Problems with 2004 MINI Cooper STEERING

Mainly while cold and at low speed's the wheel suddenly becomes very hard to turn and i was told by a mechanic but it's a faulty hydraulic power steering problem

Very hard to turn steering wheel at times especially when moving slowly; coming to a turn at a light, backing out of a parking spot, etc.

I own a 2004 mini cooper. i was driving and lost all power steering almost causing a accident. there is a open recall on this issue. i contacted mini and they informed me that my vehicle was not included with the recall. i explained that my car was experiencing all the issues addressed in the recall, but they still would not help me out.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact stated that the steering wheel was difficult to turn in either direction. the electric power steering warning indicator was not illuminated. an unknown dealer was contacted and stated that the vehicle was not under warranty, and was excluded from nhtsa campaign number: 15v660000 (steering) and nhtsa action numbers: ea11005 (steering) and pe10038 (steering). the manufacturer was notified and did not assist. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the failure mileage was not available.

Mini cooper power steering pump failure. vehicle was recently driven and was parked on the street. we started the vehicle and backed up to pull out of the parking spot. there was no power steering. we had to attempt to back up again to get off of the street and in to the parking spot. a burning smell and smoke started from under the hood. the power steering pump and cooling fan had failed. there are documented issues with this failure. when i contacted the dealership, i was told the extended warranty for this issue expired in april. this happened june 12th.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact stated that the vehicle lost power steering and the power steering warning indicator illuminated. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v660000 (steering); however, the dealer refused to perform the repair due to the updated part previously being installed on the vehicle. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was approximately 180,000. parts distribution disconnect.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v660000 (steering). the vehicle was taken to the dealer to be remedied; however, the contact believed that they did not inspect the vehicle. the contact was notified by a technician that it should have taken four hours to complete the inspection and perform any necessary repairs. the contact did not believe the repair was adequately performed. the manufacturer was notified. the contact had not experienced a failure. updated 09/27/16*lj consumer stated the dealership said car was fine, consumer wants to know it if it was recalled why the parts were not replaced updated 6/12/18*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v660000 (steering) however, the part to do the recall repair was not available. . the contact stated that while driving at 55 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. the contact was able to pull the vehicle over and shut it down. the vehicle was restarted and functioned as normal. the dealer was not diagnosed or repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 145,000. parts distribution disconnect.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. while driving at an unknown speed, the steering wheel seized without warning. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the power steering electric pump needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v660000 (steering); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 65,000. vin tool confirms parts not available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v660000 (steering); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was not notified of the issue. the vin was unknown. the contact had not experienced a failure.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact stated that while driving at 25 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to turn. the contact had to apply force to the steering wheel in order to steer the vehicle. the failure recurred on numerous occasions. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the vin was included in nhtsa campaign number: 15v660000 (steering) however, the part needed to repair the vehicle was unavailable. the contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 58,000. vin tool confirms parts unavailable.

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact received a recall notification for nhtsa campaign number: 15v660000 (steering) and stated that the part needed was unavailable to perform the recall repair. the manufacturer was not notified of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect.

Vehicle intermittently becomes extremely difficult to steer.

Power steering has been an issue over a year or two. no total failures but it does not qualify as power steering. the cooling fan does not work. steering is not good....for powered steering that is. slow speed steering is horrendous and non existent.

I was driving around 40 miles per hour and the car abruptly slowed down then sped up without any warning, if another car was behind me, it would have caused some serious damage. now my car wouldn't shift shift out of first gear. i was told by my mechanic that the cvt transmission is gone. after reaching out to mini usa, they told me they haven't had any problem with this transmission and it's pass the warranty date. if the folks at mini usa had been honest with me i could have made the deadline for a settlement pertaining to the same problem they claimed they had no idea about. this product need to be recalled! after doing extensive research the cvt transmission have had problems all along and the company have been settling claims for quite some time. why are they allowed to run hard working folks into death because they know most of us can't and wouldn't pursue this matter. it will cost me 6500.00 for the part and another $2200 for labor, the car is now valued at $5500.00. it there something wrong with this?

The power steering on my 2004 mini cooper, base, sporadically quits working, especially in cold weather. i was told by mini dealership that it is a known defect but they will not replace it until it fails completely. very sub-par customer service, as they know it is a problem. unhappy. *tr

I was changing lanes in a heavy traffic situation and my power steering quit causing the car to continue in the "changing" direction. this nearly caused me to hit a car in another lane because i could not move into the intended lane. *tr

The power steering quit working while driving vehicle, contact was made with the mini dealer in nashville tn and i inquired about a recall on the power steering and was told no recall was placed on this vehicle. *tr

Replacement of power steering pump per recall, but unable to steer without replacement of u joint also. *tt

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact stated while driving approximately 30 mph, it was difficult to control the vehicle. the failure recurred multiple times. the vehicle has not been repaired. the manufacturer was notified of the failure. the approximate failure mileage 125,000.

After driving from san francisco to burlingame, california, i turned off the engine. when i returned 10 minutes later, i lost power steering when i started the car. on that same day, i drove from burlingame back to san francisco. i turned off the engine. 5 minutes later, i lost power steering again when i started the engine. the car is extremely difficult to turn without power steering, especially at low speeds. *tr

2004 mini cooper steering becomes hard to steer suddenly during driving and also at times after a restart from parking. after a couple of restarts it appears to be back to normal but quickly becomes hard to steer again while driving. during turns i feel kind of blocks in the steering during the turning that are required to be countered with a little more hard pressure on steering to complete the turn. feel riskier to take it for downtown drives that need sharp and proper turns into lanes. even more riskier for highway drives as not sure how it will react to a quick lane change or during exits. power steering seems to no longer exist. *tr

Steering would work fine some of the time but then become very hard to turn. *tr

Power steering failed while i was driving the vehicle and i almost crashed. *tr

Yesterday i was driving home from work and as i was turning onto the access road to get on the highway my steering wheel locked up and forced me to hit a curb. i was able to take side roads to avoid the highway and make it home safely. the curb did do some damage to my car. man date is oct 2004. *tr

Exiting the interstate,i almost went off the road when steering the car became very difficult and turning the car was almost impossible. i parked the car for about 6 hours, tried it again, steering seemed to have returned to normal. *tr

Heard click while turning wheel was advised steering hose needed replacement last july 12 2012 had repair made. now with only 78k on car hearing click again - took to mechanic advising whole power steering pump needs replacement. *tr

Lost all power steering. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact stated that while driving 70 mph, the steering system seized while the contact was changing lanes. the contact took the vehicle to a local mechanic however, no details regarding the steering system defect was provided by the mechanic. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not contacted. the failure mileage was 100,000.

I was exiting interstate and slowing to a stop when steering wheel no longer worked easily. the steering wheel became hard to turn, i was able to pull over and avoid an accident. *tr

Power steering pump failure. *tr

2004 mini cooper. consumer requests assistance for hazardous vehicle transmission and steering wheel. *smd the consumer stated the vehicle stalled while driving on a busy highway.

The steering became very tight and the steering wheel was very hard to turn. the sudden loss of power steering was very scary at normal street speeds. shutting off the car and restarting it will return the steering to normal only for a little bit...after a few minutes the power steering is gone again. *tr

I was driving 45-50 miles an hour on i95s over the q bridge near new haven. i turned gently to the right hand lane and could not steer the car to straighten up. i was unable to steer the car at all. i tried to brake but it did not help. nothing like this happened before. my car was bounced from one side of the concrete barrier to the other. all airbags were deployed. the car was totaled. i was deemed to be at fault. i sustained severe spinal injury and required major surgery immediately. i was unable to work for over 3 months. i got reimbursement from my insurance for the car,s kbb value. i think the car was taken to hartford. i have not been able to file this complaint until now due to my physical disability. please investigate this case for steering failure. *tr

My daughter had been driving my car with no problems, when she parked to pick me up i put the car in reverse and was barely able to get out of the parking stall the steering was so hard. i then had to drive home using every ounce of strength i had, while making sure not to hit anything. i too have researched this and am truly disappointed with bmw. *tr

Power steering failure. unknown cause. *tr

Power steering went out as we were driving down the road. almost caused an accident. power steering still out. i just read up and it seems everyone's waiting for the recall. this is dangerous!! *tr

Driving off-ramp at 35 mph power steering stopped functioning and steering became really hard, lights went off, ac stopped working, and lots of engine lights came up, almost crashed when turning a corner and engine started failing.....got home and shut off car, when tried to turn on again, it failed to start....... *tr

Loss of power steering on my 2004 mini cooper. this problem comes an goes and my local service station said the pump has a crack. *tr

2004 mini cooper occasionally would lose power steering once every couple months after a few years of owning it. turning off car and starting it back up would always resolve it. while driving down highway at 60mph, lost power steering. could not pull over immediately. took exit ramp with a sharp curve, could barely make it around the curve, ended up on the shoulder. easily could have been an accident, or worse. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the power steering failed. the vehicle was shutdown and restarted and after a few minutes, operated as designed. the vehicle had not been diagnosed by a mechanic but the contact was sure that the power steering pump was the cause of the failure. the manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. the vehicle had not been repaired. the failure and current mileage was 91,000.

Power steering pump failed at speed. was very difficult to control the vehicle and presented a hazard to me and the vehicles around me. this is a common and known issue on many minis of similar year, should not occur to due the safety hazards. *tr

I was driving home on the high way from my friends house , when all of the sudden my steering got hard and i was going about 65mph, i pulled over and shut my car off wondering what had happened, turned it back on and it worked fine but it felt like it was getting hard, again like it would get hard and let go real quick , started driving really slow until my nearest exit and it got really hard before i got off the highway, and it stayed that way until i got home and its been happening since. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. the contact stated that the power steering assist failed intermittently and the steering wheel became hard to turn. the failure occurred for a brief moment and the steering returned to normal function. however, the failure became permanent over time. the vehicle was taken to the dealer and a diagnostic was performed. the failure was located at the power steering pump. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 88,416 and the current mileage was 88,570.

I had parked my car at a donut shop and when i came out and started the car and go, it was very hard to turn. i had to call a friend to help me tow it to my house. *tr

Backing out of parking space and upon shifting from reverse to drive and starting forward power steering went out. very difficult to operate car due to difficulty steering. *tr

My 2004 mini cooper has had multiple incidents where the power steering pump fails. it has failed numerous times, some even while driving. the problem starts if the steering wheel is cranked all the way for a tight turn, gradual turn or does not turn on when the car starts. sometime the pump will reset if the car if shut off then on again or the pump regains pressure. i have checked the pump itself, there are no leaks, fluid is filled to the appropriate level and no other issues have come up. this is a very dangerous thing to have happen while driving and needs to be resolved. it is a costly repair that i find bmw should assist with being that the pump appears to be faulty. *tr

While driving home as i turned into my street the steering power suddenly went out causing me to drive into the incoming traffic lane, luckily there were no vehicles but if there would have been any vehicles i could have been in a front collision. the fact that this happens while driving makes this issue extremely dangerous. *tr

1) automatic transmission busted. car stalled dangerously on the highway. 2) power steering pump busted. steering locked dangerously on the road and could not be moved. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2004 mini cooper. while driving approximately 65 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. the contact shut off the engine and after restarting, the vehicle regained power steering capabilities. the power steering continued to fail intermittently. the vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 96,000.