This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
2003 MINICooper S just had a power steering system failure resulting in at least $600 in repair cost. Car only has 80,000 miles on it and when the system failed, steering went to manual effort, no assist, no warning. Fortunately I was driving and not my wife as she would have had difficulty completing the turn. I know the steering still operates, but if you aren't ready for the drastically increased effort required to complete a turn, you will loose control of the vehicle. Half-way through a turn in traffic conditions is no time to find out you don't have the strength to finish it. There was absolutely no warning of impending failure. To have a major safety and control system of your vehicle fail this quickly (only 80,000 miles) leaves me wondering as to the safety of the other vital systems on the vehicle. MINImade changes on the power steering system on later vehicles to address this without having any recall or voluntary repair program for retrofit to the older vehicles. This is not fair and definitely not safe.
2003 MINICooper 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.
When I bought the MINIback in March the night I brought it home the steering suddenly got really stiff. Then went away for about 8 months working fine, then about 3 weeks ago got stiff again, went away and now is completely out.
2003 MINICooper. Power steering failed intermittently then completely. Steering failed but would restart after car was restarted. Steering shut off and came back on suddenly during a long sweeping curve causing a near loss of control. I think this is a very dangerous defect. Replace the pump with a rebuilt at my own expense since the car was bought used. Second pump has also failed after about a year.
- Middletown, NY, USA
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My 2003 MINICooper power steering pump went out while rounding a corner. Barely gained control in time to stop. I when to the MINIdealer and the mechanic said " this is a common flaw in minis from 2002-2005. I see it all the time". then I find out there is a class action suit on the defect. Some cars have even caught on fire. Car only has 63K in it.
Power steering pump failed while car was driving. It fried one battery. Placed second brand new battery in to confirm the faulty power steering pump defect. Learned from class action lawsuit posted online that BMW knew of the defective problem. BMW claimed they fixed the problem in 2007 to get nhsta to stop investigation. However, I was never contacted or informed of the problem by BMW between 2003 to 2010. BMW customer service told me their investigation found nothing wrong with the power steering pump therefore no recall! they will not pay for any part of repair after they told me to tow my car to the dealer. If the car failed during high speed on freeway I would have been hurt. No warning of when the power steering pump will fail so consumers will have no warning of this problem until it happens. If I did not stop the car immediately, my engine would have been on fire.
Hi there is a problem with my MINICooper losing power steering, I have lost the power steering few times this week and when I took it to the BMW near my area they told me its a known problem with MINIcars from 2001 to 2005 as the psp ( power steering pump ) on the models have a fault and you may lose the steering power at any time. I almost had 2 accidents because of this week and they are asking my to pay 550 for a new pump. If they have a faulty pump and they now it can risk lives they should recall it or offer to fix this for people who are affected.
The contact owns a 2003 MINICooper S. the vehicle was parked and shut off for approximately 30 minutes when the contact was advised that the vehicle was on fire. The contact stated that fire was coming from under the hood. The fire extinguished independently and the vehicle was towed to an independent repair facility. The contact was informed that the power steering remained on while the vehicle was shut off and caused the fire. The power steering pump, wiring harness and battery were all replaced. The failure did not recur. The failure mileage was 50,000 and the current mileage was 92,000.
I purchased a 2003 MINICooper S used in November 2007. It had 30,000 miles. Shortly after purchase the power steering pump went out. The dealership replaced it promptly, Dec. 2007. I am now experiencing intermittent power steering failure again, at 79,000 miles, 49,000 miles on a new pump. It comes and goes while driving. Very dangerous while taking curves.
My 2003 MINICooper has almost caught on fire several times, replaced transmission, electrical harness, power steering pump, A/C hoses and A/C service, wheel bearings, injection plugs etc....... I still cannot find the real problem why is causing a short, it has almost caught on fire several times, this car has been the most dangerous car I have ever own, I have never spend so much money on trying to fix any vehicle, right now I'm about $11,500 in costs of repairs, this is a crime to the consumer, I have been reading about a class action lawsuit that is in progress, I hope and pray that we get justice from the maker of MINI
The contact owns a 2003 MINICooper. While driving approximately 45 mph, the power steering failed. The driver was operating the vehicle when this failure occurred and had to control the steering wheel with both hands. There were no warning lights prior to the failure. The vehicle was taken to a repair shop where the contact was informed that the power steering pump and fan were defective. The vehicle had not been repaired. The contact called the manufacturer who offered no assistance. The current and failure mileages were 74,651.
On Sep 5, 2010 around 2:40pm, I parked my 2003 MINICooper in front of the lowe's store in san bruno, ca and went inside for shopping with my wife. After 20 minutes later we heard a store employee called 911 for the smoke/fire came out from my car. I went out the store immediately and saw the firefighters were about to put out the smoke. The firefighters opened the hood and heard the noise under the car. Next, they disconnected the car battery and the noise was gone. The MINICooper was towed to the auto repair shop for the diagnostics. Here is the diagnostics result: "inspected vehicle and found the power steering inoperative. Inspected power steering pump and wiring. Found wiring melted and the power steering pump failed. Found over current damage due to power steering pump failure causing battery light to illuminate. Replaced the power steering pump, wiring harness, power steering pump fan, and alternator." I believe this is a MINICooper design failure according to bbc special reports in 2009. Link 1: MINIpower steering failures www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/02/mini_steering_system_failures.html link 2: minis that could catch fire www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/watchdog/2009/04/mini_update.html.
Driving home from dropping my children off from school and the steering was very hard to turn the wheel. This was as I was going around a corner. It was very difficult to turn the wheel. I was fortunate that I was driving the car and not my teenage son or daughter as they would not have had the strength to avoid an accident. I have done some online research on MINICooper forums and discovered that this is a common problem due to failure of a electrical power steering pump. I contacted the local dealer MINIof murray Utah to see if there was a safety recall in force and was told there was none. I was also told that this is a well know MINICooper issue. The service rep said that he had the same problem with his own vehicle. This a safety hazard and could have cost my the life of my children. This must be recalled.
2003 MINICooper S - power steering has repeatedly failed at high and low speed driving. Wife ran onto sidewalk once when control was lost. Smells like something is burning when driving. Steering fails. When car cools control comes back, but fails again after less than a mile. Called 3 dealerships who all knew & had repaired cars with the same issues. Estimated $1500-2000 out of my pocket to fix with no help from manufacturer. I complained that the car had barely 40,000 miles on it and failure should not be occurring on german engineered car. One service tech said "the problems are in the pumps and those aren't designed or manufactured by BMW, so it is not bmws' fault." But they are the ones who sold these cars with theses issues for 4 years. Flushed power steering fluid myself which was burnt and black. Replaced with new recommended fluid. Lasted about 30 miles before burning smell returned and steering problems continued as before. Saw online article where BMW cautioned that 2002-2005 minis may have steering issues but no recall would be issued. The article estimated 225,000 cars at risk and a recall might destroy the MINIline. So be it. 2002 and 2003 models should be included in investigation of 2004 and 2005 model years. Considering selling the car to recoup investment, but after hearing of numerous steering failures and even fires that total the cars and even burn down homes and garages where they are parked makes me feel like I would be putting someone else unwittingly in danger. The car has currently sat in storage with the battery removed from the car while I debate whether or not to replace the power steering pump in hopes of fixing the problem or get rid of the car. I would have to tell they buyer the issues, which means less money, and I still owe $6500. I would lose all equity I have in a car I paid $20,000 for just a couple of years ago. BMW should fix this problem or I and others have unsafe cars worth a fraction of cost.
Power steering pump failure that ended up in fire. Power steering failed and the battery icon light went on, afterwards it began to smell like burnt, I stopped the car immediately and open the bonnet, everything was covered on an ashes layer. The pump wires and connections were all melted along the pump.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Uncasville, CT, USA