[breville]

Hi all

I have a 54 plate mini cooper (so 6 months out of TLC).
Today I got into my car and the steering is so heavy I couldn't drive it. I couldn't see a leak and it worked fine this morning.
The AA man thinks it is the pump. Does this sound right? The posts on here seem to mention a noise from the engine but there was nothing noticable.
The car has been taken to my local indie garage who can't look at it until Thursday next week. I know it's hard to say from this description but does this sound like the pump?
If so, does anyone have any idea roughly how much this will cost to fix?

Thanks in advance

Mel

[I love MINI, Laura]

My steering pump was working intermitantly then failed altogether - they said it was the mother board of the system that failed. That sounds like exactly whats wrong with yours but mine was covered inside warrenty. No idea how much it will be sorry.

[aussie11]

My pump went on the London to Brighton run last year the steering sound like your has gone.

[NeuroBeaker]

Hello Breville - welcome to MINI2!

Sorry to hear you're having a spot of bother with your steering, but I think I might be able to help. If when the steering is very heavy, you notice an absence of the MINI's characteristic whine from the engine compartment, then it's quite probably that your Power Steering Pump has failed. This is a common problem on MINIs and an exhaustive list of owners who have had this problem - and how they dealt with it - is detailed here (click on the title to be taken to that thread):

IMPORTANT. Have you had a power steering/pump failure? Please vote YES or NO!!!

My advice is to do the following (hopefully your car doesn't have too high a mileage and this will work):

1. Write a letter to your local dealer (addressed to the Service Manager), and in this letter you will want to detail the following:
   1. You believe your power steering pump has failed (as noticed by an absence of whine from the engine compartment when the steering wheel becomes extremely heavy).
   2. You believe that this failure makes the car dangerous to drive. You love your MINI very much and it distresses you that you are unable to enjoy your MINI ownership.
   3. The car is only recently out of warranty and given that it is a low-mileage vehicle, you believe this component to have failed prematurely.
   4. You are a member of a MINI Enthusiast Community and you are aware that this is a common problem with the MINI (more than half the cars surveyed have had a PSP failure - note: some had a failure after they'd already voted, me included).
   5. You request that your dealership contact MINI UK on your behalf to arrange provisions for the repair on the basis that the component has prematurely failed.
2. Ring the dealer and book an appointment.
3. Take the car in and drop off both the keys and the letter.
4. When the dealer diagnoses the problem and contacts MINI UK the absolute best possible outcome for you is:
   1. MINI UK will give you a new power steering pump for free (i.e. 100% parts cover)
   2. MINI UK will pay half the costs for installation (i.e. 50% labour)
   3. Having made a contribution towards the replacement of your power steering pump (about £70 seems normal, but this can be anywhere from £40-110), you will now have a 2-year warranty on the component - starting from the date of installation.
5. Drive home happy.

Good luck in getting it sorted, and do keep us updated in the Power Steering Pump thread as to your progress!

All the best,
Andrew.