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.

2004 Mini Cooper steering problems

steering problem

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2004 Mini Cooper Owner Comments (Page 15 of 22)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #150

Mar 272011

Cooper

  • 65,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

While driving my 2004 MINICooper S the power assisted steering seems to quit working. This has happened in the past and then the power assist begins working on its own and may work for quite a while then unexpectedly will stop working again. When this happens the steering becomes very difficult and requires a great deal of extra effort to turn. Many times it only stops working for one or two turns then the power assist pump begins working again. In the fall of 2010 I had to install a power steering pump "cooling fan" because it failed but the pump continues to intermittently stop working.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

problem #149

Mar 242011

Cooper

  • 105,683 miles
The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper S. while driving approximately 40 mph, the steering wheel became very stiff and difficult to turn. The contact also stated that the steering wheel was stuck in a partially turned position but the vehicle continued to drive straight forward. The vehicle was towed to the contacts place of residence and was neither diagnosed nor repaired for the failure. The failure and current mileages were 105,683.

- Philadelphia, PA, USA

problem #148

Mar 232011

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 110,200 miles
2004 MINICooper 110K miles lost power steering wheel control, very dangerous.

- Dover, NJ, USA

problem #147

Feb 052011

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 90,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Power steering assist in my 2004 min Cooper failed while driving on highway.

- Neew Hyde Park, NY, USA

problem #146

Mar 212011

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 61,000 miles
I was driving on the freeway and my power steering suddenly went out-hard to steer car. I own a 2004 MINICooper.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #145

May 152009

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 95,000 miles
@ approximately 85K miles power steering failure intermittently became an issue on 2004 MINICooper S. @ 95K miles power steering became complete failure.

- Aloha, OR, USA

problem #144

Mar 182011

Cooper

  • 45,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The power steering unit in my 2004 MINICooper has been acting strange for several months. It would sporadically cut off making the car difficult to steer. This has happened several times while the car was in motion. Luckily, all of the incidents happened when the car was moving slow. Now the car has no power steering at all. It completely failed today. Our MINICooper only has 43,000 miles on it. Imagine if I was driving over 30 miles and hour and the power steering cut off! I feel like the car is very dangerous to drive. I am very nervous about parking the car since the power steering is intermittent, I hope that it doesn't cut out when I turn into a parking space, which would increase the chance of hitting a parked car. I have contacted the dealership and got a quote for $1200 in parts alone. Adding the labor will bring the grand total to $1400.

- Virginia Beach, VA, USA

problem #143

Mar 162011

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 78,000 miles
Power steering got tighter and tighter making it really hard to turn in small corners (which are everywhere in big cities). It turns out the be a well-known issue which is power steering fluid leak. It almost got me into accidents/property damage due to tight steering.

- Jersey City, NJ, USA

problem #142

Mar 052011

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
2004 MINICooper power steering randomly stops working making the vehicle extremely hard to steer. Emergency maneuvers would be impossible. Must shut the vehicle off and restart to get steering back, which is not easy to do in many situations. Will work most of the time but fail once per day or so. My mechanic has ordered a new power steering pump and fan from BMW which he says is the fix for this well documented problem. If a light person was driving the car when this happens I seriously doubt they could keep the car on the road due to the arm strength required to continue steering the car. Problem could happen at any speed.

- Richmond, VT, USA

problem #141

Jan 152011

Cooper

  • miles
My car keeps having intermittent power steering failure. There have been no events leading up to the failure, it has been quite spontaneous, always while I am driving. I have had more than 10 instances, some extremely dangerous as I am in the middle of making a turn when the failure occurs. Nothing has been done to correct the failure as of yet; I am planning to take my car to the dealership once I have the money to do so.

- Louisville, KY, USA

problem #140

Feb 062011

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 79,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Power steering pump failed to work, it worked off and on for a short period. I am in the process of replacing it.

- Arvada, CO, USA

problem #139

Nov 102010

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 42,000 miles
I own a 2004 MINICooper S and lost the power steering while driving on the highway. There were no leaks detected but the ps canister was empty. The MINIwas purchased new from crown MINIin richmond, va. We are the only owners of the MINIMy wife is afraid to drive the MINInow and we wanted to report the problem as soon as possible. I have received no help from MINIafter sending them an email and calling them.

- Staunton, VA, USA

problem #138

Feb 212011

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 109,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper S. the contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, he suddenly had a loss of power steering with out any warning. The steering became very difficult to maneuver after the failure. He was able to continue driving after restarting the vehicle. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer and it was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and advised him that there was a tsb but no related recalls. The failure and current mileages were approximately 109,000. Updated 04/15/11

- San Carlos, CA, USA

problem #137

Jun 012009

Cooper

  • 55,000 miles
Failed component 1: lower control arm bushings diagnosed at dealership as bad and oil leak is due to faulty O ring. Failed component 2: power steering total failure. Dealer stated this was due to poor design of steering pump fan (poor placement of the fan). Dealer stated there was a possible recall regarding power steering failure due to this poor design possibly pending. Work to repair these failed components has not been completed pending a dealer recall. The car is not drivable.

- Sioux Falls, SD, USA

problem #136

Feb 182010

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 106,000 miles
After starting the MINIwhich is parked in a parking garage, I noticed the steering wheel was very difficult to turn, as if the power steering wasn't working. This had happened once before, but that time the problem went away after a few minutes. It was approximately 70 outside, and the power steering fluid was full. I drove the car to do errands, approx 10 miles round trip, and the problem persisted even after turning off the car and letting it sit for a few minutes while I went to the store. The steering functioned when I used a lot of force to turn the wheel, but I was worried about safety if I had to swerve or turn the wheel quickly for any reason; I would be unable to do so.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

problem #135

Feb 052011

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 116,600 miles
While driving my 2004 MINICooper S, the power steering failed while making a turn at low speed. Without the power steering, it is hard to steer during low speed. After turning off engine and restarting, the power steering came back. But the power steering pump seems to be on all the time with a humming noise even after the engine is turned off. Which leading to the draining of the battery. The battery gave out after a couple jump starts. As of 2/15/2011, I have disconnected the power to the power steering pump and fan. Because I cannot afford of the high cost of replacing the power steering pump and cooling fan. I have not replace them yet. I still have these parts.

- San Francisco, CA, USA

problem #134

Feb 102011

Cooper 4-cyl

  • miles
Power steering in 2004 MINICooper almost completely locks up with no warning whatsoever. No warning lights or other visual indicators depict the status of the power steering fluid or overall steering system. Ability to steer car changes instantaneously from full "normal" control to nearly impossible to parallel park (at extremely slow speed) or make a basic 90 degree turn (at any relevant speed). Makes the car dangerous and stressful to drive.

- Orange, CA, USA

problem #133

Nov 112010

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 60,458 miles
Complete failure of steering column, it locks up during driving, can barely turn the wheel. This happens randomly during driving, even on a straight road not making any turns. Have to force car over onto shoulder and restart the car. Nothing bad has happened yet, but very dangerous when driving with kids in the car. All fluid levels check out, no warning lights about steering failure.

- Tigard, OR, USA

problem #132

Jan 202011

Cooper

  • 130,000 miles
The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper. The contact stated that power steering failed intermittently. The failure occurred without any warning. The vehicle was taken to a local mechanic who stated that they could not find the cause of the problem. The vehicle was still being inspected. The current and failure mileages were 130,000.

- Friendswood, TX, USA

problem #131

Feb 122011

Cooper 4-cyl

  • 67,616 miles
Purchased a used 2004 MINICooper from a dealership. 7 weeks after purchase the steering became increasingly difficult at times in the last 24 hours. Taking it on Monday but the "steering" isn't covered under their 9 month, 9000 mile warranty. Taking it in to the dealership on Monday for their service dept to take a look at it. Hoping it's covered but I doubt it.

- Shelton, WA, USA

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