Hi,
I'd need some help about my situation.
I bought a 2003 MINI Cooper S one year ago.
About a month ago (car had 84.000 miles) after driving with the MINI for 6 hours, the steering wheel became very hard to turn (I was trying to park).
First thing I checked was the power steering fluid: the reservoir was almost full.

Back at home, I bring the car to a repair shop (that knows about MINIs), and they say that the power steering pump was broken (they showed me that a wire/terminal had melt down). It would cost me $1,300 all inclusive to repair.

I come back later in the week to bring the car and do the work on it, and they say that they would need to order a couple more "wires" for the pump, and it would cost $200 more.

Yesterday, they call me saying that they can't install the pump because they need one more wire: $52.

Today, they call me saying that they installed the pump, but that the power steering pressure hose has a crack in it and is letting the power steering fluid leak out. They say that they didn't see the leak before because at that time, the pump was not working, and therefore the fluid was not under pressure. They say it would cost me another $600 to change the pressure hose.

So apparently, everything was fine and one month ago, the hose cracked, the power steering pump broke and the wires melt down?
I need your input and some perspective on this expensive issue.

Thanks,
bowen380

 

I have a '02 R53, and I've had some experience with the hoses. So far the pump has not gone bad. To replace the hoses cost me about $700. I had them worked on 2 times. The first time was a shop in Estes Park, CO, and they replaced 1 hose. Drove the car home, then as I was getting ready to leave for a quick drive, fluid leaked all over my driveway, and Steering went bad. So, I went right back to the shop. They decided they needed to replace the other hose as well. Fast forward 6 months, I've moved to Las Vegas. After returning home from a short drive, fluid all over my garage floor. Took it to an actual MINI Mechanic, and found the previous shop had only replaced 1 hose, and did a poor job, and rigged the other so it would work for awhile. I paid for 2 hoses. The mechanic here replaced both hoses, and gave me a small discount since I'm in the Sin City MINI Club, and because a was screwed by a different shop. He didn't have to do that, but it insured a future customer. It sounds to me like you are dealing with a shop that doesn't have a lot of experience with MINI's, which is a gamble on your part. I understand though it's not always possible to get your MINI to an ideal shop.
Looking at Penske Parts online, it looks like around $800 for a remanufactured pump, and around $100 for the hoses. Labor on the other hand will cost quite a bit of course.
From my experience, and I've had to replace Front Axles, Clutch, and Tranny, I would say what they are charging sounds normal. Unfortunately, when working on a MINI, other problems seem to creep up. It sounds to me they are giving you a pretty good deal on labor. Hopefully, they get you back up and running quickly!Good Luck!

 

Hate to say it, but they broke your hose. If there was a crack, there would of been fluid before they worked on it. All it takes is for the power steering pump to fall the wrong way when taking it out, or twist the line while removing, and games over. If fluid was initially leaking, the level would be low, and they would of immediatly seen it when initially diagnosing the power steering pump. Also because our resivoirs sit up high from the pump, gravity in most cases would push the fluid out unless one of the o-rings went bad so the pressure would need to be high to leak. Either way, I feel they did it, and 600 maybe a little high. I would purchase it myself, and do it at home. mechanically knowledgalble or not, theres a ton of info and forums online to help you step by step and save you alot of money.

 

+1

 

Thanks for your input guys. It really helps.

Here's the statement the auto repair guy sent me: "The residual fluid left in the system at that time was not under pressure, since the pump was not pumping then, so it was not forced out of the crack, as it is now that the pump is operational again."

That's his explanation on the fact that it was not leaking before when the pump was broken. What do you think? Is there a way he could be right or should I confront him? I just feel also that he may have broke it, from the way he was talking to me..
Thanks.

 

i think your getting ripped my friend.

it always saddens me when people take their minis to non-mini mechanics, and come back with stories like this!

there is a reason why you have to go to SCHOOL to work on a Mini!... theres also a reason why Mini only works on other Minis, and those mechanics only work on Minis, and so on...

Minis are not merely cars, but highly designed Machines! kinda like a nice Swiss watch, and you wouldn't bring your Swiss watch to Walmart or the mall to have it fixed would you?

 

Did he say which hose it was? As I said, if there was a crack before any work was performed, while under pressure or not, it would of initially been seen leaking fluid during tear down, or inspection, especially if you drive it in with the system off, there would of been fluid everywhere. Even when the pump isn't working, when you turn your wheel, there is a large amount of pressure from the rack because the fluid is under pressure turning the assembly ( take the cap off a power steering unit with a direct resevoir, don't start the car, but turn the wheel back and forth, the fluid will shoot 10 feet into the air if turned fast enough, usually when the vehicle is being push for ease of turning!!)
In all my years of dealing with auto parts, and the "Parts Swappers" who call themselves mechanics, anything can go wrong, and they do not want to be the one to take the blame because they would lose money on this, so turn a negative into a profitable positive and say it was broken before you brought it in, genius!

 

QFT, absolutely ABM. I have a local BMW dealership that wouldn't touch my car even though I gave them valid BMW part numbers for a couple filters, they immediately said MINI only. Every time I open my wifes hood, I pray what I'm doing will be easy (which it isn't) and quick (yet to have that day) lol.

 

So, I went to talk to the guy.. and it got ugly!

The new pump has been installed, but now the pressure hose is leaking like crazy. He affirmed to me that the hose was already broken when I brought the car in his repair shop. He wouldn't let me see the hose (it's still on the car). He said we can't see it with the new pump installed.

I skip all the angriness and the yelling from his part ("you are disrespectful of my work" "I'm losing my patience" "You don't know anything about cars" "I'm losing my patience"...).

I checked the power steering fluid when the pump broke about a month ago (I didn't know it was the pump at that time..) and it was just under the full level (maybe 0.2 inch). I checked again just before giving the car to him, and it was at the exact same level. Then he said, "you should never have to fill up power steering fluid during the life of the vehicle.. if you need to fill it up, it's because there is a leak; if the fluid was NOT on the full mark, it's because it was leaking".

Anyway, I tried to convey my point but he wouldn't listen and was very aggressive. "I'm leaving in 5 mins, tell me what I do with the car".
Because there are doubts on how this thing happened, I suggested that we could share the cost, or I could pay for the part and he would pay for the labor. He became even more aggressive, saying "This is not the way it works, here in the US" (I'm an international student..). THEN, he said he would only give my car back if I pay him CASH, either the remaining $900 (I agreed to pay $1500 for the pump only, and already paid $600 by CC) or pay the remaining PLUS the hose, i.e $1500 in CASH. He said he does not trust me AT ALL and he doesn't want me to block my CC.

On the last quote, for the hose, he priced the overall at $600, incl. the "OEM pressure hose" at $319 (I see it on several website at $250..), labor at $222 AND... REGULAR DEXRON POWER STEERING FLUID for $4.50!!! For someone who "have worked on dozens of Minis and knows his job perfectly".. that's a pretty big mistake. Even I know the Mini requires chf11 fluid...

So he just left his store and said I should leave, and come back with cash on Monday!!! After that I called my bank.. filed a police report because he wouldn't give my car back if not for cash.. I'm going to file a BBB complaint.. But I don't really know what to do now. I don't want to pay cash, as I would have no record at all. And I don't want him to withhold my MINI.

Anyway, that's quite long, sorry, I just needed to share the experience.. I'm a 23 yo student, I don't know a lot about cars, yet I have logic and I know when I'm being screwed. On google reviews, he has already bad reviews from other international students that have not been treated fairly.

Any suggestions welcome..

Thanks for reading!
Bye.

 

Where are you from, and sorry for the improper American *******s. If he seriously filled your system with dex, he obviously doesn't know what he's doing. Check to see if it's red, if so, I would make sure he flushes the system, and refills it with proper fluid. All to often when a shop calls me, the ask for just a pump for a foreign car, they never ask for the right fluid. When I let them know it does take a certain kind, they go, Oh really? These are part swappers, not mechanics. The reason why the hose is more then online is because they charge "list", which ensures they make money off the part as well, standard in the automotive mechanic business.

I'm not sure what to do about him forcing you to pay cash. You are correct on having no paperwork, or warranty. You will be screwed if something comes up. If he presses you for the cash only, you make sure he signs a paper saying if anything fails you have a warranty with Full coverage covering the cost of the part AND labor if he's so confident in his work.

This happens all the time, and it's people like this *** that ruins people's perspective of people like me. If he did see it in the initial inspection, why did he not notify you of it. As a mechanic, I would say as far as I can see, there is fluid, your hose, or gasket in the fitting may have gone bad, so you may need a new hose. And didn't you say he said he didn't see the leak before because the pump wasn't working ,now he said he did see it..... He's full of ****.

 

Sounds like the worst case scenario. You take your MINI to a Non-MINI mechanic, and hope for the best. Usually when you have a bad experience they just ignore you and do a crappy job. In this case, it sounds like he is frustrated because he has been working on a car that is way over his head, (which it sounds like its stuck up his ***). I would definately try to get something in writing, and make sure you plaster this all over the Internet wherever you can. Keep someone else from going thru this hell. I would definately take your MINI to a real MINI Mechanic, and make sure he did fix the problem, otherwise you could end up with the same repair later, which it sounds like you might anyway. Above all else, You Did Nothing Wrong. This guy is an A-HOLE!!! Are you a member of a MINI club in your area? If so, surely there is someone who works on their own MINI, and can help you out a little. We have DIY days here in Vegas, and there is always someone only a phone call away. Unfortunately, there's not going to be too much you can do, unless you can prove he screwed you. You already mentioned everything I'd say, just get your MINI back ASAP, and look at it as a lesson learned. I am a big believer in Karma, and this guy has something big coming! He sounds like he's already met my friend Karma. I've been screwed on repairs on my MINI, but never yelled at!
Good job keeping your cool. Just get your MINI back before he screws it up worse!!

Also, I would say he legally has to give you a receipt if you ask for one! No matter how you pay!!

 

Yeah, like pew asked, where are you in America, I'm sure we can help direct you to a MINI mechanic, or members who are willing to help.

 

I'm living in Ithaca, NY. I DO see a lot of Minis around here (although almost everyone owns a Toyota Prius!). I'm gonna look if there is a club around. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate. I miss my baby now (doesn't she look pretty in electric blue and white!?)
I'll keep you updated. The police said I should go to the repair shop ASAP with a guy from a towing company, and pay what I owe him (the pump only) with a credit card. If he doesn't accept, they say they would come and help me! I can't believe how nice the Police is here, compared to where I come from. And I'm actually surprised they would deal with such matter.
Also, if I take the car back with the new pump but the hose broken, i.e with no power steering fluid, I'm pretty sure the new pump would get damaged. So I guess the only way is to tow the car someplace else.
Thanks again,
bowen380

 

You have my dream color combo, and those white rims just set it off nicely! ( wife's car is black on black)

You can drive the car with the supposed hose broken. Remove the fuse or relay for the pump so it doesn't run. It'll drive like it did before you took it, and if it is leaking fluid, depending on how bad the fluid is leaking, you may be able to drive it, but would need to regularly top it off, but if it leaks too badly, then I wouldn't recommend driving it. It's not the pump that would get damaged, it's the rack that would since the fluid would drain out of it. As long as the pump doesn't run, you should be good to go for the time being.

There is a section towards the bottom of the main forum page that shows all the local MINI clubs, and I know there's a few in NY. Make yourself at home in a couple of them, and see if ones willing to help you, or even install it for you. Do what we do on my Camaro site, hold a Fixin' party. Invite a bunch of members over, buy some beer/pizza, and the the work and labor is paid for

Lastly, here is a jump to a thread about how to remove your power steering pump. If you really thought about attempting it (couldn't do any harm since the system is already down) You could lower the pump to get to the fitting, loosen and take it off, and repeat the steps backwards.

Stick around these forums, were here to help in any way we can, and also to make sure you get the maximum enjoyment out of your MINI!!

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...tructions.html

 

Hey man -- I grew up in Ithaca, NY -- Scotties on route 13 is an extremely competent and friendly and trust worthy mechanic. We actually ended up becoming friends after he did some work on my car. I don't know if they do MINIs .. or not.

Which repair facility did you go to in Ithaca? Taber street auto, near Wegmans also used to be a good shop. I would imagine the closest MINI dealer would be in Syracuse or Rochester at the closest -- there is no BMW dealer in Ithaca last I checked...not that they would even touch your car.

 

There is a separate all inclusive $60 dollar harness for the PS pump friend....Most dealerships have one or two on their parts shelf...plug and play.

 

I agree with the author's point of view! I learned a lot. Thank you!

 

Check with the dealership, I received a letter from Mini Canada that they extended the waranty for pump to because of this issue .When I changed mine 2 years ago the same dealership said that is out of the waranty so I fixed at a local shop .This year when I received the mail I ask Mini canada for a refund and they said that I need to have my car checked by the dealership to prove that I use the original power steering pump.While at the dealership the service manager said that they will put a new pump free of charge on and get a full refund from Mini Canada in 4-6 weeks which I did.
Go ahead give it a try.