2003 MINICooper S I drove to work as on any other day and pulled into my usual parking spot. About 10 minutes later my car alarm went off. When I went outside to check, all the electrical systems were going nuts - door locks, lights, the alarm, etc. I saw a little bit of smoke coming from under the hood. I popped the hood and boot, pulled out my fire extinguisher, but didn't see flames. I smelled electrical fire, and saw a whisp of smoke but that was it. I emptied the boot and tried to disconnect the battery (I heard something 'whirring' and realized that the electrical system was obviously malfunctioning.) I couldn't disconnect it manually so I left it and checked the engine bay again. Still no flame, but more smoke. I ran inside and asked a co-worker to call the fire department. Then grabbed my phone and ran back out. Another co-worker came out with me and helped me get the fire extinguisher working; now we could see some small flames coming from below the airbox. I used up the extinguisher but there was still a little fire. Fortunately it worked itself out... then the fire department showed up. They disconnected my battery and had a look. They said that using the extinguisher definitely kept it from spreading. They filed a report but to my knowledge there was no police report. The damage started with the power steering pump igniting. The pump was replaced along with some wiring harnesses and a few other assorted parts. The engine bay was detailed to get all the fire extinguisher 'goo' out of it. The car has been functioning normally for almost a year now with the new parts. More info here: www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/showthread.php?T=73527.

- Chesapeake, VA, USA