Problems with 2003 MINI Cooper S STEERING

Power steering goes out without warning leaving car difficult to control. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s purchased new. he stated while traveling at speeds of less than 65 mph, the vehicle began pulling to the right. shortly after that the battery charging warning light illuminated and the contact immediatley smelled a burning odor. he pulled over and found there was a fire coming from under the hood. the fire department arrived shortly after however he had already extinguished the fire. the insurance company and mechanic determined the fire was a result of a faulty power steering pump cooling fan. the vehicle was repaired under his insurance company. the failure and current mileages were under 88,000.the vin was not available.

Failed powering steering assist pump. *tr

2003 mini cooper s with 67,000k miles, power steering pump failed and caused a short circuit resulting in a complete meltdown. the pump, hydraulic lines, cooling fan and wiring harness were all burned or melted. there was no symptom or indication of a failure. car drove and acted "normal" prior to parking it for the day. when i got back in the car, 8 hours later, no power steering. if it had been in my garage when the short/meltdown occurred, it may have caused fire. miniusa basically said i was on my own due to expiration of my warranty. (60,000). *tr

Took 2003 mini cooper s to performance driving school and had power steering pump catch on fire. *tr

Power steering pump on my 2003 mini cooper s stopped working suddenly on the freeway. there were no signs indicating an imminent problem; it just cut assistance to steering and failed completely. even though it was difficult, i was able to drive it to a mechanic to get a replacement ps pump for $820. this seems to be a very common problem for the mini brand since more and more people are reporting power steering pump failures even at 40kmiles (in my case, the car had 95kmiles when the pump failed). the failure of the power steering pump does pose a safety issue, since the steering wheel becomes extremely heavy and difficult to turn. *tr

Ironically, i first looked at this complaint site two days ago as i first learned about its existence from the april 2009 issue of consumer reports. i felt good that the two most frequently named complaints for my model and year had not occurred. so, today that good feeling ended, as one of the common occurrences happened to me - a coincidence? or the mini gods revenge? to continue: i noticed that after i shut off the car, something was still running for a long time afterwards. opening the hood, i realized that it was probably the power steering pump that was not turning off, and knew from reading this site, that it would lead to battery failure at a minimum, and a fire at worst case. so, i immediately drove to the dealer - herb chambers mini of boston - and left it for repair. the call i received this afternoon that it was in fact the power steering pump which would not turn off and that it would cost $1100 to replace was devastating. the mini has about 46,000 miles on it and this is the first real repair necessary following the warranty period. given that there already are 8 others with the same issue just on this complaint forum, i would expect that mini would do more about what is obviously a defective part. *tr

Power steering failed on a 2003 mini cooper s with 51,586 miles. *tr

2003 mini cooper s with power steering failure. power steering goes in and out. car radio turns on when car is off and no key is in the engine, causing battery to drain. once my power steering went out when i was leaving a parking area causing me to hit the car in front of me. i have not repaired damages. i have however replaced the engine due to faulty wiring in aprox 2009. a fuse that runs everything for cooling blew and gave me no warning the engine was overheating. *tr

Failure of 2003 mini cooper manual transmission. my car has been under regular maintenance. i first noticed the car losing power going uphill, then it became difficult to put the car in gear. next morning i was unable to get into reverse, was extremely difficult to shift and some gears could not be engaged. at a stop light i began hearing a very loud grinding noise, like metal in a blender, the car would not engage in gear, i had to be pushed out of the intersection. the dealer offered nothing. my private mechanic found metal shreds throughout the transmission. said a bearing had come loose and destroyed the interior of the transmission, all at 65k miles. he also said the engine could have failed while on the freeway at high speeds and this could have been life endangering. also the power steering pump went at 30k miles. both very costly repairs and the transmission locking up a very serious life threat. the replacement costs for the transmission were $3k and that was from a private mechanic. online research shows a plethora of consumer complaints and information that mini cooper knows about this. neither the local dealer nor corporate office would offer any help in replacement costs. *tr

My 2003 mini cooper s has 41,000 miles. on 2/2/09, the power steering failed and i had a tough time keeping the car in control. i went home, re-started the car and the power steering was functional. i took it in for repair on 2/5/09, the power steering pump and lines were replaced. *tr

I purchased my '03 mini copper s with 49k from a honda in mechanicsburg, pa dealer in august. in december, i purchased tires and then went to a self-service carwash afterward. when i got home and before i put it in the garage, i took out the hose and washed off the wheels and under the car. during the process there was white smoke, which i thought was steam from the water hitting the manifold. i put the car in the garage and later when my wife came home she commented on the smoke and mist in the garage (it was quite cold that night.) the next day when i pulled the car out, the steering was very stiff and i only drove it out the driveway and on the road before i realized the power steering was completely out. i drove it about 15 miles to the dealer after checking fuses and determining that the problem was beyond my mechanical skills. the power steering pump, fan and harness were replaced along with the battery (shorted out). insurance adjusters from hondacare (extended warranty), state farm insurance company (my comprehensive insurance) and the dealership determined that the power steering pump had caught fire. their conjecture was that i had put out the fire with the hose when i sprayed under the car. honda care paid $1999 from extended warranty for the power steering pump, battery, power steering harness and fan. a total of $2700 additional from state farm comprehensive insurance (hondacare extended warranty would not cover harness, towing and diagnostic work from the mini dealer in maryland, etc because they were the result of damage caused by the power steering pump fire); state farm insurance was exceptional and covered the difference with comprehensive covered. the parts are not available at this time but i was told that there are reports including pictures from adjusters at hondacare and from state farm insurance. *tr

The only events leading to this problem were normal, everyday driving and routine, factory recommended service. the failure appears to have initiated at the cooling fan for the electric power steering pump. when the fan seizes, the pump overheats causing an electrical short in the pump electronics. this condition causes the pump to run nonstop even with the ignition turned off and the key out. this in turn runs the battery down and can possibly lead to a fire. the dealer replaced the power steering pump, the power steering pump cooling fan as well as the battery since it's usable life was diminished from the excessive draw. old part is not available and none of this was offered as a warranty item. *tr

Tl*the contact owns a 2003 mini cooper s. while the contact's wife was driving 60 mph, the wheel and tire detached from the vehicle. the vehicle was towed to the dealer and has not been diagnosed at this time. the contact was informed that the cost for the repair would range from $3,000 - $5,000. the affected components were the steering, brakes, suspension, and shocks. a police report was filed and the contact has pictures available. the vin was unknown. the current and failure mileages were 30,000.

Complete and instant power steering failure with no warning of any kind. required considerable arm strength to control vehicle. *tr

I've been following blogs about mini coopers going on fire since i owned one, and i never thought it would happen to me. well, i had just gotten back home from school when i smell something like wiring burning in my car, so i killed the engine and opened the hood. power steering still running and smoking, so i called my dad to help me. he disconnected the battery and stopped the eps pump from being consumed on fire. this should not be happening, the bmw-mini firm should take responsibility and not let their clients suffer the aftermath. this is surely a recall, no one has died yet, thanks god, but let's be serious folks. since new pump at dealer is $650.00 called junk yards and part is not readily available and if available junk yards charge very close to a new one for a used one. i was not able to acquire one on my student status, so i don't have a vehicle to get to school; dad has to drop me off for now. *tr

The power steering suddenly went out on friday, june 27, 2008 causing difficulty in steering and nearly causing an accident. as i turned into my home driveway. upon towing the vehicle to crevier auto in santa ana, california on friday afternoon/evening, crevier was unable to locate the vehicle. on monday, june 30, after much consternation, crevier finally located the vehicle as they had it on their premises since the previous friday. tuesday, july 1, a service technician notified me that the power steering pump had gone out on the 2003 mini cooper s. the vehicle has less than 50,000 miles on it and has been driven gently throughout its lifetime. *tr

My 2003 mini cooper s had a total failure of the power steering pump. the failure occurred while driving the car at aprox 60 mph on an expressway near buffalo, ny. the pump was replaced by me at a cost of aprox $800.00. *tr

The power steering pump failed suddenly and unexpectedly (no warning) while driving, making the steering wheel significantly more difficult to turn and driving the vehicle significantly more dangerous. *tr

Attempting to turn into school parking lot, power steering abruptly stopped working, steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn. the power steering has intermittently faltered several times in the last year but has now failed entirely. *tr

Sudden and intermittent power steering failure maintaining control of vehicle became difficult scheduled for repair. *tr

We have a 2003 mini cooper s that spontaneously caught on fire today. i was driving about 40 mph when i smelled something and the power steering just quit working. i came to a stop, then smoke came out from the side of the car. i pulled into a parking lot and opened the hood - there was a fire under the exhaust by the power steering pump. i was able to get a bucket of water and put the fire out. i got on the internet and there are at least two sites (see: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/mini.html http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?s=015b1e186260b0639d13cf8a7d6522dd&t=73527&page=8 where many people have had similar issues. what does it take for a recall? i have not seen any deaths, but several reports of fires. if i had been driving 70 on the interstate when the power steering quit and the car caught on fire, it could have been a disaster. please do something about this. i see where an investigation was opened in april (pe07022), but please move on this. i am very afraid the next person will not be so lucky. *jb

Power steering failure and soon after electrical smelling smoke started to come out from under the hood. upon inspection at the dealership some of the wires had melted and the power sterring motor was burnt out.

Turning from a left hand turn lane on to a side street as i have done at least 4 times a day for over 10 years, i lost all power and the ability to control the vehicle. in the middle of the turn the loss of power, the loss of steering, and the loss of brakes caused me to run into the curb. this accident resulted in the right front wheel and assembly being replaced. not long after getting my mini cooper s the hesitation of the accelerator when stating off in first gear began. i was told by the service rep at the mini dealership that there was no fix for this problem. i've had too many near accidents because of it. going back as far as 2005 i have complained about my steering and the noise it makes. the whole steering unit has been replaced 2 times, yet in 2009 i experienced a total loss of power while traveling at speeds of 65 mph. the power loss was electrical even though my engine was still running. the final outcome was mini replaced the alternator and battery. i've complained time and again yet with no help unless it's coming out of my own pocket. since owning this mini cooper s i've spent nearly 6000.00 in repairs. because of the interdependent nature of the asc/dsc on the vehicles braking, electronics, and even starting acceleration from a stop; has this feature been properly studied as the culprit for the many and varied problems this particular car has? in the uk there is a blog called watchdog that has 180 people who posted between february and april 2009 that all had the same problem with the power steering that i and hundreds of others have reported. how can such a serious problem go unresolved for so long. there is no doubt that this problem alone falls under the united states code for motor vehicle safety (title 49, chapter 301). *tr

Parked vehicle outside grocery store. returned after <5 minutes to find smoke pouring from the hood. opened hood to determine cause and smelt electrical smoke, and saw flames coming from under the engine. doused flames using a fire extinguisher from store, and disconnected battery. initial dealer investigation indicates that the damage was to the power steering pump and wiring harness. had i not stopped for groceries, i would have been unlikely to notice the smoke/fire early enough to prevent the loss of the vehicle. insurance and dealer root cause investigation is still pending, but after some research on the internet (mostly http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73527) i found at least 10 other instances of a fault in the power steering pump causing fires. bmw is obviously aware of some of these problems, as they made changes to the power steering pump and power steering fan wiring harness in 04 models on. it seems to me that there is a systematic problem with the power steering pump on minis. no fuse blew, and to have an electrical component run to the point where is combusts, without any fuse or thermal fuse protection seems a gross design deficiency to me. *nm

Parking the vehicle after a 35 mi commute to work with the ignition was turned off the electro hydraulic steering pump continued to run. the only way to turn the pump off and avoid overheating was to disconnect the battery. the failure was corrected by replacement of the electo hydrolic steering pump. old part is not available. *ak

Was driving down a 2-lane curvy road at night, dry weather, 75 f at 30 mph when car began to whine whenever steering wheel was turned. as i decelerated to 10-15 mph to make a 90 degree right turn around a curve, the steering wheel became suddenly extremely difficult to turn. almost t-boned a car traveling in the opposite direction around same curve. was able to get the car back in my lane, and get it home, but not without a lot of effort. called bmw service, they acknowledged they've serviced a few minis with the same problem, and was most likely a power steering pump failure. car will be towed today. *jb