Since I am new to the mini world (except for my height ), I was wondering what the different steering options were for the 02-06 models. My daughter in Los Angeles bought an 06 new a few years back. I just had some issues with my power steering (thankfully just an electrical connection) and asked her if she had ever had any issues with here steering. She said that she does not have power steering. Just curious.
thanks
Will

 

All mini's have powersteering (2002 +). Turn the steering wheel and you will notice a little buzzing noise, that's your powersteering pump working.

Hope this helps.

 

If this is true, my daughter needs to go raise He11 with the dealership that sold her the car. She bought it new (11 miles on the odometer). I'll have to check with her. She stated that she has really built up her muscles parking in tight spots!

 

I just spoke with the service manager at MINI of Birmingham and he confirmed that my daughter's car should have power steering. I am waiting for a call from my daughter so that she can check under the hood for the fill cap. If this is true....I am steaming!!! Hopefully I am overreacting and there's a plausible explanation.

 

I just spoke with the service manager at MINI of Birmingham and he confirmed that my daughter's car should have power steering. I am waiting for a call from my daughter so that she can check under the hood for the fill cap. If this is true....I am steaming!!! Hopefully I am overreacting and there's a plausible explanation. If the service manager is correct, the dealer she purchased the vehicle from mislead her and she has driven over 3 years with the car in this condition.

 

well, for one thing, there's only one option: it's an electric-hydraulic system so it's not going to feel light like a conventional PS system, say an all-electric like the 2G cars have. 1G E-H steering is much heavier feeling across the board; the trade off is a more "connected" feel to the road, one the 2G cars seem to lack. OTOH, the 1G E-H system, a Rover tech holdover from the developmental days, had so many problems BMW scrapped it for the 2G cars. When I had my 05 S, it went thru two racks and a pump under warranty.

Just remember: you need to use hydraulic fluid, NOT PS fluid, to keep the reservoir full.

 

I'm just using "power steering" for simplicity's sake. I would not have realized this until I bought an 04 a little over a week ago. I had a problem with the steering pump. When I spoke with my daughter, she told me she did not have "power steering". Since I had never had a mini before, I had never noticed on my visits to LA. I do remember her having to "crank" the steering wheel with both hands to parallel park. Like I said, maybe I'm totally wrong on this one, but it's worth investigating. I'll wait for her call.
thanks
Will

 

Gen1 cars do have a heavier feel to them...even in parking than many cars of similar vintage. If one considers "power steering" to be the overboosted GM/spin it with one finger feel, then you could say it is just boosted.
While some folks do seem to have issues, often it seems to be the result of poor/failed matainance (folks forget to check the ps cooling fan for proper operation, or don't replace this $180+ part when it fails). Modern cars do not take well to forgetting to matain/check parts...not having the car serviced by a shop familar with thses cars can cost $$$ down the road, since overlooked items will cost $$$$ to fix later....trying to save $15 on a bottle of ps fluid will cost you a steering rack, and ps pump, etc. On some items, you just have to bite the bullet, and spend $$$.

 

Thanks to everyone for the helpful information. I spoke with my daughter and she has had all scheduled maintenance performed by the dealer. I think this is a false alarm. Most likely, when she purchased the car, and she asked about power steering; the salesperson probably gave her a technically correct answer in not calling it power steering - translation: it does not have power steering . Just to be sure, she is going to compare her steering to a friend's MINI.
thanks again from an over protective father
Will

 

Unless your arms are made of string cheese (no offense meant), you should not have to wrench your wheel around with 2 hands. I am by no means the Governator, and can palm turn anything everything to full turn.

 

Why you big burley man, you!
After speaking with my daughter, it's not that hard. She stated that it's not as easy as other vehicles with p/s. I think she was just exaggerating a little. Hey, but this is what dad's are for!

 

Alright, good to hear that it doesn't really seem to be a problem. Fixing the PS system can get quite pricey.