Problems with 2003 MINI Cooper S STEERING

Occasionally the steering over my mini cooper s is becoming very hard. it seems like the power steering is failing. the car then can only be steered with a lot of difficulty. i can no longer risk to have my daughter or wife drive this car. i checked the steering fluid and it is at optimal levels. it usually happens at lower speed, but i have not driven it on the freeway since this issue started to appear.

Power steering pump failed while driving

Power steering went out without warning, causing loss of control while vehicle was in motion; mini usa advised it was still driveable, but to be cautious due to lack of control/power steering; when parked, smoke began to plume from under hood where a fire was noticed in back of engine. called mini usa back and they advised us to not drive vehicle, as it was a safety hazard. contacted mini to set up recalled part (hydraulic power steering), but they were not willing to have car towed to dealer (120 miles from my residence).

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. 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 made aware of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure. vin tool confirms parts not available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. while driving at various speeds, the steering became very difficult to maneuver. after turning off and restarting the vehicle 30 minutes later, the power steering returned to normal, but then failed again. the vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electro-hydraulic power steering failed and needed to be replaced. the contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 15v660000 (steering); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. the contact stated that the dealer wanted to charge for the repair because of the mileage on the vehicle. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 181,000. vin tool confirms parts not available.

I was approaching a corner on a back road and half way through the power steering failed which caused the car to go off the road rolling two and a half times landing on the roof.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. 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 made aware of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure. parts distribution disconnect. updated 05/18/16*lj updated 06/14/16.*jb

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. while operating the vehicle at low speeds, the steering wheel required excessive force in order to turn. while inspecting the vehicle, the contact discovered that the power steering fluid 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.

Suddenly out of nowhere as soon as i started the car to back out of my driveway & go to work the steering was completely locked up, only having approximately an inch to inch and a half of mobility in either direction. i then turned the car off, let it sit off for about 5 mins then re-started it and the steering was still the same way.

Power steering pump failed at 69,000 miles. pump and fan were replaced under warranty, but dealer required additional work to be performed to keep extended warranty in force. the work included replacement of all power steering hoses at a cost of over $600.00

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. 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 made aware of the issue. the contact had not experienced a failure. vin tool confirms parts not available.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. while driving 40 mph and attempting to make a turn, the power steering failed. as a result, the contact crashed into the rear of another vehicle. a police report was filed. the contact sustained contusions to the face and lost a tooth. the occupants of the other vehicle sustained unknown injuries. medical attention was not required. the vehicle was towed to the dealer. the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. the manufacturer was made aware of the failure. the vehicle was not repaired. the vin was not available. the failure mileage was 213,000.

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. *tr

8/13/2014- i was stopped at a stop sign in a mall parking lot and smoke started billowing out from under the right front side of the car and at the same time started coming through the vents into the cabin of the car. i tried to shut off the car, but it would not turn off. a bystander came running and opened the hood, smoke poured out, told me to call roadside assistance as he was opening hood and then told me to hang up and call 911 that my car was on fire. flames were coming out of the engine area but there was too much smoke. the engine fan was still running. another passerby had an commercial extinguisher and emptied it on my vehicle. the fire dept. was pulling up as they were trying to push it aside, the car re-ignited and it took the fire department approx. 15 to make douse the fire without it re-igniting. all of these people looked my vehicle over and could find no reason for it to ignite. i purchased the car used about 4 weeks ago and have put about 3000 miles on it without any issues. my insurance company had it towed to a mechanic down the road and they are to contact me tomorrow to see if they can see why this occurred. luckily, my daughter and i were able to exit the car and be in an area close to the fire department and good samaritans...updated 10/06/14 *bf *tr updated 7/15/2015 *js

I was exiting an expressway and while on the ramp coming off, the steering became very unresponsive and heavy. in doing some research on the internet it sounds like my power steering pump has failed. *tr

I was driving down the street and was going to make a right to turn, slowed down to say hi to my roommate who was leaving and went out of gear when i went back in my steering was extremely stiff and i could barely move the wheel. *tr

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini copper s. the contact stated that while driving approximately 25 mph, the power steering assist failed without warning. the vehicle was maneuvered into a parking space where the contact shut off and restarted the engine. the vehicle was able to be driven to the contact's place of residence but had not been taken to a dealer or independent mechanic for diagnosis of the failure. the manufacturer was not made aware of the problem. the approximate failure mileage was 83,000.

Power steering issue which mini usa reached an agreement with ntsb to avoid a recall by providing an "extended warranty." spoke with mini service department and informed them my steering pump was making noise and had gone out intermittently twice. they informed me that due to the fact this was not an official "recall" but rather an extended warranty, the steering unit would have to catastrophically fail before they were permitted to replace it. what kind of a safety board is the ntsb that would allow such an agreement to be reached wherein someone has to be put at risk to drive a vehicle to catastrophic failure of a steering unit, potentially resulting in accident, bodily injury or even death, before they would compel the automaker to repair the vehicle to make it safe? this is absolutely ridiculous!!! i am supposed to continue driving a vehicle with a known problem in the steering, putting myself, family and others on the road at risk awaiting "catastrophic failure" ....... not knowing when, where or under what circumstances that is going to occur? mini usa & bmw you will never get another penny from me and i encourage everyone to actively boycott their products & dealerships! *tr

My power steering pump had been losing fluid, randomly continuing to run after shutting the car off and finally gave out two or three times while driving. i received a letter in the mail and that stated the pump had an extended warranty on the item. when i contacted the dealer to have work performed, i was told to continue adding fluid since this was not a formal recall item. i advised them the pump had failed twice (at that time) and they still insisted i refill the fluid and i would be fine. this seems like a cheap way to avoid a recall and they're not actually fixing the issue. this needs to be reviewed again and bmw/mini needs to fix these issues before a catastrophic event happens that costs more than a stressful situation.

5/18/13 - after parking the car, the power steering pump continued to operate when the key was removed from the ignition. the key was inserted back into the ignition switch and turned to the "on" position. the power steering pump stopped running. 5/28/13 - when returning to work after lunch the car started perfectly and no problems were apparent. i pulled up to a stop light and sat waiting on the light to turn green. when the light changed i started accelerating in 1st gear and noticed that the steering was very heavy. i immediately pulled over to make sure that the pump was not overheating. the pump has completely failed at this point and the car is able to drive, albeit dangerously. *tr

Back in may of 2013 the power steering pump starting being very loud and making noises. the steering wheel is also quite hard to turn since then. this could end up badly when completely fails when i'm mid-turn or something. this needs to be fixed asap. *tr

I was changing lanes to prepare to exit off the interstate while on my way to work. as i made the lane change noticed steering was tighter. after exiting the interstate, the vehicle was very hard to steer at the top of the exit ramp. the turn made was very wide nearly missing oncoming traffic. suspect power steering pump has failed. *tr

The power steering pump doesn't shut off when the car does. the pump ran until the battery died. *tr

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. *tr

Parked vehicle in home garage and the power steering pump continued to run even when key is removed. i was familiar with this issue as many other owners have experienced it and reported. refer to nhtsa action number : ea11005. the pump will continue to run until battery depletes or fire occurs. there is no cooling provided by dedicated cooling fan when vehicle is off. i disconnected the battery to stop pump from overheating. *tr

Powersteering unit fails and steering becomes unreponsive. *tr

Power steering pump is beginning to fail. from reports i have read i am worried that the car will catch on fire and in turn catch my house on fire. *tr

Driving home from work getting off the turnpike to take my exit right, my 2003 mini cooper kept going straight. very frightening experience as i could not turn the wheel coming off highway speeds. there is no warning at all when this happens, you just cannot turn the wheel to negotiate your turn. i've driven cars without power steering, but when you have an electric power steering failure it is impossible to steer this car. bmw must take responsibility for this well documented dangerous failure and do the right thing or someone is going to get seriously hurt and/or hurt someone else. cost to fix the steering pump failure - $1200.00. *tr

Electric power steering pump stop functioning while driving. sudden lost of power steering. difficult to steer. this is the second pump that was replaced on the vehicle about two years ago. the first pump stop working about two years ago. *tr

I drove my car to my sports team practice, parked and promptly had to relocate my car to an adjacent lot. the power steering did not work upon starting the car to move it and there was no evidence or warning of it's failure. not even the check engine light went on. *tr

As i was pulling away from a stop sign, i realized that i couldn't turn the steering wheel. i put the car in reverse and went back and forth trying to see if something was stuck. i did this a couple times, then realized my power steering was out. i checked the fluids and they were fine. took the car to a mechanic and they ran diagnostic tests and determined the power steering pump was faulty. *tr

Complete power steering failure. faulty/failed pump internal control circuitry. *tr

For the second time in the life of this car (first in 2011), the steering pump stopped working while i was driving. the first time i was lucky and at low speed hit a concrete piling in a parking garage. the second time i was actually in traffic in an intersection. i was lucky not to hit the college students in the cross walk, again because i was not going very fast, but it's a huge safety issue. and had i not known what was going on due to the first time the steering pump blew out, i would not have known to break and re-start the car to resolve the issue. honestly, the car cannot be steered when the pump stops functioning. and mini has known for years that this is an issue. i had to wait 8 weeks for the fan to come in and they didn't want to do any work until they had both parts. the pumps need to be re-designed. *tr

Was stopped in parking lot, fire started in engine bay. power steering has been intermittent for awhile. shop indicated that the fan failed and caused the pump/wiring to completely melt. this issue is widely known and found on mini cooper forums. *tr

Power steering pump is whining and according to dealer is going to fail at anytime. unfortunately this unit does not fail in the driveway it fails while driving the vehicle. hopefully i will be driving when this happens as my wife will not have the strength to get the car under control. there has been a recall in canada for this same problem and all of us mini drivers in the us are wondering why we don't have a recall here. *tr

After leaving the highway and negotiating the off ramp, the power steering simply stopped working. the steering became extremely difficult so i pulled over, shut the car off and lifted hood to inspect. the was no visual indication of issues an fluid level is fine. after restarting the steering worked fine again. several days later the same situation occurred in the middle of a corner, it was all i could to maintain control through the corner. i read where there was some "opinions" that if power steering cooling fan was bad it could cause this to happen so i replaced. still happens intermittently. i will likely pull the steering unit to inspect but the biggest issue is it gives a false sense of security. when you restart the engine everything seems ok so you continue, sometimes for weeks. the problem is that the failure can occur in the middle of a turn and cause a serious accident. there is also no lighted indication of the failure on your dash, so you don,t expect it. this will end up killing someone if it hasn't already. *tr

The power steering pump fails causing a loss of power steering in my vehicle while driving. this sporadically occurs while driving causing a safety hazard as it becomes very difficult to steer the vehicle. *tr

I was going around a 90 degree corner at about 15 mph when the steering seemed to lock up. i quickly realized that the power steering had failed, and i wrestled the steering wheel to complete the turn. since then, the power steering has not worked 90% of the time. *tr

I purchased a used mini cooper s six months ago, in december 2011. i drove my vehicle as i normally due, just across town about 10 miles, and it was fine. i parked my car and went inside. when i came out, about 10-15 minutes later, and tried to back out of the driveway, the power steering was non-existent. i pulled back into the driveway and checked the fluid level and let the car cool down for a few more minutes. when i restarted the car, the power steering was back. since then, the power steering is intermittent. if the car is hot, it usually does not work, but if the car is given a chance to cool down, then it seems to work, but the problem is occurring more and more frequently and i have found many complaints from other mini owners. *tr

Driving highway speeds, steering got really heavy hard to turn, then the battery light came on, starting smelling something electrical burning, pulled over off the road shut car off, smoke coming from the hood, open it, smoke was coming from the back of engine. smoke subsided in a few minutes, called tow truck, tow back to work, over the next couple of days found that the power steering pump locked up and fried it, it also draw a lot of amperage that it blow 100 amp main fuse under fuse block, burnt main power wire to power steering pump. replaced pump, wiring and fuse. *tr

I drove my 2003 mini cooper s to my local department of transportation to renew my driver's license. nothing abnormal occurred on the trip to the dmv. when i got in and began to drive home, there was no power steering. later that evening, i started the car when it was cool and the power steering was back until the car warmed up. the radiator fan and the power steering fan do not function upon doing research on the internet, i have found that this problem occurs extremely often in 2002-2007 minis. i also found, posted on a mini forum by someone claiming to be an engineer, a diagnosis of the problem. carbon dust from the electric motor that operates the power steering pump gets into the control unit attached to it. since the chip was not properly sealed with a lacquer, it causees a short circuit in the chip. this causes the pump to fail. another possible cause is the failure of the cooling fan for the power steering pump. the fan can seize, stop cooling the pump, and eventually it will overheat. this also trips a fuse that stops the radiator fan. as a result, the engine can also overheat. i have determined that the fan has stopped working. since i have only had this car since the middle of winter and the has been the only warm day i have driven it, this was the first time i noticed it. i plan to avoid the $1000 charge to have it replaced at the dealer by repairing it myself but many people are not this fortunate. i believe this design flaw can and will cause serious accidents to occur. if my mother, sister, or girlfriend had been driving my car on the highway when it failed, they would not have been able to steer resulting in a serious crash. while perusing various mini forums, i have read stories of several serious crashes. i would like to see a recall on all 2002-2007 mini coopers so that this problem can not harm someone.

While driving, it felt as though my power steering had gone out. i continued to drive to my location. once in the parking lot, steering became near impossible, especially while going at very slow speeds. when i went to back out of my parking spot that evening, it was unable to be done, causing me to call a tow truck to tow my car. *tr

The power steering went out just after i purchased it. i see that there are multiple complaints about this problem for nearly every year model that this vehicle has been produced for the american market. i called a local dealership to see if there was a recall and i stated that message boards online were loaded with angry customers complaining about the same thing. they refused to admit that there's a problem and want to charge me $2500! please, nhtsa, do something about this! *tr

The power steering quit while driving on interstate (i85) on march 3, 2012. we had just purchased the car so we took it back to dealer and he had the pump and reservoir replaced (took 2 weeks). power steering just went out again (09/26/12) with same symptoms (sporadic operation - mainly not working) while driving to work. *tr

Power steering seem a little hard but while cruising on the freeway it seemed like it almost went completely out. hasn't happened like that since but its still a little harder to turn that what i think it should be. *tr

While driving to work at approximately 25 miles per hour and in the process of turning around a bend, my power steering gave out. as the curve was of decreasing radius, this failure was evident by a significant (>100%) increase in resistance to steering angle change and upon completion of the turn a complete lack of automatic return to a neutral steering path (the car wanted to "stay" in the turn). returning the car to neutral steering angle also required significant (>100%) additional application of force. upon pull-over and restart of the car, the power steering returned, but only for approximately one minute of driving. for the remainder of the drive the power steering fluctuated in and out making driving difficult. car will be taken to dealer for fault diagnosis this week as the issue has persisted and continued to worsen (longer droughts of power steering operation) over the past week. *tr

Power steering went out while driving making it hazardous to maneuver turning left. i reported this december 14 2011 and the dealership couldn't find problem. replaced the power steering fan in december. replaced the entire power steering pump january 30, because power steering would go out intermittently. i feel this is a dangerous problem and the power steering shouldn't fail. there should be a recall of this problem. *kb

Steering pump failed and had to be replaced.

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. while driving at approximately 25 mph the steering wheel became stiff and difficult to maneuver. the contact restarted the vehicle and regained power steering. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic. the mechanic stated the electric power steering pump would have to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 72,000.

Power steering pump failed, steering became very difficult. pump remained on after car was turned off and drained battery, now car will not run. very dangerous issue! *tr