That's what it seems like to me. Another thing to check is the power steering fan. On the recall, they replace that fan and the pump, and the fan commonly fails too. A non-working fan could cause the pump to overheat quickly and shut down.

If I'm remembering correctly, if you turn your A/C on, the low speed radiator fan should turn on shortly afterwards and the power steering fan will turn on too.

 

UPDATE: for you Americans with MINIS built b4 2005 (when a fix at the pump was deployed into production) there is a free pump for you!!!

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/c...11005-4484.PDF





https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/c...5V660-4048.pdf

Enjoy :-)


Not for us in EU, here government is too busy saving banks an cuddling SJW to care about the consumer... when they care about cars is to tax us or to retroactively change laws to save emission-cheaters` asses..

 

This is old news, but of course there is no harm repeating it.

In addition if you paid for the repair and still have your receipt you can get reimbursed.

 

My son has had the power steering pump and fan replaced 3 times in the past 6 months. The last time, it lasted less than a week. The power steering just quit this past time while he was out on the road, no A/C on or anything extra running.

Is there anything else to check to find out why this is happening? It is a 2003 with the 1.6 liter engine. Nothing fancy. It's getting a bit costly to continue to replace these pumps, ship the cores back, etc. The car is parked for now, until I can figure this out.

 

Are you using OEM parts? My first pump lasted around 145k miles and the one currently on there has been fine for a few years and 20k miles now. All OEM parts. I also replaced the reservoir when the pump was replaced. Apparently there's a filter in it and I saw one site suggested switching it out too.

My first guess on yours is the repair is not being done properly or with sub-par parts.

 

All of the parts are made by Dorman and from what I was told, make the pump for Mini. Life time warranty on the pumps. The mechanics have been ex-mini dealer mechanics working in other garages now. The first time the pump failed, filters, reservoir and oil were all replaced. The filter and oil on the other two occasions. So I guess it could be the fact they are not OEM and not done in a Mini garage, but feel there is something else causing it and it is not being caught. Not buying the fact the parts are sub-par. Once the repairs are made the pump fan stops when the engine is shut off, everyone thinks the repairs are complete. Sometimes shorts are hard to locate.

 

I think the problem is your pump. I'm pretty sure the OEM pump is made by ZF. Dorman just makes aftermarket stuff, and to my knowledge is not an OEM supplier to any manufacturers. I've not had good experiences with their parts either. I had a set of ball joints go bad after only a few thousand miles.

Have you already gotten your free recall pump replacement, or the replacement costs reimbursed? If not, that's definitely the route you should go.

 

We were told the car was not eligible for the recall, due to age and mileage.(110,000 km). That's why we went the way we did.

Have to do some thinking. I just may be someone out there may have had some tips to look at outside of the fan and pump.

 

I'm guessing you're not US-based?

In the US, I don't believe there is a mileage or age cap on the recall for the first pump and fan replacement.

Here are the details on the US recall:

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/rcl/201...5V660-7070.pdf

I'm not sure what the warranty/recall situation is in other countries.

 

To the best of my knowledge, Dorman is a Chinese auto parts company. It is not even OEM equivalent. The company tends to capitalize on parts that are failure prone and offer their cheaper versions. For example, on Sprinter T1N the turbo resonator design and made by Mercedes keep failing. Mercedes even did a revision 2.0 of the made in Germany part and yet still failing because of the plastic weld seam. Dorman came in and offer their version, which is almost identical to Mercedes design but different in construction. If you pay attention to other parts Dorman makes, there is a strong trend of this is what they do.

I am not saying their Mini pump would be better. I will not want a critical part from a non OEM, so Dorman is out.

 

What you tell me about AAE and Bosch pumps?

 

Yes, not in the States, Canada. Too bad we were not covered under this.

 

I don't know about AAE. I will trust Bosch if you can verify it is one for your car.

 

If the product pics on Rockauto are accurate, it looks the Bosch one is actually made by ZF which is OEM. I'd go with the Bosch one between the two for sure.

 

^ Good teamwork.

Also make sure your power steering fan is working. A failed fan can kill the pump from what I infer, as well as the reason of the MINI recall.

 

ZF makes the factory one and AAE rebuilds them OE parts in Tapper City in the USA. So they are good.

Yes, the fan should be replaced or at least inspected for repair of the pump.

 

My 2007 Convertible (base) mini power steering pump failed on me yesterday. Calling the NHTSA indicated no recall for my VIN even though it is the same electric power steering pump as for the 2004-2005 coopers. Dealer and MiniUSA would not help either.
Any suggestions?
Also, will it be unsafe/or do more damage to drive?

 

I'm not sure why first gen MINIs after 2005 weren't covered, but I think you are out of luck having it covered by MINI unfortunately.

It shouldn't cause any more damage driving with the pump dead. Just makes turning the wheel at slow speeds really hard!

If you're worried about some kind of electrical short occurring, you could always pull the fuse for the power steering pump. The fuse for it takes a little work to get to though. It's FL4 in the engine bay fuse box, which is on the bottom side of the fuse box, so you have to remove the ECM and the battery box on the base Cooper or airbox on the Cooper S. Unless you notice signs of electrical issues after the pump has died, it's probably not worth worrying about.

 

The pumps were covered up to 2/2005 production. Check the door jam for your production date. MINI and ZF revised the pump in 2/2005 with a new part number. My pump was already replaced when MINI looked at it so I did not get a new pump. Mine was changed back in 2007 so I had the newer pump.

It makes it harder to turn. Not really unsafe but its stiff and like the old days with no power steering cars. I would just replace it and get a new AAE unit linked if you are worried about cost. You will need the CHF fluid also and you can check out the lines and the fan also. I would check to make sure the fuses are good and the Fan is good also.

If you can do it yourself you can save $$$, but if you can find a local Euro shop and show them the DIYs on here they should be able to do it.

DIY for the pump lines.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hose-pics.html


Link to the rebuilt AAE units, fan, and lines:

https://www.ecstuning.com/News/MINI_R50_R52_R53_AAE_Steering_Power_Steering_Pumps _19695/

 

my 06 failed, it's too bad mini is not extending that replacement campaign because the newer ones fail too

got an AAE from ECS in there now

 

mine just failed this morning, driving 80mph in 9 degree weather. power steering went out and couple of minutes later all the lights on the dash, radio, ac followed by the engine dying which left me in a bit of a pickle flying down the rd. Called a tow truck which showed up two hours later. I am still cold as I type this. Should I try and contact (BMW)Mini of USA? my power steering fan was working when checked last and the hoses had little bit of sweating on them. I kept an eye on it often, anticipating the replacement at some point. This is not my daily driver although I do drive it often. I am just thankful my girlfriend didn't drive it as it could have been bad

 

no, your alternator failed not your PS pump

 

I might be wrong and I will check the alternator one of these days Battery charged, car off, and I can hear the gears grinding in the PS pump

 

Yes, its the alt. Mine did the same thing. Driving down the road, then radio... PS... and the dash lights came on like a christmas tree.. then dim... and car started to misfire. Edit** so its working again for powering the car, but not the pump? Maybe it shorted?

Cooper S: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...which-one.html


Cooper: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...lternator.html

 

Well crap, maybe I am wrong. Would it still be spinning if the power to the car was off?