NHTSA Complaint #10208808 — 2003 MINI COOPER

FIRST POWER STEERING PROBLEM OCCURRED AROUND 31,000 MILES, IN THE FORM OF A SLIGHT VIBRATION. SINCE THE 50,000 MILES MARK, POWER STEERING HAS FAILED ON INNUMERABLE OCCASIONS, FREQUENTLY 5 OR 6 TIMES WITHIN A FEW MINUTES, AND WHILE DRIVING AND TAKING SHARP TURNS, POTENTIALLY CAUSING LOSS OF CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. AT FIRST, TURNING IGNITION ON AND OFF TEMPORARILY RESOLVED THE ISSUE. HOWEVER, THIS IS NO LONGER EFFECTIVE. OTHER POWER FUNCTIONS HAVE BEEN DISRUPTED AS WELL, SUCH AS POWER LOCKS AND POWER WINDOWS, SOMETIMES LOCKING YOU IN THE CAR (DOOR LATCH MECHANISM IS ALSO UNPREDICTABLY FAULTY AT THE SAME TIME, RESULTING IN BEING POTENTIALLY LOCKED IN WITHOUT ANY MEANS TO EXIT THE CAR-THIS HAS HAPPENED ON A COUPLE OF OCCASIONS). THE POWER STEERING IS NOW STAYING ON EVEN AFTER THE ENGINE IS TURNED OFF AND THE IGNITION KEY REMOVED, AND AS A RESULT, THE BATTERY IS BEING DISCHARGED. BASED ON AVAILABLE INFORMATION, THIS IS THE FINAL STAGE BEFORE THE CAR SPONTANEOUSLY CATCHES ON FIRE. I AM NOW IN A SITUATION WHERE MY CAR IS AT RISK OF SPONTANEOUSLY CATCHING ON FIRE, AND MY LOCKS AND WINDOWS FREQUENTLY UNEXPECTEDLY MALFUNCTION, PARTICULARLY WHEN THE STEERING PUMP MALFUNCTIONS, POTENTIALLY LOCKING ME INTO MY CAR, WITH A STEERING PUMP THAT WILL NOT SHUT OFF AND THREATENS TO CATCH ON FIRE. CATCH ON FIRE WHILE I'M LOCKED INTO MY CAR... *TR