Problems with 2002 MINI Cooper STEERING

Back in feb 2008 the steering on my 2002 mini cooper just went out with no warning. i was left without power steering in the middle of the 101 freeway, which is very dangerous! i fixed the problem, which was very expensive as it was the entire steering system that failed and filed a complaint with mini, i never heard back but continued to drive the car. recently, september 2008 the transmission in that same car needs to be replaced. i have had nothing but major problems with this car and feel it may be a lemon. mini is unwilling to help me as my car is no longer under warranty. i feel as though these problems could result in serious injury as there is no prior warning and i am concerned for all present and future mini cooper drivers. *tr

I recently had a 60k service on my 2002 mini cooper. a couple days later i drove from monterey, ca to los angeles, ca and my car was running fine. all of a sudden out of the blue, my power steering went out. i was driving on the 101 freeway and could not turn my car. i was able to get it to a repair shop where they told me my power steering pump had broke. $1,000 later the part of replaced. luckily i was safe, as was the passenger in my car. but what if i had been on a very cury, busy highway? i could have driven off a cliff! this is not a part that should simply wear out or break, we are talking people's lives! i love my mini and am a proud mini owner and driver but after this i don't think i will ever buy another mini or bmw. *tr

The power steering on my 2002 mini cooper s, 62,000 miles, fails intermittently and unexpectedly while driving, causing an instant and unexpected loss of power assisted steering. this is extremely dangerous and can cause injury or death should loss of power steering cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle. further research of online forums (mini2.com, northamericanmotoring.com, roadfly.com) indicates that this is a known problem affecting many mini owners, and power steering pump failure has also been known to cause engine bay fires. *cn

Tl*the contact owns a 2002 bmw mini cooper. while driving 35 mph he noticed smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle, as well as pieces of burning plastic falling from the vehicle. he attempted to apply the brakes however, the vehicle would not stop. he then noticed flames coming from the engine. he was able to pull over and tried to contain the fire however, the fire continued to spread into the interior of the vehicle. the fire department extinguished the fire. the fire destroyed the vehicle. the current and failure mileages were 86,000.

Power steering pump is noisy all the time. i am afraid this may lead to failure of my ability to steer the vehicle . the car is a 2002 mini. *tr

Power steering motor failure on mini cooper. 1 - while driving, the steering became very difficult, at times almost impossible. 2 - once home while parking the car, smoke started to billow our from under the hood. turned off the ignition, smoke continued to billow and get thicker, opened the hood, heard a sizzling sound and noticed that some of the wires were melting. immediately disconnected the battery, the smoke started to dissapate, the noise stopped etc. 3 - the car had to be towed to the dealer for repair. according to the tow operator, based upon the condidtion of the wiring harness, if the battery had not be disconnected quickly, the car would have caught on fire. the dealer informed us that the power steering pump motor had failed and that mini would replace the parts at no charge, but labor would be at our cost. total parts were approximatley $1,000.00 with labor totaling about $400.00. the car is now fixed and operating properly. *nm

My wife has been complaining of intermittent loss of power assist. i drive her car very little however i recently had the problem happen to me. one of my hobbies is sport car racing (most recently at summit point raceway in wv) so i do expect the unexpected however it is so intermittent it is often forgotten. it will be fine for weeks then it happens again. thousands of reports in the uk and canada issued a recall. you don't lose your steering just the assist. next time you are alone on a back road with a curve turn your car off and you will see what the described problem feels like. lets not have a serious incident before bmw resolves this issue. this has been going on for years. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper. the contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the power steering would suddenly malfunction causing the steering wheel to become very difficult to turn. the vehicle was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the power steering pump had over heated causing the power steering fluid to evaporate. the contact indicated that since 2012 the power steering pump had been replaced five separate times and recently with the new redesign pump but the vehicle continued to have the same failure occur. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 30,000.

(1) events leading up to failure - normal wear and tear, car driven 40k+ miles (2) failure & consequence - both bearings in the steering column began to fail. details not exactly available since i didn't have the opportunity to inspect them, but bearings would grind when turning the steering wheel. dealer told me that these would not impact driving safety, if not, what is their purpose? (3) corrective action - dealer replaced both bearings since car is still under warranty (50k miles). i inquired with dealer if mini has either improved the design of the replacement bearings or if the original bearings had been improperly installed. dealer stated that neither was the case and that it isn't/wouldn't be unusual for steering bearings to fail after 40k miles, which by today's standards is completely false!. *jb

I have 2002 mini cooper original owner and i had windsheld, transmission replaced. main issue i still have is streering loose power. i got a letter from mini said it extended warranty not a recall. mini co. never recall any issues. call dealer for this streering problem but my 2002 mini is not under this campaign. i have that streering loose power middle of driving but this is not even recall? i have to pay for diagnose fee for extension warranty per dealer. mini/bmw will not recall this issue until drivers get seriously hurt. *tr

Dt: the contact owned a 2002 bmw mini cooper s. the contact complained steering failure. the steering was not operating. . could drive but could not steer because there was no power steering. the steering system was broke a couple of months ago , and they repaired it. currently, the dealership will not repair car anymore even though it was under warranty. the steering became very heavy, had to muscle the steering in order to turn the car. while driving on the highway all of a sudden could not steer the car, and it was very dangerous. did have one steering failure before, and had to replace the entire steering mechanism. currently, he could not steer under normal road conditions. *ak