NHTSA Complaint #10451117 — 2003 MINI COOPER

WHILE DRIVING AT HIGH WAY SPEED CAR LOST STEERING ASSIST, INTERMITTENTLY CAME BAD THEN FAILED, I THEN SLOWED DOWN STEERING DID NOT CAME BACK, ONCE STOPPED LARGE AMOUNT OF SMOKE COMING FROM UNDER HOOD THE SMELL OF ELECTRICAL BURNING, EVEN WITH KEY OFF I COULD HEAR ELECTRIC POWER STEERING PUMP STILL TRYING TO RUN, THE FIRE WAS FROM THE HEAVY BATTERY FEED WIRES INTO THE POWER STEERING PUMP THE COMPOSITE END OF PUMP MELTED, ONCE I DISCONNECTED THE BATTERY THE SOURCE OF FIRE WAS REMOVED, I HAVE SPENT THE LAST 4 YEARS WORKING IN A GM DEALER SHIP, MASTER ASE TECH, I FEEL IF I WAS A TYPICAL CONSUMER AND HAD NOT KNOWN TO PULL BATTERY POWER THE OUT COME COULD HAD BEEN WORSE. *TR