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.
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.
2004 MCS Indy Blue/White w/ White rims
1964 Morris Mini - Saxxon Green, 850cc
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.
Power steering failed once on my old MCS. While the garage was taking it into their workshop it miraculously came back to life again for them not to ever work out what went wrong
MINI, RX8 and MX5 - Done those............. It's now TTime Unofficial MINI2.com bean counter
wayne, thanks for the info. I've got this thread bookmarked and will now take a close look at my fluid levels (now that i know where to look) and continue to check it as often as required and see what happens.
2004 MCS Indy Blue/White w/ White rims
1964 Morris Mini - Saxxon Green, 850cc
I posted on Monday about the disappearing fluid. I went it today and it had to have the whole steering rack replaced. So I would be a little bit dubious about dealers who just top it up and show anyone the door. There is clearly an issue with Mini's and their steering, I did ask them if this was a common fault but they were very guarded in their reply.
I have to say that I in total agreement with you. I too suffered that style of response from the service manager, and too, the Dealer Principle. He was particularly guarded saying when confronted about why I'd suffered 3 failures, said "I don't want to talk about specifics [like my steering failing 3 times]".
After the 21st March 2004, I'll be progressing this matter a lot further with BMW and MINI UK. No doubt they'll be very concerned why I am being told by my dealer that "I shouldn't expect BMW quality with the MINI, it's not a BMW". And that's a 100% U-turn from what they we're telling me before I bought the car from them.
I am never going to buy another MINI. They have proved nothing but a nightmare for me, and I have never felt as loving about them since day 1. They have just been too faulty for me. Certainly, not the same experience as I had previously with BMW.
On the subject of Skoda. Yes I am serious. They aren't over-hyped. They aren't over-priced. And they certainly offer the kind of honest to goodness personal treatment that the now aloof BMW/MINI brands used to offer.
I've grown-up a lot over the past 18-months of ownership of MINI's, and I now no longer care about marketing gloss, sales technique or street-cred. Just keeping my job, my life, my money and my sanity will do now thank you.
You should all take a look yourselves those who have suffered like myself and Martin L. You'll all be very surprised. Very surprised indeed.
At the top of this thread, is a poll. At the foot of the poll is a heading that tells you how many people voted on the poll so far. At this very moment it reads:
"Total Votes: 80. You have already voted on this poll"
Now then, of that 80 votes, 63 (at this moment) have voted for the first heading, that being:
"NO. I have *NOT* had a steering failure in my MINIs"
Therefore, the percentage of drivers that have NOT suffered a problem is calculated: = 63 / 80 = 0.79 = 0.79 x 100 (to get a percentage) = 79% of MINI owners have not suffered a problem.
By simple maths therefore, that must mean: = 100% - 79% = 21% of MINI owners have suffered a problem.
LinkBack to this Thread: http://www.mini2.com/forum/first-generation-faults-fixes/49527-important-have-you-had-power-steering-pump-failure-please-vote-yes-no.html
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Thanks... 
22% of MINI's have steering failures. 
Show your dealer this thread. 
Agreed. 
How to calculate the percentage Good, and Bad. 
