CarComplaints.com Notes: Power steering problems are a major issue with the 2004 Mini Cooper, with hundreds of owners reporting complaints to the NHTSA about their power steering suddenly failing while driving.
Some power steering failures have caused crashes & injuries. Average mileage at failure is well under 100,000 miles & the repair cost is over $1,000. Not good.
10.0
really awful
Crashes / Fires:
10 / 7
Injuries / Deaths:
2 / 0
Average Mileage:
75,582 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
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.
The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper S. while driving 35 mph, the contact stated the vehicle lost all power steering. The dealer informed the contact that the power steering pump failed and to replace the pump as well as the battery to correct the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. No repairs were performed. The current mileage was 116,000 and the failure mileage was 115,900.
Power steering froze up as we turned a corner and then died out completely. It has never returned. Very close to causing a collision because of the loss of power steering.
I was driving my MINICooper S on the freeway going into a turn, the wheel became extremely hard to turn with no notice. I could not make the turn all the way and the drivers side tires and fender hit the curb on the freeway. I fought the car off the freeway and let it sit for 15 mins while I called MINIThe dealer said that my power steering had failed. After a wait of 15 mins the car started and drove just fine. I drove the car to the dealership and they tested the power steering pump and said that it was good at that time. They told me that it would continue to be a problem with just giving out at random times unless I spent $4000 and had all the components replaced even though it tested good at the time. They replaced all the bushings and struts in the front at that time for $2000. They told me not to replace the power steering unless it totally stopped working. The second incident was 5000 miles later on a round about at 35 mph. The steering had just failed again. This is a dangerous situation when the dealer tests the system after a failure and claims that it is good, and then it fails again with no warning. I think that the manufacture should take responsibility and have all the systems upgraded to not fail at such low mileage and if they do fail to be able to track such a failure.
I had driven the vehicle to work without incident. Started vehicle after work and immediately noticed that the power steering was not working. Drove the vehicle 34 miles and parked it for 30 minutes. When I restarted the vehicle the power steering was again working.
While driving the power steering cut out creating an unsafe driving condition. Over the next 20,000 miles the power steering would intermittently come back and go out more than a dozen times until eventually failing completely.
- Burlington, CT, USA
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The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper S. while driving approximately 30 mph and making a turn, the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing where the technician advised that the power steering pump failed and would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 79,000.
Power steering pump failed as I was exiting I-80 @ exit 56 returning home from work. As I started onto the exit ramp and began to curve to the right, the steering was very hard in the car which resulted in my having to force the wheel to the right. I also was braking at this point given the surprise of the tight wheel. I ended up on the shoulder of the ramp before gaining control of the car and reducing the speed. When I got to the top of the ramp and stopped, the pump began to work again. On 12/27 the pump failed again as I backed out of my garage. I pulled the car back into the garage and parked it until I can resolve this issue. I purchased the car used several months ago with 67K miles. I searched the forums to see if anyone else has had this issue and found many reports of pump/fan failures. This is a safety risk to anyone who owns one of these cars. I cannot imagine what would've happened had my wife been driving my car when the pump failed, it was all I could do to keep from wrecking into the median area.
The power steering pump just all of a suddenly without warning failed on my MINIcooper. I was going down the highway at 70 mph when I went to get off on a off ramp and the car took alot of force for me to steer it in the right direction. I was lucky to not have snow at the time because if I did I could have possibly lost control of my car. I know alot of people have had this happen to them and for the price that these pumps they should last alot longer than have.
Power steering stopped working, 1st time whilst at a traffic light, 2nd time whilst pulling out of a parking spot. Steering becomes very heavy, almost unmanageable. I haven't used the car in the last three months as I have been out of the country, I need to look into replacing the steering pump, fan and a cover.
The cars power steering started failing for a few seconds while driving at slow speed. This has happened at least 20 or more times over the last 2 years. The steering of the vehicle becomes extremely hard. There is no warning that this will occur, so clearly it could result in an accident. In the last 12 months, the power steering has started to fail when the car is started, but started working again if the car was restarted or after a short period of time. This week, after 3 hours of driving, the car was parked for 15 minutes, when the car was restarted there was no power steering at all during another 5 minutes of driving. The care was stopped for another 20 minutes and when restarted power steering was restored. I am very concerned that this failure could occur during high speed maneuvering and could result in a major accident. I feel that I have been lucky to date that I haven't been in a situation that resulted in an accident, precise control of the vehicle is impossible without the power steering.
The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper S. the contact stated that when he started the vehicle the power steering failed and the steering wheel became abnormally stiff. The dealer was notified of the failure who stated that there were no recalls for the failure. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue and the vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 69,000...updated 01/04/12 the consumer stated the power steering pump was replaced at a cost of $866.67. The consumer has since traded the vehicle. Updated 01/09/12
The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed without warning, causing extreme difficulty in steering control. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure and the current mileage was 120,000.
Steering fluid pump was just replaced a few weeks ago, problem has returned and will not go away... steering wheel very rigid hard to turn. Very difficult to make turns, alot of effort to turn the steering wheel. Trying to make a sharp or quick turn if needed, would be dangerous & almost impossible. I recently researched and found that thousands of 04 MINICoopers had this same problem.
Power assisted steering will cease working while driving, making the car very, very difficult to steer/control. This problem is currently intermittent, but when it does happen it is very scary. Currently, I will not allow my wife or grandchildren in the car until I fix this problem. MINIusa thru main line MINIbala cynwyd, pa stated no recall for this vehicle via email. Research of NHTSA online data base shows 113 reported complaints for year 2004 MINIs and 120 for year 2005 for steering problems and no fix by BMW. This is a serious safety problem and suggest readers file complaints and hope it does not take a death to get someone's attention.
The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper. The contact stated that immediately after starting the vehicle, the power steering failed. The contact mentioned that the failure occurred on three occasions. During the most recent failure, the power steering pump continued to run after the vehicle was turned off. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer and the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 80,000 and the current mileage was 89,000.
I am the original owner of a 2004 MINICooper S, now with a power steering problem. The power steering repeatedly fails for no detectable reason--this according to my MINIBMW mechanic. I drive the car for approximately 15 miles and the power steering fails. I shut the car off, let it cool and restart it. It returns to normal and then again fails after a few miles. The on-board computer records the failure, but does not explain it in a way that would suggest a solution. The car's computer reads: "fault stored: Short circuit/open circuit at control unit." Hence, my mechanic has no idea of how to fix it short of replacing the entire system which, as he says, is no guarantee that the problem will stop. As it is, the car is unsafe to drive, and I will no longer permit my wife to drive it. I do hope the NHTSA will look into this issue. I read online that allegedly is investigating the issue, and I would be happy to provide my mechanic's written evaluation if it would contribute to your research. The steering now fails each time I drive the automobile. Thank you for your attention.
Power steering intermittently working causing severe oversteer while entering highway traffic. Had no indication of problem while on interstate. Upon exiting interstate on a 30 mph loop steering failed. Presently power steering is intermittent so the wife no longer gets to drive the cooper. Good fortune was with me and I have driven cars without powersteering. Even so I was caught off guard and I am hopeful this report will prevent others which may be less fortunate or experienced. The MINIdealership didn't seem to care.
About a year and half ago the car was leaking steering fluid, the mechanic stated that the cooling fan on the steering pump was a bad design, he adjusted it and it lasted until November of 2011 again the leaking started, grinding noise from the front left, steering was difficult on turns. I had all the steering components replaced at a cost of @ $1,100. Mechanic still believed it is a design flaw, should have a recall.
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
- North Hollywood, CA, USA