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.
Power steering failure. While driving the MINIfor about 20 minutes we made a turn on our road home and the power steering failed with no warning whatsoever! it was almost impossible to turn the wheel! we feel very fortunate because we live on a windy road that has many large redwood trees on the sides of the road with a creek down a ravine. We could have easily hit one of those trees head on. Or if we weren't able to turn the wheels we could have ended up at the bottom of a ravine in the creek! extremely dangerous!
2003 MINIcoopers- power steering failed during exit from nys thruway-ran off the ramp due to unexpected loss of steering power. No damage or injury- turned engine off- restarted- power steering back on. Condition has occurred several times since.
My 20 year old daughter has a 2003 MINICooper with approximately 47,000 miles. The vehicle has been maintained very well, including oil changes, a 100 point inspection at 25,000 miles, coolant flush, brake system flush, etc. She was driving it home from work on a county road. As she rounded a curve the power steering went out. The failure had never occurred before this time. She could barely turn the wheel, according to her description and narrowly missed hitting an oncoming car. She drove it to the nearest parking lot and called me at work. I left work and exchanged cars with her. The problem was intermittent for about a week and then the power steering went completely out. I called the MINIdealer, which is about 50 miles away and they claimed the problem was not very common but to drive the vehicle until the problem persisted. They suggested this because they wanted to be able to track active fault codes. No injuries were sustained as a result of the failure but it was a close call. I searched the internet, only to find out that BMW was well aware of the issue. I also found extensive documentation from other MINIowners who shared similar experiences. Someone should not have to be injured of killed before BMW is forced to step up and do the right thing by addressing this significant, known, safety issue. Oh and by the way, I just picked my daughter's MINIup from dreyer and reinbold BMW in indianapolis. The bill was $1200. Ironic that BMW can afford to invest millions of dollars in indy car sponsorship but they are not willing to step up and take responsibility for a safety issue.
My friend and I got into my 03 MINICooper S this past weekend. We were driving along il rte 1 until I got up to a 2 way stop. I was making a left turn but I realized I lost all power to my power steering unit. I barely was able to make the turn in order to avoid getting broadsided by a Dodge Ram barreling at me at 60 mphs.
Power steering pump on my 2003 MINICooper S failed, very hard to steer once failed, now I'm having the same failure again after replacing it last year. Read on threads and owners everywhere are having the same problems.
- Providence, RI, USA
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The contacts owns a 2003 MINICooper S. the contact stated the power steering failed intermittently. He confirmed that when shutting off the engine for a few moments the power steering would reset itself once it restarted. Neither the dealer nor manufacturer was contacted to report the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 80,000. Updated 11/03/10.
MINICooper power steering failure. Need to maneuver vehicle to avoid a collision with another and on coming vehicle. Steering wheel locked-up and driver was distracted. This power steering failure was a result of failed power steering pump. This failure was corrected by a repair. Costing $850 us dollars. Old part is available
The power steering on my 2003 MINICooper stops working while driving without warning. It happens when going straight, as well as mid-turn. It has happened three times. I was told I must replace the power steering pump.
2003 MINICooper. Power steering pump failure. It works, then stops.. cuts out mostly during turns. Dangerous! told by MINIdealer that no recall was involved. Parts and labor was over $1200 to repair. New power steering pump lasted 2 years before same exact problem occurred.
The power steering pump and related parts in my 2003 MINICooper had to be replaced in 2006 and again in 2009. There was no specific incident that caused the problem: The power steering just stopped working while I was driving the car. 4/26/2006 38,492 miles power steering fan seized - replaced by dealer under warranty 5/03/2006 38, 709 miles power steering pump faulty -replaced by dealer under warranty 11/19/2009 89,305 miles power steering pump, power steering rack and steering shaft defective - repair paid for by car owner. Mechanic returned defective parts to MINICooper.
2003 MINICooper S, 90000 miles. Power steering wheel failure during normal driving. The steering wheel is extremely hard to turn manually, thus causing panic and real danger, because the car swerved out of a turn. Dealer says it is a common issue, and need to replace the fan or pump, repair price $1300. MINIneeds to recall the car.
My 2003 MINICooper S spontaneously caught fire while parallel parking in los angeles, ca. The power steering pump failed, a fire shortly followed. The los angeles fire dept. Was phoned. Car needed to be towed.
Failure of 2003 MINIcooper 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 MINIcooper knows about this. Neither the local dealer nor corporate office would offer any help in replacement costs.
Driving home as usual, when I turned to back-in to the driveway and the power steering went out. Very difficult to maneuver car into the driveway. Left car overnight and tried again next day. Fine the next day, but happened again the following day. 2003 mcs 31,700 miles. Looking into cause of failure.
Spontaneous engine bay fire in 2003 MINICooper with 60,000 miles. Vehicle was driven normally to work, turned off, parked, locked and left. Unattended car caught fire several minutes later. Seattle city fire department responded to emergency call, but fire self-extinguished within 10 minutes. Soot covered engine bay and acrid smoke permeated vehicle. Inspection revealed melted connection between wiring harness and power steering pump, requiring replacement of pump, cooling fan, wiring and other parts. Internet communities of MINIowners contain numerous reports of sudden engine bay fires in 2002 and 2003 MINICoopers caused by electrical shorts linked to faulty power steering pumps or fans. Frequently these fires occur after the car has been switched off. They always result in moderate vehicle damage and major repair costs (mine is estimated @ $1,600). Occasionally they result in total vehicle loss and / or additional property damage. Had this fire occurred in my home garage at night the results could have been catastrophic; if this kind of incident (sudden power steering pump failure + electric fire) were to occur on a freeway at speed it could easily result in fatalities. BMW / MINIusa has reportedly quietly reimbursed individual owners who have suffered spontaneous fires, but has not acknowledged the widespread nature of the problem -- which is ridiculous. As I discovered while researching my incident, if you google "MINICooper fire" or "MINIpower steering pump failure" you get a rash of these reports. Apparently NHTSA investigated MINIengine bay fires in 2006-2008 and dismissed the problem, alluding only to the chance of some "localized smoldering." This is irresponsible -- my MINIwas billowing acrid black smoke and could easily have burned out, taking other cars on the parking deck with it. Shocking that this major, dangerous vehicle defect has been ignored. I am one of many victims. Please reopen this investigation into MINIfires. Thank you.
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 MINIgods 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 MINIof 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 MINIhas 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 MINIwould do more about what is obviously a defective part.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- Santa Rosa, CA, USA