Sorry to hear about your problems. What year was your MINI manufactured and did you buy it from a dealer or privately? If you bought used from a dealer, I don't know what the MINI Cherished terms are, but would think you'd get some sort of limited warranty. Hmmm - can anyone else advise there?
For a goodwill approach, have a click on the PSP failure guide in my signature and it'll take you to a consolidated post that includes advice for approaching your dealer for goodwill fixes.
Get in touch with your local Mini Dealer and ask them to approach Mini for 'goodwill'.............goodwill payments in the UK for this do seem to have become more frequent recently often with 100% of bill paid by BMW.
My car has started to have an intermittent power steering problem
I am going to have it looked at Friday I am told it's either the little fan, or it may be the power steering pump itself. I am going to try and not drive much between now and them. Seems to be worse after idling a bit in the parking lot. Goes away for the next drive. Then back again so I'm glad it will get looked at hope its not expensive.
Hi everyone
Bought a mini cs 03 last weekend. Always wanted a mini so really excited to finally have one and was having a great time with it but had once got in when the steering wheel felt majorly stiff for a few seconds when I first started the car but was fine after. Yesterday I drove to work in the morning when it was fine, went to the car 4 hours later and had no power steering. - could hardly move the steering wheel but managed to get it out of the space but had to pull up down the road as I was worried I wouldn't be able to pull out of the road. Turned the engine off and on again - no real difference but decided to try to get home. On the way stopped at a shop and on my return switched on and heard the power steering slowly sort of come to life and been fine since but I'm left unsure of what to do. Rang the garage I bought the car from as I have a months warrentee but I haven't really got anything to show them unless it goes again. Any advice about what might be going on? I've read the thread and I'm not sure if this might be the electrical loom, the fan, the pump, or what?
Cazzie, its definitely your PS pump (although it may also need a fan and wiring loom in some cases), lots more information here: Power Steering Pump replacement - Forums
The garage should fix it for you under warranty, it may only be intermittent at first but will get worse before complete failure occurs in a few days, weeks or months.
Hello, I have had my mini cooper s for two weeks now. 03 model. I was driving home and half way through my journey my steering went stiff, yet still just about usable. The whining of the steering also stopped. Pulled up at home and checked my fluid and was fine. Turned it back on after about 15 minutes off and steering was fine again! Anyone advise on what I should do here?
Another part, my EML seems to stay on a little while after I turn the ignition, (5 seconds) is this normal?
Byron90, you need a new or reconditioned power steering pump fitted, eventually it will stop working altogether and steering will remain very heavy to turn. See PS pump repair details in my internet website link in 'Cazzie' post above. Most good independent garages can replace it for a reasonable price if your Mini is not under any kind of warranty with a Dealer or BMW.
EML light sounds ok as long as it goes out after a few seconds. If it stays on you may need a new lambda/oxygen sensor but not usually a big or expensive job to fix and is checked during MOT emissions test each year.
hi there,ive just joined this site cos bought first mini 3 days ago,while driving friday at slow speed the steering went really stiff was virtually inpossible to park up yet after leaving for 6 hours was fine to drive home,av checked fluid levels,all ok,im in bradford so called in to local mini/bmw dealership to ask advise,was told by parts man that very common problem and that he has sold loads of power steering pumps at £400 each,my cars under some sort of waranty but im worried that wont get fixed till it breaks completely,hope this info is usefull,cheers,chris.
Here's a question. The PSP on my 2003 MCS has been intermittent for a while and has finally given up the ghost. Finances are pretty tight right now (like the steering ) but is there any harm in just driving the car with a non-functional pump for a while before I get the thing replaced? It's a bit of a workout to drive but I am managing so far. The fluid levels check out fine so I don't think it's leaking at the moment. I'm mostly concerned about the rack or one of the hoses springing a leak if the unit is not pumping.
Muprhy's take on Rallyes: Measurements will always be expressed in the least useable units. Velocity, for example, will be expressed in furlongs per fortnight.
Several owners with strong arms have driven their Mini's for several weeks without power steering so you should be fine..........one owner on here even prefers it that way!
Not been on here in ages - but have now voted... YES of course I have had a power steering pump failure - I own a mini!
Bought my 54 plate Mini One on New Year's Eve 2010, with only 37000 miles on the clock; then the 2nd day I drove it, it suddenly went really really heavy and made me think I had a flat tyre or something (new to the run-flat malarkey).. thankfully wasn't on the motorway put it that way. I've had non-power steered cars before but this was ridiculous!
At the time I was a 24 year old female, living away from home, didn't know the area and the fricking thing failed on the way to work.... got it rescued (and the rescue guy took one look and said "prob the power steering pump love") and taken to the local Mini Specialist who assessed it, told me the PSP had failed and it would cost about £750 to fix.. NOT good news.. but because it had such low mileage; good history in approved garages etc etc BMW would pay a goodwill fee.. advised usually about 50% as was a known fault (YEP they admitted it). Not great news but better than forking out the lot.
Anyway they came back to me after speaking with BMW and told me the goodwill payment was 100%, they'd do the replacement for nothing. Thank **** for that!
Hello,
I've only just come across this issue re the PSP, and wondered if fellow mini2ers could give me a bit of advice. My power steering went last night as I was turning right at a junction. I can still turn left and right, but arm muscles are growing alarmingly No warning light came up, and there was no indication that there was anything wrong. Minor steering adjustments while driving on a reasonably straight road are fine.
Have just discovered where the power steering reservoir is, and will top up if needed. But if there is plenty of fluid in there, does this mean that the PSP has gone on my Mini Cooper 2004 too? It's done around 140k miles, so am not sure how helpful the dealership are going to be in getting it repaired at a reasonable price. Are there any other possibilities as to why it's seized up like this?
Thanks for any advice.
Last edited by benregis; Dec 17th, 2011 at 09:30 AM.
Reason: Needed to add some additional info re warning light and Mini model and age
Can anybody with experience of PSP failures give me their opinion!
I've got a 2003 Mini Cooper S. It was serviced 2 months ago at a specialist, and one of the things I got them to look at was a whining noise. My steering has always had a bit of a whine, but it was starting to get louder, and not just when I turned the wheel. They service the car and checked everything but couldn't find an actual fault. When I asked about the noise they said the power steering pump could be on it's way out - but don't do anything yet as it's expensive to replace. (Everything else was fine on the Service - and it was a major one, so everything was checked/replaced as needed).
Anyway a couple of months later and now a loud awful whine/clattering noise has appeared. It comes on as soon as you start the car, doesn't change with speed, doesn't seem to be linked to the fan etc. The only time the noise changes is when I turn the wheels and then the pitch of the noise changes slightly, or it may pause for a second or so. People on the street are even helpfully telling me my car sounds awful - so it must be pretty loud!
I've added a video on file so you can hear it:
youtube.com/watch?v=Xgk2dqv-uCQ&feature
I have read about the dreaded power steering pump issues, and can't help but think it may be connected. But at the moment my steering still works fine, and the noise stops when the engine is turned off. And so far I haven't found any posts about people with a noise in the run up to it failing.
Currently I can still steer properly, it's always been pretty stiff (and I'm used to old cars with heavy steering), but it certainly hasn't 'gone' yet. Checked all my fluids and they're fine.
Has anybody else had similar issues to these? Do you think it's the steering pump, or something else?
I have talked to the Mini dealer near me, but they want £90 for a Diagnostics session even before any work is done!
FYI - I paid for a 'Diagnostic check' at my local mini dealer for £45 (30 mins), and they confirmed it was the PSP. They called Mini HQ and it's being fixed today for free! Apparently the decision whether to do it for free depends on the age of the car, mileage and service history. But saved me about £600 from what I'm told.
The dealer didn't believe I'd get it paid for, and said he'd never heard of them failing (!!??) and didn't want to call mini HQ at first, but after a mini tantrum, they did, and seemed to work out well.
So if yours is failing (or failed) then call mini HQ for advice.
If any journalists are looking in on this forum you might want to look into this particular thread.Especially in light of the recent recall of 235,000 Minis recalled due to pump faults on later models.
BBC site :-
Mini recalls 235,000 cars worldwide due to a pump fault
The Mini Cooper S is one of the models known to be affected by the problem Mini is recalling 235,000 vehicles worldwide - 29,868 cars in the UK - due to a fault with an electric water pump.
The fault, which could be a fire risk is some is case, is known to affect vehicles, including the Cooper S and John Cooper Works models, built between March 2006 and January 2011.
Owners will be contacted in the coming weeks to arrange a part replacement.
The company said the issue had been picked up by internal quality control. The BMW-owned Mini is made in Oxford.
BMW said it was investigating one incident in the UK of an engine-related fire caused by the fault. There have been no reports of any injuries or road accidents resulting from it worldwide.
High temperatures
Customers should receive a letter inviting them to have the water pump replaced for free at a Mini dealership. The upgrade work takes about an hour.
The Mini plant in Oxford, which produces 250,000 vehicles a year, is the only place in the world where the cars are built.
A Mini spokeswoman said: "The turbocharged engine of the Cooper S and John Cooper Works engines is equipped with an additional water pump which draws residual heat out of the turbocharger after the engine has been switched off, to prevent carbon build-up of the oil in the bearing.
"Under high operating temperatures an electro-migration can occur at the circuit board installed in the additional water pump.
"The electro-migration is caused by plastic additives in conjunction with high temperatures and can lead to a failure of the additional water pump."
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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My car has started to have an intermittent power steering problem 
Muprhy's take on Rallyes: Measurements will always be expressed in the least useable units. Velocity, for example, will be expressed in furlongs per fortnight. 
Advice please! 
