NHTSA Complaint #10366649 — 2005 MINI COOPER CONVERTIBLE

AFTER ABOUT 77,000 MILES ON MY 2005 MINI COOPER, I ENCOUNTERED SUDDEN AND INTERMITTENT DIFFICULTY WITH THE STEERING WHEREIN THE POWER STEERING WOULD ABRUPTLY FAIL. THE FIRST TWO INCIDENTS OCCURRED ~3-4 MONTHS AGO, BOTH DIRECTLY AFTER STARTING THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE AND PULLING OUT OF PARKING. THE MOST RECENT INCIDENTS OCCURRED WITHIN THE PAST 6 WEEKS, RANDOMLY DURING THE FIRST 40 MILES OF MY COMMUTE. AFTER EACH INCIDENT, I WAS ABLE TO REGAIN FULL CONTROL OF THE STEERING BY PULLING OVER AND SHUTTING OFF THE VEHICLE'S ENGINE AND THEN REENGAGING IT. THERE HAVE NOW BEEN A TOTAL OF 6 INCIDENTS. THE MOST RECENT INCIDENT, A FEW DAYS AGO, OCCURRED WHILE I WAS DRIVING THE VEHICLE ON A WINDING HIGHWAY AND WAS MAKING A TURN. WHEN THE POWER STEERING FAILED, IT WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO CORRECT THE ANGLE/SPEED OF THE VEHICLE'S TURN AND A CRASH INTO THE ONCOMING TRAFFIC LANE SEEMED EXTREMELY LIKELY. AFTER CAUTIOUS BRAKING AND RELYING ON THE REMAINING MANUAL STEERING, USING VERY FIRM AND SWIFT HAND-OVER-HAND MOTION ON THE STEERING WHEEL, I WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN SOME CONTROL OVER THE VEHICLE'S WHEELS. THEN, ENGAGING THE VEHICLE'S HAZARD LIGHTS, I WAS EVENTUALLY ABLE TO PULL OVER AT THE NEXT AVAILABLE HIGHWAY'S SHOULDER, BUT IT WAS AN EXTREME AWKWARD MANEUVER REQUIRING SOME OF THE DRIVERS OF VEHICLES AROUND ME TO ADJUST THEIR OWN SPEEDS AND TURNS. I HAVE SINCE BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP'S SERVICE CENTER AND AM AWAITING THE RESULTS OF THE VEHICLE INSPECTION IN RESPONSE TO MY COMPLAINTS. I DO NOT INTEND TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE AGAIN UNTIL THE ISSUE WITH THE POWER STEERING IS COMPLETELY RESOLVED, FOR MY OWN SAFETY AND THE SAFETY OF OTHER DRIVERS. A CRASH IN THE FUTURE WOULD SEEM INEVITABLE, OTHERWISE, WITH INCONSISTENT POWER OVER THE STEERING DURING ANY COMMUTE THAT INVOLVES MANY WINDING TURNS. (IF THE POWER STEERING COULD BE COMPLETELY DISENGAGED, ALLOWING ONLY MANUAL STEERING, IT WOULD SEEM FAR SAFER THAN FOR IT TO RANDOMLY TURN OFF IN THE MIDST OF DRIVING). *TR