East Bay Mini replaced my power steering pump. I wrote about it in this thread. I'm happy to fill you in on the boring details. The steering is working great now.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ms-thread.html

 

They told you 10 days? I went into the dealer on 5/31 when my PS died, and got on the list. Told then it would be at least a month before MINI USA delivered the new harness for the pumps. They had plenty of pumps in stock.

Still waiting for the call while my car sits pathetically in my garage.

 

What exactly is this new wiring harness that is necessary?

 

Under the warranty, as was explained to me, they replace the pump, fan and wiring harness - which is a couple of feet of cable that can become damaged or burnt out from engine heat or shorted from moisture. It seems there may have been a change to that harness, thus the backorder.

Found this link to what the cable may be.:
http://parts.miniofsouthatlanta.com/...520144161.html

 

Glad I looked at this thread. I never got a letter, but my '02 just had it's PS pump die today. Bad news: 151,820 miles on it. Just called an left a voicemail for my service guy asking for help, and kindly reminded him that I just bought my 4th car from that dealership. I'll keep y'all posted

 

I goty free pump and free fan installed yesterday nice!

 

Does anyone know how the 'short test' described above is performed? I too have had intermittent problems with my p/s pump, but I can guarantee that when I take it to the dealer it will be working, and they will deny my request for replacement under the service bulletin.

 

Yeah, Cincinnati Mini said, "Sorry 151,800 miles is 1,800 miles too many" :(

Install doesn't look too hard. Think I'll be having a go at this one myself.

 

Has anyone who submitted their receipt to MINI received a check yet? If so, how long a wait did you have from the time you mailed in your receipts, etc., till the time you got the check. It's been over a month and I haven't heard anything back from MINI...

 

I sent mine in a little shy of a month ago. I called after about 3 weeks and they told me they had received it a week prior but had not made a decision on reimbursement yet. They said it would be 4-6 weeks from when they got my letter and I expect that to be towards the end of July if not early August.

 

I sent mine a month ago and haven't received anything yet.

What's the number to call and check the status? Thanks!

 

I was at the dealership about a month ago to get my throttle body replaced, and I asked the SA about the warranty/reimbursement letter that I'd received. He looked up my service history, found that I'd had the PS fan replaced, and printed out the reimbursement request right there. I suggeted that they just give me credit to offset the cost of the work that was being done that day, and was told that, because the check would come from MINI USA, I'd have to wait 4-6 weeks. Strangely, about ten days later, I received a check from the dealership for the reimburesement amount.

 

Show of hands - who's car is sitting idle while they're waiting for parts?

Mine has been waiting since 5/31. I'm 2nd on the list at the dealership to get it fixed when and IF MINI ever send the damn parts.

They say they will now cover all costs, parts & labor, to have it done at an independent shop, but will have to wait for ... who knows how long to get that money back.

I'm getting pretty put off by BMW/MINI at this point, to put it mildly.

 

What I'd like to know is there any identification on the pump as to what generation it comes from? Does the serial# describe the build date of the pump? Do you think they were still using the old inventory even though they state that they were using a new pump after a certain date? I ask this because my pump had all the symptoms that the old pump had but there premise is that my pump should be symptom free. Just wondering

 

I had mine dropped off 15th April, was told parts suppose to arrive early July. no phone call for status update. Got stuck at home!!!

 

Forgot to update: Minipartstore.com reman unit for $530, $25 for a liter of fluid, and $2 for a new o-ring. Install took about an hour. Easy stuff! The car whined terribly since the day I bought it with 68k miles on it. Very quiet now!

 

Wow That makes me feel better about only 2 months of dust on the car. I hope there's a light at the end of this tunnel.

 

Now I got time to type, I want to give more detail that, after my car sit at a parking lot for 45min, I got back into a smoke filled M!n! ii

After examination, there are tiny ashes all over the engine. Not only power steering gone, but (maybe) also the alternator.

Could have got insurance to total the car but there would be one 05 R53 less in the world!! Mines has 130k.

I always thought warranty repair would give you a courtesy car So angry that there isn't any!!! I always stuck at home if my families can't free up their car for me. I can't get to work and my clients got so disappointed that I must explain to them the long story.

I did file my story to Transport Canada as this is really a safty issue. There had been a official Transport Canada RECALL but the dealership denied BMW/Mini had issued any recall !

Although this problem has been so public in UK, it seems that we didn't make that well known enough? expect more angry mini owner pop up.

I hope they can fix it in two weeks, I hope thay can fix it in a month, I hope they can fix it in 3 months, but now, I hope that can get it fixed within half year?

p.s. What about the smoke? how should I treat the cabin? suggestions?

 

MINI is sitting now for three weeks, I'm waiting and starting to get. Washed it yesterday just because, I'm having withdrawals.

 

SO... I'm a single working mom. My DREAM car was/is the 2002 mini cooper. I fell in love with its lines the first time I saw one toodling around my city in 2002. After a lot of hard work and sacrifice...I was able to get one used. I love her. LOVE. She's the BEST little car ever. I gave her a name and everything.

I almost died earlier this year when my steering pump went out. I was in rush hour traffic on my way to work when suddenly...on a curvy road... I could not steer at all.

Imagine my surprise when I found out about being able to potentially get my repair reimbursed via Mini! YAY! Apparently, my cars repairs fit the bill according the letter issued by MiniCooper, so I'm sending in my bill.

Thank you so much...this is the best form anywhere for cooper folks. I come here a lot when I've got questions about my baby. Now I'll start being a little social and speaking to other cooper drivers.

yay! *happy dance*

 

We are the former owners of a 2003 MCS, and we would have never heard about this extended warranty had it not been for this forum. The dealer replaced the power steering pump on our car in 2008 at a cost of $1281. We are told by BMW that we will be receiving a reimbursement check in the next few weeks. I read that the Canadian government recalled these cars there for the same reason, and that when BMW realized that NHTSA was going to do the same thing, they extended the warranty, and agreed to reimburse owners and past owners for past repair costs. I guess that's a great way to avoid the negative publicity associated with a recall, but I will bet that there are Thousands of past owners out there who will never hear that they're eligible for a refund of their repair costs.

 

The letters for these things usually go to the current registered owner (ie: recalls) because the safety concern is most important for the person currently utilizing the vehicle. I actually was reimbursed for the pump that I bought and installed myself -- so pretty happy to report that they are holding to their word.

 

This is not a recall, and they are not sending out letters. You only get reimbursed if you happen to hear about this by chance and ask about it. And I would really have trouble agreeing that they're doing this because it's a safety concern. BMW has been aware of this problem for at least eight years, and if they had safety concerns they would've done something like this long ago. I agree that the reason they chose to do this was because it was clear that the federal government was going to force them to recall the cars if they continued to do nothing.

 

The right thing for BMW to do would be to send a letter to all current and previous owners notifying them of the extended warranty and that they may be eligible for reimbursement if they paid for these repairs in the past.

 

You are not correct - those letters are in fact being sent out. I have or had one in my possession. I am the second owner of the vehicle -- I happen to have registered on the MINI owner's lounge, but I would imagine that they lifted the address and information from NYS registration.

I took my letter to my dealer with a copy of my receipt from when I purchased the pump and installed it -- the dealer submitted the claim and the receipt on my behalf and the check came 3 weeks later.

I never said it was a recall I said that in general with recalls and communication to vehicle owners they go by the current registered owner.