hi there i just got my first mini 2002 and I'm getting this whine when i turn the wheel this is pretty noticeable i have been reading about power steering pumps going out and am now afraid this might be trouble how can you tell if this is what's happening the car has 48,000 miles on it and i just found out the whole transmission has been rebuilt the only other thing i have noticed is the airbag light stays on. there doesn't seem to be any leaking or fluid loss my power steering fluid is fine steering is great also. sometimes when going though the gears and winding them out a bit i notice a shake or rumble before changing gears.i never had this with my BMW is this the way these cars are supposed to be?

 

That noise is 100% normal for a MINI. The power steering is an electrical system, and the noise you hear is that. That frightens nearly all new MINI owners, until they know that it is normal.

Call your MINI dealership, and they'd tell you to relax, it's supposed to be that way.

It removes the burden of powering the power steering pump from our tiny little engines, letting them instead, devote more power to motoring!

 

ok but if it was a power steering pump what would i look for what would be some signs of it going out?

 

When that whine continues even when the wheel isn't turned and sometimes after the car has been shut off and the key is out of the ignition.

 

The whining is normal. The trouble noises to listen for are whining all the time (or never at all), or a loud rumbling. Sounds like your system is just fine.

 

i does whine all the time well most of the time i can hear it when I'm going straight. also i noticed today oil leaking it seems to be coming from that boot that goes from the passenger side wheel to that boot on the engine either there or the transmission bolts it's hard to tell i doesn't drip when idling just after i shut it off 4-5 drips then stops what would that be? also if I'm looking in the right place the power steering pump has a small fan on it if this is right then there is no leaking around that. this motor is totally different from anything i have dealt with the sales dude didn't give much of a warranty so I'm worried there might be some problems

 

The whine will stay on even without turning the wheel, but it will get much louder when turning the wheel. If you want to check for a leak, then just keep an eye on the reservoir. The transmissions on 02 and 03 cars do tend to break around that mileage. Mine also had to have the transmission replaced at 47k. (I'm assuming you have a non-S because of this transmission problem)
As for the airbag light, I would try doing a carfax check on the car to see if it was in an accident. There are a couple of possibilities though. If the airbag was deployed and not replaced by an expert, they may not have reset the airbag system. Or if someone replaced or removed the steering wheel and removed the airbag with the battery connected and then reconnected the airbag, the light will stay on. If the computer senses no airbag for even a second, then something will have to be reset or the light will stay on.

 

BTW im pretty sure the power steering fluid is red. If the oil leaking is brown, then its probably engine oil. It may be a leaky gasket.

 

power steering is green. chf 11s pentosin

 

hehe, I knew it was one of those xmas colors

 

Hey, I have an 03 mcs, and my steering gets tight after it is driven on the highway for a while. Even at normal speeds. When I come off the highway, the steering is acting like I have lost power steering. Anybody have this problem before? I do understand that the steering will tighten up at high speed, but you would think that it would relax.

 

ok i was wondering does the power steering fan stay on or does it come on at certain times at idle it does not come on.also this oil leak i thought was coming from the cv boot on the right passenger wheel but i checked and the boot seems fine it looks like the oil is running down from above and dripping on the boot and then on my driveway i just can't see above the boot it seems the more i drive the more oil leaks out. after i turn off the car for awhile it stops

 

also my transmission was just rebuilt i was told this after i bought the car the oil is black the bolts on transmission pan part where the gasket is was a bit loose i tightend them but no difference. the oils seems to be dripping on the plastic box where the boot connects that metal band that holds the boot on i thought was the problem and it may be but i believe it's higher up. i am taking it in to have it checked tomorrow this leak just started but has gotten worse every day my oil level are normal though.

 

I hope its not the transmission oil...I don't think there is a good way of measuring how much is left...at least for the midlands.

 

no it was the oil filter seal gasket that was leaking was fixed with a oil change so far no leaking at all, tomorrow i need to take it in to check the airbag light i hear this could be expensive.

 

how much should the power steering system be whining. it's almost as loud as the supercharger before I installed intake/pulley. Esp coming from driving other German cars, it's rather unsettling to say it's alright to make that noise when I've always known a whining noise determine a power steering pump issue.

 

Its completely pointless to compare an electric PS pump to anything but other electric ones. The whine you hear is the electric motor running the pump, not the pump itself.

At a stop, Its normal to be able to hear it over engine noise. But if you can hear it over the SC at high RPM, when you can actually hear the SC, you could have a problem.

 

thank you for that. I have never driven, nor owned, with an electric power steering pump, so as stated earlier in this post, I was a bit worried.

 

What about louder ps whine when starting the engine in the morning and then going quietter once the engine warms up?

Is that normal?

And I checked my ps fluid level and noticed its red instead of green. I bought my 02 MCS about 5 months ago.

I too have a leak and noticed a reddish drop but my ps fluid never goes down. I bet its not engine oil because seems to be more thin and translucid.

Thanks!

Rayanmx

 

The system is not kept at pressure when the vehicle is off. So from what I understand, it would be normal for the PS pump working harder for the first few seconds to re-establish optimal pressure.

I do not know, however, Know if there are other types of PS fluid( other than CHF11S) that are compatible with our system. It might be in your best interest to buy some CHF11S and replace your current fluid. I'd just use a turkey baster to suck the old fluid out of the tank with the car off, refill with chf11s, run around the block, take the turkey baster to it again and refill.

But as I said not really sure if there is a red fluid that is compatible with our system. So that might not be needed.