Power Steering Pump breaks an hour in to getting my cooper s :(

[KrisMcGrath]

I waited over a week for an MOT and service on my 2002 MCS and i finally picked it up, an hour into the journey home the steering went very hard and i almost hit a parked car on a corner.
I checked for a puncture and restarted my engine. It was still very hard as if the engine was off!
So i finished my journey back and called a technician friend who works for BMW. After checking my fluids (which were fine) he said it was the PSP.
Ive spoken to the non-bmw dealer who have arranged to collect my mini friday and fix it while im in holiday.

Its been such a hastle as i was really looking forward to having fun.

On a side note, 1 in 4 times that i start the car the power steering works for a different lengths of time and im now really looking forward to it working

[mab01uk]

Have you read the recent PS pump threads..................this is a common problem and you may get a goodwill payment from BMW towards repair costs even outside of warranty if your mileage is reasonable?
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...yes-no-28.html

[Paul]

I doubt it on a 2002 MINI.

[mab01uk]

Quote: Originally Posted by Paul (original)

I doubt it on a 2002 MINI.

There have had a few goodwill payments towards cost of repair on 2002 Minis in the PS thread recently, when mileage is below approx. 40K, using Neurobeakers letter approach to MINI UK.
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...yes-no-26.html

[MINIMANIAUK]

The failure rate is getting higher month by month , it is getting harder to get new pumps quickly .lead time is now 3 weeks . I suspect BMW will start reducing any goodwill shortly - there are 1 million of them that will fail eventually and thats a lot of pumps for BMW to supply !!
Bet they cant wait for 2009 and they are all out of warranty

[Paul]

Quote: Originally Posted by mab01uk (original)

There have had a few goodwill payments towards cost of repair on 2002 Minis in the PS thread recently, when mileage is below approx. 40K, using Neurobeakers letter approach to MINI UK.
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...yes-no-26.html

Cool.

[oldmots]

There are a few things one can do to extend the life of the pump: never turn the steering wheel to either stop and hold it there more than a second or so, never turn the steering wheel when the car is stationary, especially so if the tires are large and sticky (the strain on the pump to do this can lock the rotor, ensuring you will be replacing the pump early), keep the fluid cleanliness and level under watch and verify the cooling fan is operational. The pump could easily last 100K if it is not abused as in the above. Many people damage the pumps themselves due to their not understanding the nature of a little 12v electric motor driven hydraulic pump.

[mab01uk]

Quote: Originally Posted by MINIMANIAUK (original)

The failure rate is getting higher month by month , it is getting harder to get new pumps quickly .lead time is now 3 weeks . I suspect BMW will start reducing any goodwill shortly - there are 1 million of them that will fail eventually and thats a lot of pumps for BMW to supply !!
Bet they cant wait for 2009 and they are all out of warranty

You're probably right about the goodwill running out soon but so far with the right approach, (see Neurobeaker's letter), to the MINI dealer BMW have been giving goodwill on the parts (pump) even outside of warranty on several older (2002) MINI's on here, as long as the mileage is less than about 40K.

[Ant FR]

i doubt the goodwill will ever run out. Just look at VW/SEAT/Skoda and Audi with the 1.8T coil packs. They still offer cheap replcements even on cars that are now turning 10yrs old.

[mab01uk]

Quote: Originally Posted by oldmots (original)

There are a few things one can do to extend the life of the pump: never turn the steering wheel to either stop and hold it there more than a second or so, never turn the steering wheel when the car is stationary, especially so if the tires are large and sticky (the strain on the pump to do this can lock the rotor, ensuring you will be replacing the pump early), keep the fluid cleanliness and level under watch and verify the cooling fan is operational. The pump could easily last 100K if it is not abused as in the above. Many people damage the pumps themselves due to their not understanding the nature of a little 12v electric motor driven hydraulic pump.

Thanks Oldmots, could you also post your very useful advice in the main ongoing PS Pump thread in Faults and Fixes as I think it would help a lot of MINI owners to understand how to look after their new or existing ps pump and extend its life.
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faults-fi...yes-no-28.html

[DrNorman]

Its always worth a try for a good will gesture!
Had my PS pump changed about 6months ago on my 02 mc with 33,000 miles and I got about £150 chequeback from mini uk, I played the low mileage card and it seemed to pay off - not great but it brought the price down from £350 to 200 which aint too bad.

[patmac]

my 2002 coop has 120K+ miles - not much hope of any MINI discounts. Does anyone know if it is possible to disconnect the PS pump in a way that would allow the steering to behave just like a car without PS? Right now it feels as if I'm fighting the PS when I try to turn. Clearly I don't want to create any other problems doing this, but I could live with PS.

-patmac

[mab01uk]

Quote: Originally Posted by patmac (original)

my 2002 coop has 120K+ miles - not much hope of any MINI discounts. Does anyone know if it is possible to disconnect the PS pump in a way that would allow the steering to behave just like a car without PS? Right now it feels as if I'm fighting the PS when I try to turn. Clearly I don't want to create any other problems doing this, but I could live with PS.

-patmac

The design of modern power assisted steering racks and suspension means without power assistance you will always have much heavier steering than older cars which were designed from the outset not to have any power assistance. If you are determined however it would help to have the most narrow wheels and tyres you can get from say a basic MINI One.
There may also be insurance issues if you were to have an accident with PS not working as the car is not to standard manufacturers spec. and may therefore be unroadworthy in their view.

[rellik666]

Quote: Originally Posted by MINIMANIAUK (original)

The failure rate is getting higher month by month , it is getting harder to get new pumps quickly .lead time is now 3 weeks . I suspect BMW will start reducing any goodwill shortly - there are 1 million of them that will fail eventually and thats a lot of pumps for BMW to supply !!
Bet they cant wait for 2009 and they are all out of warranty

Why 2009?

[mab01uk]

Quote: Originally Posted by rellik666 (original)

Why 2009?

I think 2009 works out as the last year when the last of the first,generation of MINI's run out of warranty. The 2nd generation MINI does not use the same PS pump but has a fully electric power steering system.