Mini Cooper In Power Steering Failure Investigation

29 September, 2010 Autos 8:27 pm

In a report by CNN Money, Mini’s Cooper model is under investigation after a number of claims by owners that there has been a sudden failure with their power steering.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has started to look into the claims. As it stands 54 owners have reported issues, these problems could be caused by a failure within the power steering pump.

Vehicles affected seem to have been produced around 2004 and 2005. Although as yet there has been no incidents that have caused the driver to lose control, the loss of power steering can make the vehicle very difficult to manoeuvre.

BMW of North America has confirmed that it is aware of the issues and the investigation, but is waiting for a full report from the NHTSA. For more on this story hit the link below.

Read More: Autoblog

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Curt

I have a 2005 Mini Cooper and the fan for the power steering pump and seized twice and had to be replaced. The first time was around 80,000 miles and the second time was around 120,000. This caused the power steering to stop working. The car is very difficult to drive without power steering. Not too bad on the highway but parking is difficult.
Kim'n'Dave

We have same problem with 2005 Mini Cooper in California, unexpected loss of power steering. Problem is intermittent, sometimes from cold start but usually mid-journey, long or short. I believe it's electrical – but probably still part of the pump, (maybe the cooling fan or maybe connections to pump itself or its relay if it has one) – since switching engine off then on can overcome it but then problem can return after minutes or hours. Yes you can still arm-wrestle the non-powered steering wheel but it can be very scary when you lose power when you need to alter course in heavy traffic!
Ann

I, too, have a 2004 Mini Cooper here in Vancouver, BC. The power steering has been intermittent for several months and it seems this last bout of failure may be permanent. I've read that recalls are being financed in Britain but have not yet been offered in North America. With such a well-known flaw, one would hope that BMW is held accountable to customers facing $2000 repair bills for failed pumps!
Craig

I lost control of my MINI Cooper S (2002 model year) yesterday when the power steering suddenly went out in the middle of a curve on a winding road. I was fortunate to be able to stop before crashing. The car has 75,500 miles on it and I'm the original owner.
David

My power steering relay failed in the closed position and drained the battery. I could hear a low electrical hum while charging the battery. Thankfully, I was able to replace it myself, to the tune of almost $800 for the part. I've also had to replace the windshield wiper motor because it would not shut off when it got wet (how's that for irony?) Not sure I'll buy another Mini…