeded to return home and the steering did not fail for the remainder of the trip. During March of 2012, the power steering failed again, during a commute home from work on Friday, may 3rd. To this day, I have no been able to afford additional repairs or diagnostics, because of the monthly payments, insurance, fuel and previous issues of repairs under 75,000 miles including the head gasket, and heater core. Regardless of the policies that BMW/Mini and the NHTSA have concerning used vehicles, and warranties, absolutely no vehicle produced by an internationally known company or business should be producing such unreliable, unsafe and potentially dangerous motor vehicles and not take immediate responsibility to isolate and terminate the issue rather than ignore and deny responsibility for poorly manufactured products.

In the early fall, September 2011, I encountered issues with my car not shifting properly. It's an automatic transmission so I know there was nothing I could be doing to cause this problem. The car has been serviced regularly and driven with care while in my possession(I'm the second owner. No similar issues on carfax report). While the engine is cool and not yet at its optimal temperature the drive is fine and you may not even notice a problem; however, every ride, once warmed up the car begins to shift incredibly violently as it is obviously struggling to switch gears. This occurs also while slowing down and the car is downshifting creating an opportunity to be "slung" into a car from behind(this happened in the mid summer of 2011). After dropping this car off September 15th to the local Mini dealership, I did not hear from them for almost three weeks. In the first week of October I was contacted and told it looks like my car is very easily fixable and should be ready shortly. It was explained to me that a seal had broken on the transmission leaking fluid onto it causing this shifting malfunction. When they finally told me I can pick up my car(approximately October 18th) they regretted to inform me the problem was not able to be fixed and I would have to bring it elsewhere as they do not rebuild transmissions. Now it is back in my possession where I am forced to commute in it daily, driving worse than it was before I dropped it off. It now displays "pe" for its current gear from time to time. This is not the only complaint I have filed for this car matching other consumer complaints. I am a victim of their failed power steering as well.

The steering pump cooling fan started to fail and had to be replaced. The dealership also stated the steering rack was leaking fluid and was going to need replacement at a cost of over $1,000. 00.

Power steering got tighter and tighter making it really hard to turn in small corners (which are everywhere in big cities). It turns out the be a well-known issue which is power steering fluid leak. It almost got me into accidents/property damage due to tight steering.

2005 Mini Cooper S power steering failure, while turning power steering failed, no leaks, and fluid reservoir full. . Read more...

During the first incident I was driving in town, suddenly the steering had a hard resistant making it difficult to do a right turn. I had to muscle the wheel in order to keep from veering into oncoming traffic. When I pulled the vehicle over to do an under the hood inspection and check the steering fluid level, I saw nothing that indicate damage. Once I restart the vehicle, it seem to correct itself. I though was it was maybe a fluke. Later on, my wife indicated she heard a whining noise that came from under the hood, and ask me to look into it. After looking it over, I add some belt dressing, because I thought could have been the problem. In the meantime I made several calls to the Mini dealership in tempe, az. The service manager stated this noise could be several indicators, such as an aging steering pump, a mixture of non-recommended fluid in the reservoir or the pump could be going out. I dismissed the mix fluid indicator, because the levels were always within range and to my knowledge was never tampered with or topped off. As several months went by, the vehicle continue to operate without incident, other than the whining noise, which was heard when the vehicle was started for the first time of the day, or while the vehicle was running in idle. Recently, my wife call me from work and indicated while she was driving to work for the 2nd time, the steering seem to lock and was difficult to steer. She manage to drive home without injury to herself or others. That same day, when I looked over the vehicle for leaks, damage or fluid levels and the vehicle steering again locked in place. After a little research, I found this has been a major safety issue with the 2004 and 2005 Mini coopers, which has been acknowledged by Mini of canada who issued a recall. On the flip side, Mini corp in the us and local dealers do not. Please advise with a reply.

I had to replace the power steering pump as it had failed. It first failed while I was on a highway off-ramp and nearly crashed. The failure was due to the power steering fan seizing and therefore it was not cooling the power steering pump. After some investigation of my own, I found out that the root cause of this problem was the low fan speed resistor failed on the engine cooling fan. The power steering fan will only activate once the engine cooling fan is running. If the low fan speed relay fails, the engine cooling fan will only turn on at 233f (high speed fan Minimum temperature). Once the engine cooling fan turns on at 233f, the power steering fan will turn on to cool the power steering pump. The power steering fan will be too hot at this point and will overheat itself and seize. The power steering fan failure then causes the power steering pump to overheat and fail. If the power steering fan is not replaced before the power steering pump fails, this causes the entire hydraulic system for the power steering system to fail as well and leak hydraulic fluid. If the power steering system fails, this can cause the power steering pump to ultimately catch on fire due to it overheating from low levels of hydraulic fluid. The complete replacement of parts alone for the power steering system is $1,296. 35. This system is required for driving the vehicle at any speed as it is a "power assisted steering" system, thus making it very hard to control the vehicle at any speed. If you visit any Mini forum (I. E. . Read more...

Noticed level of power steering fluid was low. No apparent leak on ground. Noticed the boots on rack and pinion are pressurized and realized that is where the fluid is leaking into.