[waynef]

Hi,

I have owned TWO MINI Cooper S's over the past 18 months.
In that time I have suffered a total of THREE power steering failures needing the car to be recovered by MINI Emergency Services because it is unsafe to drive.

- My first MINI was built SEPTEMBER 2002 and broke-down at 6 months and 11 months old
(BK52MXM, see problem list in my signature block),

- My second MINI was built SEPTEMBER 2003 and broke-down at 2 months old
(BN53ZDZ, steering column replaced, dashboard replaced, etc.).

In all cases I was told by the BMW/MINI dealer that the power steering pump had failed.

QUESTION:
- Have you had a similar problem?
- If so, can you please please please answer this poll?

*** STOP PRESS *** STOP PRESS *** 13TH JULY 2004 ***

Could all people with a steering failure PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE call the government safety body VOSA (Vehicle Operator Safety Agency) on

+44 (0)117 954 3300 to report your problem.

They are currently collating driver reports and as of today (13th July 2004), they need as much information as YOU can offer. PLEASE DO IT NOW - BEFORE SOMEONE GETS INJURED - THANKS.

Please feel free to comment if you have any further information.

Thank you all so very much,

[waynef]

Hi,

This poll has been up for a few hours now and it's been seen by 29 people.
Problem is, only 7 of those people have voted.

Have I not covered all the possible permutations?

Once again, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE help me collate details on steering failures.

Speak again tomorrow

[Paul]

Not had a failiure, but I've had a replacement pump, column, and rack on my old 'S'.

[waynef]

Quote: Originally Posted by Paul Mullett

Not had a failiure, but I've had a replacement pump, column, and rack on my old 'S'.

Thanks for that Paul. Why did you have the pump replaced? Was it not working 100%?

I find it almost impossible to turn the steering wheel.
It feels as though you have the ignition in position 1, without the engine running and the steering lock undone. It's that hard.

Last time it happened it took two blokes to get the car off the drive! One at the steering wheel iteself and the other pushing and pulling at the road wheels to make them turn.

I am really worried about this...

[Goonery]

On MINI no 9, but all of them have been ok from the steering pump perspective, and I'm not just saying that because I work for BMW.

NO one else here seems to have had a problem from those I've asked this morning either.

[bobnobski]

wayne - my 1st MINI from Rydale required a new pump - due to a leak. The car was 2 weeks old!!
so are you not happy with your replacement car. what problems have you had!

[Lucebel]

No.. but my baby's only 3 weeks old...
(But let's not hope it happens in the future!)

[waynef]

Quote: Originally Posted by bobnobski

wayne - my 1st MINI from Rydale required a new pump - due to a leak. The car was 2 weeks old!!
so are you not happy with your replacement car. what problems have you had!

Hi again,

Not wanting this to turn into a rant, I've had minor issues like they dismantled the whole dash to find a creak, only to add even more rattles then to find out that the steering column was at fault and needed replacement.

Then the the steering pump went and the car was useless, the CD player skipped like the old one and was replaced (the old one was replaced 6 times!).

It pretty obvious to me haven't BMW/MINI spent a penny on development since my first MCS. Not least of all on the steering pump.

Also, to make matters worse Rydale have been calling me in to replace stuff like A-pillar covers that are faulty, only to find at about lunchtime that "...they don't fit", or "...we haven't got a part in stock". Hell, they even called me in at 9am the day before New Years eve to replace a windscreen that they promised they had in stock, only to find out at 4pm that they hadn't at all! I had to make a special visit - on New Years eve!

Arggghhh. This dealer is... (insert word here)

I lied about the rant too

[bobnobski]

looks like your mini adventure could be coming to an end!!

[CooperS4us]

2002 Cooper CVT (8/2002 build) = 19,200 miles and still has original factory Power Steering Pump. No problems at all.

2004 Cooper S (9/2003 build) = 3,860 miles and absolutely no problems to report.


You seem to have a case of bad luck and a lousy dealer to boot

[cpeters1]

I lost all fluid at about 9,500 miles. I leaked slowly until one day I could no longer turn. The dealer replaced the pump because nothing else looked bad. It has been okay now for 3,000 miles. Another problem is the BMW only fluid required which is horribly expensive and the fact that they do not tell you how to check the fluid in the owners manual.

[waynef]

Quote: Originally Posted by bobnobski

looks like your mini adventure could be coming to an end!!

...I forgot to mention that one of the headlamps needed to be replaced too because everytime it rained, or the car 'decided' to wash the headlamps (they didn't work initially either), they filled up with water. The dealer reckoned that "...something must have happened in the workshop, not to worry, it'll soon evaporate". Looking closely at it though, I found that there was a large crack in the silvered bowl that allowed water into the unit. And that was from new ! See my contribution at the top of the thread http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38442

I am ashamed to say that your right. They are treating me like a fool and I have a big-mouth. They could easily have kept me happy and turned my negative situations into a positive. Hell, on the run upto me signed on the dotted line, they we're tremendeously helpful. I told everyone, friends, family and colleagues. They all paid attention and coupled with the beauty of the car, they too were impressed and no doubt 'passed it on' themselves.

Needless to say, everyone of those people (of which some are car buying professionals) cannot the believe the way that I am being treated, and would never ever consider visit or recommend the dealer or MINI Cooper S's now. Admitted, squeaks and rattles are petty but the sort of stuff that have happened to me recently like multiple failures of the steering and the dealers disgraceful attitude to me as a true customer is sickening. The MD there treats me like an ignorant childish-fool.

We are hoping to get a final answer from BMW/MINI in the form of their MD this week, but I really need the stats' from this thread to talk knowledgably to them. And so far the results are interesting.

Wish me luck and if you know someone on here that hasn't voted so far, please ask them too!

[moorlockx]

Mine's an Oct '02 build. 12K miles no steering problem. Sorry to hear of your troubles!

[agiduda]

A question: Those of you that have had steering pump problems. Has your car spent a lot of time idling but not moving? Such as to warm up or in traffic. I've wondered about the manual stating not to warm up the car much before driving coupled with the placement of the pump on the hot side of the engine. Is that what the little fan underneath the car is for?

[waynef]

Quote: Originally Posted by agiduda

A question: Those of you that have had steering pump problems. Has your car spent a lot of time idling but not moving? Such as to warm up or in traffic. I've wondered about the manual stating not to warm up the car much before driving coupled with the placement of the pump on the hot side of the engine. Is that what the little fan underneath the car is for?

Personally speaking, perhaps.

I do a huge amount of mile in a year, and a lot of hanging around in traffic too.
That said however, it definately doesn't excuse the 3rd and final time in my new car because my car had only had chance to cover about 2000 mile in it's 2 months of life, and then been parked for a few weeks while I was on my holidays. I returned with a big for it to be broken once and for all by my last MINI

Hope that helps,

[waynef]

...but keep those votes coming!

(How worried am I that others are getting multiple failures too?! Very)

[aharte]

I decided to take my copper s to the dealers today as I thought the power steering seemed to be getting louder. Basically most of the oil had disappeared, closer inspection showed it had a leak somewhere. It's booked in for a couple of days time, not sure they are replacing the pump but I will certainly enquire. It does seem to be an inherent problem, so I would suggest everyone checks their level from time to time, as it is not advised in the handbook. btw my S is a year old and done about 6000 miles.

[waynef]

Quote: Originally Posted by aharte

I decided to take my copper s to the dealers today as I thought the power steering seemed to be getting louder. Basically most of the oil had disappeared, closer inspection showed it had a leak somewhere. It's booked in for a couple of days time, not sure they are replacing the pump but I will certainly enquire. It does seem to be an inherent problem, so I would suggest everyone checks their level from time to time, as it is not advised in the handbook. btw my S is a year old and done about 6000 miles.

Hmmm... I think that it's becoming very clear from this threads results so far that just short of 1 in 4 (22%) MINI's are suffering from catastrophic steering failures.

That is way too high in my opinion, especially when you think that some of the drivers (like me) are suffering multiple failures.

I am in need of more and more votes but I'll be progressing this soon.

Thanks for your valuable advice.

[seneville]

I just recently took my 2004 (sept. 2003 build, 6000 mi.) in because my power steering was going in and out. I only noticed it at slow speeds and everytime i started the car. Dealer checked for leaks and found nothing. In the end, they just re-filled my PS fluid and called it a day. I'm a little worried as to how i'm losing fluid if they can't find any leaks.

[waynef]

Quote: Originally Posted by seneville

I just recently took my 2004 (sept. 2003 build, 6000 mi.) in because my power steering was going in and out. I only noticed it at slow speeds and everytime i started the car. Dealer checked for leaks and found nothing. In the end, they just re-filled my PS fluid and called it a day. I'm a little worried as to how i'm losing fluid if they can't find any leaks.

Hi,

If I were you I'd print this thread out and show it too your dealer. On the second occasion that my first MINI failed, the recovery man that drove it said that when it got driven into the dealerships workshop, its steering came back for a few seconds, faded, and died.

It sounds to me like you've got exactly the same problem as I had. Ask your dealer to look at this thread, and if you need a chassis number (or two!) so they can review the BMW/MINI internal maintenance systems, tell me.

Thanks,