If the pump is out you will know it! At low speed it's almost impossible to turn. Also the pump runs all the time when the engine is running, so you can hear it whining. A worn pump whines MUCH louder than a new one.

 

Sent my repair bill to BMW and had kind of forgot about it since it had been probably 2 months. Opened the mail a couple weeks ago and had a nice $980 check from BMW of America. It came just in time to offset the cost of the new clutch that is going in.

 

Thanks for the tip! I will check the fluid level when I get back too to see if thats ok. Maybe it just is naturally heavier than other cars I've tried, including a 2007 MINI...

 

Just confirmed from Mini that my Power Steering Pump is covered under the extended warranty...made it by 6,000 miles!!!

 

Has anyone heard if the '06 R53 has been added to the warranty extension? I think my pump might have a leak, but would rather not waste my time at the dealership if it is a lost cause

 

A leak is probably more common and not related to this recall. You may have a hose or reservoir problem instead. Good news for you, as these are much cheaper.

My understanding is that cars made after 03/05 are not covered.

Can you give it a good bath and try to see the leak?

 

According to the SA at my local dealer, if you have a 2006 Mini...

"you're skrewed and S.O.L... Scheisse-out-of-Luck!!!"

He hit the accent almost right too... a mix of Bavarian and good old American redneck.

 

Has anybody successfully had their pump replaced out of warranty? I'm out by mileage (188k)

 

I parked my wife's 2005 MINI Cooper S (hardtop) in the garage after grocery shopping with her and my daughter. I took some items into the house and when I walked back in the garage, smoke was bellowing from under the hood. My wife was pulling my 2.5 year old daughter out of her car seat. I popped the hood, found smoke pouring from between the head and the firewall. I looked down further and found that there was a small flame down by the steering rack. I got the car out of the garage as fast as possible and ran for the fire extinguisher and put out the flame. I've read that there are quite a few cases of this happening. Is it the same root cause as the steering pump failure or is it different? Also, is there an exact VIN range anywhere? I didn't see it in the thread. We are the original owners of the MINI and got no such letter (we have moved 2x since we bought it 10 years ago.) It is a Jan or Feb 2005 build. The car only has 73k miles.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks,

Quentin

 

Quentin -

Call the dealer with your VIN or call MINI USA and they can check if your MINI is any danger to its owner.

I'm really surprised MINI hasn't been hit with a class action lawsuit over this defect.

 

I just had my P/S recall performed by MINI and they told me it was a $2,000 job. He then hit me with "you also need blah, blah, blah, blah, blah... (you get the idea) done", to the tune of about $1,500 more. So I told them to just do the recall work and I would see about doing the rest later. Thanks to NAM I looked up what he wanted to do and a couple of $1 clamps will save me over $500 on just one of the repairs.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I will be getting my 2005 R52 S in April so I printed out the letter

 

To their credit, MINI is stepping up and taking care of everything. The fire happened over a month ago and they are just now starting the repair, though. The weather was probably a week of delay, but I'm anxious to get this all over and done.

 

FYI... Not all minis in that letter are covered... seemed like a blanket letter to all owners

I have a 2005 MCS JCW.. 41K miles and change...

so well under the mileage - check
within the 13 year coverage time - check

Went to the dealer because my power steering fan sounds like metal on metal.. maybe bearings going out... so they checked my vehicle in their system, dcs?, only lists the O2 sensor good for 100K... I showed them the letter the original owner received but that didn't help.. if it's not in their system they will not do it. They suggest I call MINIUSA which I did... MINIUSA ran my VIN and same thing.. only the O2 sensor covered. No powersteering motor or fan listed...

Now, it maybe have to do with location of where the vehicle was originally sold I dunno. I didn't bother digging deeper into this matter of what else was required to meet this warranty besides mileage and year but mine isn't covered.


So in the mean I ordered a SPAL fan which I will install when it gets here. I also have the power steering delete when crap hits the fan wayyy down the road.. rip all of it out.

 

mini canada called me to come before the warranty lapses on the p/s. they checked it and replaced it. I'm pretty stoked

 

I've never seen the letter... Would someone kindly post a copy of the letter or PM me?
Thanks!

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ng-issues.html