Got up this morning and noticed that the power steering was gone and smelled of burning rubber. Opened the bonnet and noticed black soot covering the entire engine compartment. The Mini can be driven but I decided to have it towed for safe measure to the dealer which is only five miles away. Anybody else ever have this problem? Had the Mini into the dealer for a burning rubber smell a month or so ago but the dealer found nothing wrong at that time. I'll let you know what the problem is when I find out in case somebody else has the same problem.








02 Mini, 6500 miles

 

Sounds like you had a leak of power steering fluid and it caught on fire. That stuff burns pretty good.

 

Thanks for the heads up - keep up updated! Hope everything is ok.

 

Bmuelle,

That doesn't sound very good!
I hope they can sort out the problem at the dealer's shop.
Please keep us updated on the outcome. Thanks.

Juan

 

hope ur car is ok

keep us posted

 

Well it reached the dealership aboard this flatbed truck. One thing I found out is that not only do Minis have to be towed with a flatbed truck, they can only be held down with nylon straps threaded through the wheels and then ratcheted down. No using chains because theres no place to hook them on to the underside of the Mini. DAMNED what a spoiled little car! Anyways, found out the "Mini Tech" is off this week on vacation so it may be awhile before I get back to this board on cause of this little problem with my Mini. My Mini is like having a spoiled little brat for a child. You love it but it sure can be a pain in the butt.

 

Can't they just screw in the "recovery hooks" and latch the chains to them?

 

Just 1 Mini tech?
Amazing. What city is that?

 

WELL, when i coming to the powering steering..i did have a problem..something lodged itself in the power steering fan...for what ever reason , not a mechanice..and they didn't explain it to me...the cooling fan fan blew a fuse and that over heated the car...when they when to fix the car..they replace the cooling fan for the power steering andf then had to replace the cooling fan for the radiator
becasue it had seized....all great stuff hey....ya....now mini should come up with a fix for that overly exposed powering steering cooling fan.


:evil:

 

>>Just 1 Mini tech?
>>Amazing. What city is that?

Motor City Mini in Eastpoint, Michigan just outside of Detroit.

 

>>WELL, when i coming to the powering steering..i did have a problem..something lodged itself in the power steering fan...for what ever reason , not a mechanice..and they didn't explain it to me...the cooling fan fan blew a fuse and that over heated the car...when they when to fix the car..they replace the cooling fan for the power steering andf then had to replace the cooling fan for the radiator
>>becasue it had seized....all great stuff hey....ya....now mini should come up with a fix for that overly exposed powering steering cooling fan.
>>
>>
>> :evil:

I've got a skid plate on my Mini that does a good job of protecting the power steering fan motor (I hope!).

 

Fan Fix

A fix was covered in this article.

 

>> Got up this morning and noticed that the power steering was gone and smelled of burning rubber. Opened the bonnet and noticed black soot covering the entire engine compartment. The Mini can be driven but I decided to have it towed for safe measure to the dealer which is only five miles away. Anybody else ever have this problem? Had the Mini into the dealer for a burning rubber smell a month or so ago but the dealer found nothing wrong at that time. I'll let you know what the problem is when I find out in case somebody else has the same problem.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>02 Mini, 6500 miles

I was just notified that the dealer is somewhat unsure what the original problem is but their putting on a new power steering pump. Stay tuned!

 

It's been over two weeks and I'm still waiting for the PS pump to be replaced.

 

Bmuelle,

A few months back, I had tranny problems with my MC and the dealer had my car for approx one month. I contacted the MINI 800 # so they could have a record of my problems in case there were additional problems. They contacted the dealer to get additional info. Afew days after I got my car back, someone for MINI called me and aplogized for the problems and not having my MC for a month. They then proceeded to tell me that they will give me $500.00 worth of accessories/parts for my inconvience! Good luck!

 

>>
>>Bmuelle,
>>
>>A few months back, I had tranny problems with my MC and the dealer had my car for approx one month. I contacted the MINI 800 # so they could have a record of my problems in case there were additional problems. They contacted the dealer to get additional info. Afew days after I got my car back, someone for MINI called me and aplogized for the problems and not having my MC for a month. They then proceeded to tell me that they will give me $500.00 worth of accessories/parts for my inconvience! Good luck!

Wow! Worth a try I suppose. Thanks for the info.

 

I just got off the phone with my Mini dealer who stated that my Mini needs a new PS pump and a new PS harness. The harness had caught fire. The service manager stated he "cant prove it" but he thinks that the problem is the skid plate that was installed on the vehicle. He stated that the skid plate is "restricting air flow to the PS pump". The vehicle will still be covered under the warranty because " he can't prove" the skid plate caused the problem. Anybody else ever hear of this? IF THE MINI REPRESENTATIVE READS THIS PLEASE RESPOND IF YOU HAVE ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THIS?

 

Bmuelle, get off of the computer, pick up the phone and CALL MINIUSA (1-866-ASK-MINI)!!!

Haven't you had enough of dealing with this dealer? They've had your car for weeks, and are now jerking you around. Dude, call in the customer assistance folks...that's what they're for.

There's no telling when or if they'll read this thread -- and even if they do, they'll simply respond with a "call us if you need help" robot reply. So, take the initiative...call them first!

 

I just got off the phone from Mini and they'll check on the parts problem, however, concerning the skid plate Mini claims they don't recommend any aftermarkets parts be installed on the vehicle. The bottom line here is not so much the wait for getting my Mini back because their paying for a rental vehicle, however, I don't know if I should keep the skid plate on or not. This is my wifes car and she wants me to take it off, however, she does alot of expressway driving and I believe the skid plate will protect the PS pump. Any views on the subject would be appreciated.

Bernie

 

Woah. Glad I didnt get that skid plate...

 

I don't have a skid plate, but have considered getting one specifically to PREVENT the sort of problem with the PS fan that you seem to have. So maybe someone more expert in the topic of skid plates can chime in here, but I don't think that the skid plate (assuming that its one of the "standard" brands that other folks are using and was installed properly) could be the problem.

No, I think that the MINI dealer is just jerking your chain, and MINI USA is doing what its lawyers would deem appropriate (of course they don't "authorize" the addition of aftermarket parts that they don't sell). Note that no one has actually yet told you that they won't do this repair under warranty. If they really thought that the skid plate was the problem, wouldn't you think that they'd try to stick it to you? Rather, they KNOW that this won't fly, and are therefore just trying to make you feel bad (as a preemptive strike) to cover up for their own incompetence at taking so long to get to your car.

Classic bad customer service rule #1 -- Always find a way to make the customer feel at fault. :evil:

 

>>I just got off the phone from Mini and they'll check on the parts problem, however, concerning the skid plate Mini claims they don't recommend any aftermarkets parts be installed on the vehicle.<<

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So can they actually provide you with any information, or is everyone over there permanently censored by the *$&#@ lawyers?! What a bunch of total BS. OF COURSE they don't "recommend" aftermarket parts, because it gives them an excuse to deny otherwise legitimate warranty claims. That tells you absolutely nothing about whether the skid plate had anything to do with this (which I highly doubt!). So we're supposed to believe that not only did they design the MINI with a ridiculously vulnerable power steering fan AND put it on the same fuse as the entire engine's cooling system, but that any slight modification that we do to rectify the situation is "not recommended"? What, is the air above the skid plate 200 degrees, or what? If I were you, I'd be getting much nastier at this point. They'll keep shoveling that manure at you as long as you continue to eat it up.

 

Chris is right. Time to get on the phone and use your "Angry Voice." If that doesn't work, use your "Psycho Guy With Firearms Voice."

 

No skid plate for me thanks.



Buck and a half at the electronics store.

 

vespa, that looks like the grill from my toaster oven

But, I see your point, no need to spend lots of money on something that is unseen and can be fabricated for cheap.