2005 MINI COOPER CONVERTIBLE Steering Problems

THE POWER STEERING PUMP FAILED SUDDENLY AND WAS UNABLE TO TURN THE CAR. *TR UPDATED 08/24/11 *BF UPDATED 08/29/11

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MINI COOPER CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER SHE PARKED THE VEHICLE AND SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF, SHE HEARD A LOUD NOISE FROM THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN HOME AND THE CONTACT UNPLUGGED THE BATTERY, WHICH STOPPED THE LOUD NOISE THAT SHE WAS HEARING. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHO INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT SHE NEEDED TO REPLACE THE POWER STEERING PUMP. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 69,998.

SUDDEN STEERING FAILURE. *LN

SAME ISSUE AS COMPLAINT 10378962, RELATED TO INVESTIGATION 10-038. POWER STEERING FAILED WHEN ATTEMPTING TO MAKE A LEFT HAND TURN.

POWER STEERING FAILED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO TURN CORNER. FAILURE CONTINUED FOR SEVERAL MILES/HOURS AND THEN BEGAN WORKING AGAIN AFTER A PERIOD OF INACTIVITY

WHILE DRIVING MY 2005 MINI COOPER, MY POWER STEERING WENT OUT. I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF A RIGHT TURN FROM A VERY BUSY STREET WHEN THE STEERING WENT OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TURN. I NEARLY CRASHED HEAD-ON INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC AND THE STEERING WAS SO DIFFICULT, I PULLED A SHOULDER AND BACK MUSCLE JUST TRYING TO COMPLETE THE TURN. THE POWER STEERING WAS OUT FOR THE REST OF MY TRIP. SINCE THEN, THE POWER STEERING HAS FAILED INTERMITTENTLY ON A DAILY BASIS AND COMES WITH NO WARNING. IT WILL DRIVE FOR SEVERAL MILES WITH NO PROBLEM AND THEN SUDDENLY STOP WORKING. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MINI COOPER CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT HEARD A HIGH PITCHED SQUEAKING NOISE WHILE MAKING LEFT AND RIGHT TURNS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER WHERE SHE WAS TOLD THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP WAS FAILING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 72,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.

I OWN A 2005 MINI COOPER. IT HAS A POWER STEERING PUMP FAN THAT HAS GONE OUT, AND IS CAUSING UNSAFE STEERING ISSUES. I UNDERSTAND NHTSA IS INVESTIGATING THIS ISSUE. *TR

MINI COOPER 2005 CALIFORNIA USA. LOSS OF POWER STEERING PROBLEM - CURRENTLY, INTERMITTENT LOSS OF POWER STEERING, EITHER FROM COLD-START, OR WHILE DRIVING ON SHORT OR LONG DISTANCES. CAN HAPPEN FOR ONLY A FEW SECONDS OR REMAIN FOR MINUTES. ONCE THE POWER LOSS IS REALIZED, IT IS POSSIBLE TO SWITCH ENGINE OFF THEN ON AGAIN TO REGAIN POWER - SOMETIMES - BUT PROBLEM CAN RETURN AFTER MINUTES OR HOURS. IT IS VERY SCARY TO BE DRIVING ON BUSY ROADS WHEN CORNERING IS REQUIRED, LACKING FAITH WHETHER ONE WILL BE ABLE TO STEER THE VEHICLE OUT OF THE PATH OF OTHER ROAD-USERS... INTERNET SEARCHES SHOW OTHER PEOPLE EXPERIENCING SIMILAR PROBLEMS BUT DEALERS AND MANUFACTURERS ARE IGNORING OR SIDE-STEPPING THIS SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

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...

I HAVE A 2005 MINI COOPER CONVERTIBLE - R52. THE POWER STEERING DOES NOT WORK WELL. IT STARTED BEING PROBLEMATIC ABOUT A YEAR AGO RIGHT AFTER I PURCHASED THE CAR. WHILE DRIVING THE POWERSTEERING GOES VERY STIFF. IT IS DIFFICULT TO TURN AND SOMETIMES WHEN TURNING OFF A HIGHWAY WHILE THE POWER STEERING IS NOT WORKING, IT COMES BACK ON, AND I END UP OVERSTEERING OFF THE ROAD AND THEN BACK ON TO THE ROAD. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY DURING THE TIME I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR. I WAS TOLD BY MINI THAT THIS IS NOT A COMMON PROBLEM, BUT MY RESEARCH SEEMS TO INDICATE THAT THERE ARE 10'S OF THOUSANDS OF MINI OWNERS FROM 2002 TO 2006 WHO HAVE THIS PROBLEM. OTTOS MINI IN WEST CHESTER PA QUOTED ME OVER $1000 DO REPAIR IT...AND THEY DO NOT SEEM TO SEE THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM. I...

TWICE, WHILE PARALLEL PARKING MY 2005 MINI COOPER CONVERTIBLE, I LOST POWER STEERING. IT SEEMS TO HAPPEN INTERMITTENTLY AND RESTORES WHEN I RESTART MY CAR. DEALER SAYS I NEED TO REPLACE MY POWER STEERING PUMP. *TR

POWER STEERING IN MY 2005 MINI COOPER WITH 28,000 MILES SOMETIMES FUNCTIONS AND OTHER TIMES DOES NOT-MOSTLY THOUGH IT DOES NOT FUNCTION. THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN ONGOING SINCE MARCH, 2010. ON RARE OCCASIONS, I WILL START THE CAR AND THE POWER STEERING WILL FUNCTION AS NORMAL. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 MINI COOPER S. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE POWER STEERING FAILED INTERMITTENTLY. WHEN THE FAILURE OCCURRED IT BECAME EXTREMELY HARD TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INSPECTED BY THE DEALER WHEN THE COMPLAINT WAS FILED. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 15000.

2005 MINI COOPER CONVERTIBLE AT FIRST INTERMITTENT POWER STEERING FAILURE AND NOW COMPLETE POWER STEERING FAILURE. THE FIRST TIME IT HAPPENED VERY SUDDENLY WHILE MAKING A LEFT TURN, I ALMOST RAN INTO ANOTHER CAR. NOW I AM NOT DRIVING THE CAR UNTIL I CAN AFFORD TO HAVE IT REPAIRED. *TR

MINI COOPER , POWER STEERING FROZE UP AND CAME BACK WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEED. *TR

LOSS OF POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES IN A 2005 MINI COOPER CONVERTIBLE. NO WARNING AND INTERMITTENT OCCURRENCE. SOMETIMES WOULD HAPPEN WHILE DRIVING AND SOME TIMES WOULD BE IMMEDIATELY AFTER TURNING CAR ON. TOOK CAR TO MECHANIC AND HE COULD NOT FIND CAUSE. NO COMPUTER DAMAGE, NO CODES PRESENT TO INDICATE THAT ANY THING UNUSUAL HAD OCCURRED. I TRADED THE CAR IN FOR A DIFFERENT MAKER AND MODEL. *TR

2005 MINI COOPER - SUDDEN LOSS OF STEERING ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AT 70 MPH. DEALER STATED POWER STEERING PUMP FAILURE & NOT UNCOMMON IN 5 YEAR OLD CAR. NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. POWER STEERING PUMP REPLACED. *TR

I WAS ON MY REGULAR COMMUTE THROUGH CITY STREETS. AFTER ABOUT 10 MILES OF DRIVING I WAS GOING ABOUT 40MPH ON A FAIRLY STRAIGHT ROAD. ON THE NEXT LIGHT CURVE I NOTICED THE WHEEL WAS MORE DIFFICULT TO TURN. I SLOWED DOWN TO TURN INTO A SIDE ROAD AND THAT'S WHEN I REALIZED THE POWER STEERING MUST HAVE BEEN OUT. I CHECKED THE RESERVOIR AND IT WAS FULL. I CALLED THE DEALER AND THEY SAID THEY WERE AWARE OF MANY COMPLAINTS OF POWER STEERING GOING OUT. THEY ALSO MENTIONED THAT THERE IS NO RECALL FOR THE POWER STEERING. DEALER NOTIFIED ME THERE WOULD BE A $100 CHARGE FOR DIAGNOSTICS. IF ITS FOUND TO BE THE POWER STEERING FAN IT WOULD COST $300 PLUS LABOR. IF IT'S THE PUMP IT WOULD BE $800 PLUS LABOR. WARRANTY EXPIRED 5 MONTHS AGO. APPARENTLY MINI DOES NOT WANT TO HAVE TO PAY TO FIX...

NOTHING SPECIFIC TO LEAD UP TO FAILURE POWER STEERING WILL INTERMITTENTLY FAIL, AND OCCASIONALLY BE RESTORED NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO CORRECT THE FAILURE. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY WHEN I NOTICED MY STEERING FELT "TIGHT". IT WAS DIFFICULT TO NAVIGATE A CURVE. I TRIED TO PULL INTO A REST AREA WHEN I REALIZED I HAD ALMOST NO STEERING ABILITY. I WAS ABLE TO TURN THE CAR BY USING BOTH HANDS. I ALMOST CRASHED ON THE RAMP. IT WAS A VERY SCARY EXPERIENCE. THE PROBLEM IS STILL THERE. I SPOKE WITH THE DEALER. IT IS MY POWER STEERING PUMP. IT IS A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR AND IT SEEMS THERE ARE LOTS OF COMPLAINTS. I AM VERY GLAD I DID NOT HAVE TO DO ANY EMERGENCY TURNS, I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO STEER THE CAR. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A DISASTER. *TR

2005 MINI COOPER POWER STEERING PUMP FAILURE, WHILE MAKING A TURN, WITHOUT NOTICE MY POWER STEERING PUMP FAILED MY VEHICLE HAS APROX. 80K MILES ON IT. MINI IS REMANUFACTUING THE PUMP WITH DESIGN IMPROVEMENTS THIS TELLS ME THEY KNOW SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE ORIGINAL PUMP, THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO REPAIR THE ORIGINAL PUMPS FEE OF CHARGE NOT THE $800.00 THEY WANT JUST FOR THE PUMP. THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. *TR

2005 MINI COOPER S CONVERTIBLE. JUST OVER 50,000 MILES. TODAY, WHILST DRIVING TO LUNCH, MY POWER STEERING FAILED. THERE WAS NO WARNING, IT JUST QUIT, MID-DRIVE. THE CAR IS NOW VERY DIFFICULT TO STEER. THIS COULD HAVE EASILY CAUSED AN ACCIDENT. LOOKING ONLINE, I SEE THAT THIS IS A COMMON FAILURE, YET THERE HAVE BEEN NO RECALLS. HTTP://WWW.MINI2.COM/FORUM/FIRST-GENERATION-FAULTS-FIXES/49527-IMPORTANT-HAVE-YOU-HAD-POWER-STEERING-PUMP-FAILURE-PLEASE-VOTE-YES-NO.HTML. *TR

REGULAR DRIVING AT AROUND 6PM AT ABOUT 40MPH AROUND A BEND, COMPLETE POWER STEERING FAILURE, THE CAR BECAME VERY HEAVY TO STEER, WITH NO PRIOR WARNING, AND NO WARNING LIGHTS. ALMOST CAUSED AN ACCIDENT AS THE CAR FAILED TO STEER. NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE, THE WARRANTY HAS BEEN OVER FOR 3 MONTHS AND MINI ARE SAYING A GOODWILL REPAIR MIGHT BE AVAILABLE, BUT WILL NOT DO A FREE DIAGNOSTIC, HELP US GET TO A DEALERSHIP OR PROMISE ANYTHING BEFOREHAND. A NEW POWER STEERING PUMP IS LIKELY NEEDED, AS PER THE EVIDENCE OF THE EUROPEAN RECALL, AND OTHER MINI DRIVER TESTIMONY. *TR

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE STREET AT ABOUT 40 MPH AND MY STEERING BECAME EXTREMELY HARD AND ALMOST REFUSED TO COMPLETELY WORK AS I WAS ROUNDING A BEND! I HAD TO SLAM ON MY BRAKES TO AVOID AN ACCIDENT AND SLOWLY INCH TO A SAFE PARKING SPOT. AFTER BEING SCARED OUT OF MY WITS, I CALMED DOWN AND PARKED MY CAR. I LET THE CAR SIT OVERNIGHT AND CHECKED POWER STEERING FLUID AND IT WAS FULL. I THEN LOOKED ONLINE AND FOUND MANY MINI OWNERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. MINI SAYS THEY WILL NOT FIX IT. *TR