late December (3 weeks ago?) I experienced the power steering failure on my 2003 R50 - so I took it to my local SF dealer who replaced the power steering pump and power steering pump. They also found about $8000 of other 'recommended' repairs which I politely declined. All overpriced and some suspect.

Brought the car home and didn't drive it much. Yesterday it went for a long highway drive and overheated repeatedly. Did do a few short drives prior to yesterday and the fan seemed to be working overtime.

Had the car towed home so I could take it to my trusted local (not dealer) mechanic. But this AM, when I got in the car it wouldn't shift into gear - only in reverse. Gear shifter very loose and wiggly - only moving forward and backward in the far right position. Suspect either Linkage or Clutch cable?

My mechanic says take it to Mini - he apparently doesn't want to be involved in the mess. And he suspects that they could have caused the problem in doing the repair. My review of online steering pump repairs doesn't show that steering pump repair is that involved - but does anyone have any advice? Looking for other good mechanics now - am not inclined to return to SF Mini dealer with this. Is it possible that the steering pump repair could be related to these new developments? Thanks!

 

I agree with him, as Mini is on the cuff, since they did a botcxhed job on your Mini!

 

Not sure about the problem, but Bay Bridge Motors in Oakland specializes in MINI's.

 

For the OP and anyone else wandering in to this thread, follow the below link for trustworthy BMW/MINI independent shops around the country. It needs broadcast far and wide that once the warranty is out the dealership is THE worst place to take a MINI for service. Dealerships just throw new parts at problems where a good indie mechanic will actually attempt to locate the problem and fix it. How many dealerships you ever hear of identifying a separated wire in a bundle and re soldering it?
http://www.minirepairshops.com/

 

That website will give you a list of shops with varying degress of prices and competance. I assign it a hit or miss rating, do a lot of research beyond what they tell you.

 

+1

Click through some links at the bottom of the page. That website is an advertising service, and any shop can be added to the list just by asking. The company hosts similar websites for many car brands: http://www.i85media.com/.

 

You don't do anything with the shift linkage while removing the pump so I don't think you can blame that on them.

I guess it's possible they somehow didn't install the ps pump fan correctly, but all you do is bolt it on and plug it in. This would not make your car overheat though. You said your main fan is working so something else is going on if it's overheating.

As much as I would like to say the dealer sabotaged your car, I don't think even the most unscrupulous dealer would mess with your linkage or make your car overheat. I would say it's just an unfortunate coincidence.

 

You say the dealer gave you a list of repair items totaling $8K, are any of those items related to the problems you are having now?