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 MINICooper. Consumer requests assistance for hazardous vehicle transmission and steering wheel. The consumer stated the vehicle stalled while driving on a busy highway.
The steering became very tight and the steering wheel was very hard to turn. The sudden loss of power steering was very scary at normal street speeds. Shutting off the car and restarting it will return the steering to normal only for a little bit...after a few minutes the power steering is gone again.
I bought my used MINICooper S (64,686 miles) from Honda dealership - serramonte (daly city, ca) on March 13, 2012. I'm the second owner of this vehicle. The steering problem first occurred on June 2012, but it was temporary. While driving the steering wheel became hard to maneuver from left to right. I had to pull over and stopped the car to see what's wrong. It came back to normal after I turned on the engine. The steering problem would happen occasionally, I would do the same procedures and the steering would go back to normal again. Today (3/27/13), while I was driving at 35 mph in the residential area, I noticed my steering wheel stiffen like last time. I stopped and turned off the engine and fired it back up. This time, it stayed stiff permanently. I had to drive the car back home during rush hours. Luckily I managed to get home without getting involved in an accident. I checked the steering fluid level under the hood and found out that it was full. I googled the steering problem on the 2004 MINICooper S, I came to find out the same problems were experienced by many MINIowners. I need your advice as soon as possible on how I can get my car repaired before it cause a major accident on the road. This is the only vehicle I have to make a living. Because of these common steering problems, I hope MINIwould take full responsibility for this.
I stopped my car in a parking lot to run some errands. When I returned to my car and got it started, I realized that the power steering of my car became really stiff. It was really hard for me to steer my car left and right. The power steering of my car no longer function as before and it was really difficult for me to drive on the road, especially when I have to turn left or right at a road junction.
My power steering is failing. It causes myself or when my wife drives (with both my young children in the car) to come and go intermittently. At times in parking lots or even at highway speeds it will go from normal usage and ease of use to heavy manual steering. This needs to be addressed more then just "being looked into." This is very dangerous and could/will cause loss of life if not resolved per BMW/MINIcooper and it's ownership. I listed it as "crash" in the yes form. So far it has only been into the curb a few times at typical parking speeds. So far is the statement here. This will become an issue if not resolved and I hope that it is just a curb and not another car/family that are affected due to this "known" issue.
While driving on I95 going around a curve, my steering column locked up. I was able to pull over to the shoulder. It has happened a few times but I was able to pull over and wasn't sure what to tell my mechanic since it was so random. This weekend as I drove through an intersection making a left turn, with my children in the car, it locked up after months of not recurring. I was able to stop in time before colliding with oncoming cars at the red light but it was very scary for all of us. I am appalled MINIhas not issued a recall considering the precious lives that are at stake. I suppose it will take a fatality for someone to recall this defective part.
Power steering assist intermittently failed multiple times today at various speeds. Turning the car off and back on again seems to temporarily fix the problem but after some time, the power assist will fail again. Car is very difficult to steer without power assist.
Power steering went out as we were driving down the road. Almost caused an accident. Power steering still out. I just read up and it seems everyone's waiting for the recall. This is dangerous!!
Driving off-ramp at 35 mph power steering stopped functioning and steering became really hard, lights went off, ac stopped working, and lots of engine lights came up, almost crashed when turning a corner and engine started failing.....got home and shut off car, when tried to turn on again, it failed to start.......
2004 MINICooper occasionally would lose power steering once every couple months after a few years of owning it. Turning off car and starting it back up would always resolve it. While driving down highway at 60mph, lost power steering. Could not pull over immediately. Took exit ramp with a sharp curve, could barely make it around the curve, ended up on the shoulder. Easily could have been an accident, or worse.
Beginning early 2012 (approx), there was intermittent power steering failure; the frequency increased through 2012. Total power steering failure as of January 19, 2013. Mechanic advises this is a failure of the power steering pump - a well known issue with 2004 MINIcoopers.
The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper. The contact stated that while driving 35 mph, the power steering failed. The vehicle was shutdown and restarted and after a few minutes, operated as designed. The vehicle had not been diagnosed by a mechanic but the contact was sure that the power steering pump was the cause of the failure. The manufacturer was notified but offered no assistance. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure and current mileage was 91,000.
Took my car into the mechanic to have it look at for a new clutch. They noticed the power steering pump was leaking. They replaced the fluid and cautioned me about getting it replaced soon.
I was driving home on the high way from my friends house, when all of the sudden my steering got hard and I was going about 65mph, I pulled over and shut my car off wondering what had happened, turned it back on and it worked fine but it felt like it was getting hard, again like it would get hard and let go real quick, started driving really slow until my nearest exit and it got really hard before I got off the highway, and it stayed that way until I got home and its been happening since.
Power steering pump failed at speed. Was very difficult to control the vehicle and presented a hazard to me and the vehicles around me. This is a common and known issue on many minis of similar year, should not occur to due the safety hazards.
The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed intermittently and the steering wheel became hard to turn. The failure occurred for a brief moment and the steering returned to normal function. However, the failure became permanent over time. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and a diagnostic was performed. The failure was located at the power steering pump. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 88,416 and the current mileage was 88,570.
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