Hi all. We have a 2005 MCS 6 speed with 160K miles on it. My wife came home and I noticed a high pitched whining noise after it had been sitting with the engine off in the driveway. Steering appears to be fine. Noise is more pronounced under the vehicle. I put my hand on the power steering fan and I can feel a slight vibration and buzzing. Any suggestions would be appreciated. In the meantime I disconnected the battery. Thinking I could take the fan off tomorrow bro test it? Thanks

 

Checking the fan is quick as they out in the open, under the car, but it sounds like the power steering pump was stuck on which is a known issue. Good call on disconnecting the battery as the best case scenario would have been a dead battery, and the worst would be your MINI catching fire, which is also known to happen

The sealed electric power steering pumps build up carbon dust from the brushes which shorts out the circuit board and makes the pump run with the key off. Check your VIN at the link below to see if your power steering pump, or anything else, is still under recall. Even if not, if you bought the car less than two years ago, call the dealer to see if the recall was done, or the pump was replaced less than two years ago and still falls under their 2 year parts warranty.

https://www.miniusa.com/owners/tools...rt/recall.html

 

Thanks so much. Greatly appreciate your help. We are the original owners and that pump is 17 years old.