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.

- Warminster, PA, USA

I was driving down a small city street in my 2003 MINICooper S and went to make a left turn - as soon as I did, the steering became very heavy...and un-responsive. I was able to through muscle strength force the car through the turn but had there been anyone next to me this surely would have caused a collision as it was a very difficult turn. The disappearance of the power steering was sudden and was completely gone. The car is now parked.

- New York, NY, USA

Power steering function failed; steering is now non-powered.

- Pleasanton, CA, USA

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.

- Abbeville, SC, USA

On the morning of Sunday May 13th 2012 (mothers day), I drove the vehicle approx 11 miles to my mother-in-law's home. During this 11 mile ride all seemed normal with the vehicle. After visiting for a few hours I drove it approx 5 more miles to a stop & shop, again all seemed fine with the vehicle. Within the 10-15minutes I was inside purchasing mothers day flowers, stop and shop employees had noticed a fire in the parking lot. I walked into the parking lot to find the police and fire fighters approaching my car. When I got to it there was no more fire but still plenty of smoke coming from under the hood and driver side wheel well. I took a look under the car to see that there was no more fire, so the fire department left. I was not able to start the car so I jacked up the front of the vehicle to see what had caught fire. The fire had originated from the electric/hydraulic power steering pump. The socket on the pump was still smoking a lot and very melted. The plug connector on the 12V/grounding cables feeding the pump was also very melted. Since this fire occurred on a 12V line it also shorted out the battery completely. I was able to jump the car started in order to drive it about 15-16 miles home. Since then the pump has been disassembled to find that the entire circuit board was compromised (burned/ashes). I decided to file this complaint after I had researched this issue extensively. Apparently this is a common problem. Most simply fail, either causing accidents or merely making it extremely hard do drive. Few other unlucky owners have there pumps burst into flames. MINIis aware of the issue but offers minimal to no compensation. In Canada a recall has already been issued for these defective pumps. I can only hope and pray that NHTSA along with MINIusa choose to issue a recall before this causes a very serious accident (if it hasn't already).

- Oakville, CT, USA

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.

- Foxboro, MA, USA

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.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

Complete power steering failure. Faulty/failed pump internal control circuitry.

- Albuquerque, NM, USA

My power steering suddenly failed as I was driving on a windy back road, almost didn't make the turn, and since it has failed completely. When I called the local MINIdealership (MINIof fairfield county, ct) last week to finally get the part replaced (quoted $1700 at multiple locations) the customer service person replied with, "how did you know about the recall?" overjoyed I drove my MINIin this morning at 7am only to be told that there is no official recall and I am still on the hook for the $1700. Not pleased. Calling MINItoday.

- Bridgeport, CT, USA

Drove 2003 MINIto work 11.5 miles. As I was making a turn into the parking garage the steering went out and became very difficult to maneuver. There was no warning or previous indication that there might be a problem with the steering.

- Avon, IN, USA

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.

- Belmont, NC, USA

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 MINIcooper forums.

- Eden Prairie, MN, USA

The contact owns a 2003 MINICooper. While driving approximately 30 mph, the contact noticed a chattering noise and suddenly the vehicle would not accelerate. The contact also stated that he was a mechanic. After inspecting the vehicle, he noticed that the transmission would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. Prior to the transmission failure, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. After inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the power steering pump and cooling fan would have to also be replaced. The approximate failure mileage was 106,000.

- Waverly, MN, USA

Power steering failed. Car is rack and pinion steering and can be driven without the pump but had I been going around a curve when it failed, the increased wheel effort required could have resulted in a serious accident!

- Jamestown, NC, USA

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 MINIdrivers in the us are wondering why we don't have a recall here.

- Orlando, FL, USA

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.

- Columbus, OH, USA

Power steering occasionally fails during low speed turns, e.g. U-turn or driving in parking lots.

- Sacramento, CA, USA

While I was driving MINI2003 (odo: 74K) on I-90 highway at 70mph, suddenly the power steering wheel stopped working on June 28, 2012. I barely made to exit from the highway, and got home. Next day, the car was sent to the BMW-MINIdealership, and assessed the failure of power steering pump. They know this happens frequently with MINIbut it was not covered by manufacturers. The only option was to replace the part. The part was replaced and the cost was $1,200.

- Cambridge, MA, USA

Power steering failed, making it very difficult to steer. Nearly impossible to turn wheel while stopped. My wife can barely drive the car. From researching this site and other sites, my situation seems to be the same as thousands of others, and I would like my name to be added to the current investigation.

- Winston Salem, NC, USA

On 6/12/12 I was driving my car towards my small neighborhood at speed of 10-15 miles an hour. For no apparent reason the steering wheel felt as if it was locked in place. With all my force I had to pull over to the side. I had the car checked and confirmed that the hydraulic power steering pump has failed. There was no service engine light on or any warnings what so ever, the power steering pump failed without any notice. If I were driving at high speeds of 70 miles an hour on the freeway I could have seriously been hurt.this is unacceptable.

- Chicago, IL, USA