Howdy, Troy here.

Yesterday, on my trek home from work, I noticed that the steering wheel on my MCS felt extremely tight when attempting turns. As I got closer to home (lower speeds), I could barely turn the wheel at all. I had to actually put down my taco and pull as hard as I could with both hands to turn the car.

I did a quick search here at NAM, and all i could find was complaints about loud power steering fans and 1 unanswered thread about a failure pertaining to early 2002 MCSs.

1 quick call to MINI Roadside, and my baby was on its way to MINI of Sterling. I called the morning to check on the car, and I couldn't get a live body to talk to me for anything. I've noticed that Sterling MINI has had more turnovers in Service Managers than I've ever seen in a short timespan.

Finally, I got a guy that I could talk to, and he seemed annoyed to have to deal with me. I said they'd get to the car when they could, but couldn't say anything past that. I'm really fed up with their "service", ignoring customer requests as simple as "don't wash my car under any circumstances" (violated *that* one 3 times already :evil: ), and just appearing apathetic about customer satisfaction.

Too bad, I'm a captive audience. From Frederick, MD, Sterling is about the only game in town that is in any way convenient for me.

Soapbox = off. Anyone else have problems with power steering just dying altogether?

Thanks,
Troy

 

A failure of the power steering fan can also result in a failure of the radiator cooling fans (an early defect in which both ran on one circuit). Your problem sounds different though, and yes there have been occasional failures of the ps units. It should all be covered under warranty, so you won't be out anything more than time, and a little aggravation.

Also, you should always put your taco down to drive.

 

I had the same thing happen while on the track. Almost killed myself and fortunatly was very close to pit in.

I checked the fan, pulled out a wad of rubber that had jammed in the fan rendering the fan inoperable.

I now have a mesh screen over my fan.

 

>>Howdy, Troy here.
>>
>>Yesterday, on my trek home from work, I noticed that the steering wheel on my MCS felt extremely tight when attempting turns. As I got closer to home (lower speeds), I could barely turn the wheel at all. I had to actually put down my taco and pull as hard as I could with both hands to turn the car.
>>
>>I did a quick search here at NAM, and all i could find was complaints about loud power steering fans and 1 unanswered thread about a failure pertaining to early 2002 MCSs.
>>
>>1 quick call to MINI Roadside, and my baby was on its way to MINI of Sterling. I called the morning to check on the car, and I couldn't get a live body to talk to me for anything. I've noticed that Sterling MINI has had more turnovers in Service Managers than I've ever seen in a short timespan.
>>
>>Finally, I got a guy that I could talk to, and he seemed annoyed to have to deal with me. I said they'd get to the car when they could, but couldn't say anything past that. I'm really fed up with their "service", ignoring customer requests as simple as "don't wash my car under any circumstances" (violated *that* one 3 times already :evil: ), and just appearing apathetic about customer satisfaction.
>>
>>Too bad, I'm a captive audience. From Frederick, MD, Sterling is about the only game in town that is in any way convenient for me.
>>
>>Soapbox = off. Anyone else have problems with power steering just dying altogether?
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Troy

Troy, Why don't you go to MINI of Towson (Maryland dealer). They are Mod friendly too. Why are you using a Virginia dealer?

 

Hey Norm,

The reason is that my work is in Vienna, VA, so my travel is always south east...Sterling has always been "on the way", and I purchased there, so I had hoped that my constant patronage would account for something.

WRONG!

I will definitely check out Tate in Annapolis, and Towson MINI in the future, as I think it's time for a change.

-T

 

Check your email for our offer of help. If you prefer, you can call us at 866 ASK.MINI, and please mention Reference # 200412800100 so that we can help you more efficiently.

 

thats funny, I went all teh way to tate form manassas to buy my mini, though I do my service now at sterling, townson too far away, and tate service people were frustrating tho the sales were great. I save 400 dollars buying in MD adn doign tax/tags etc.. myself, plus I got the car 3 months earlier than what sterling could have gotten it for me. I think it woudl be worth trekign over to townson. you may want to invest in teh steerign fan shroud over at moss...

 

oh the tragedy!

Keep harping on your dealership. If necessary, talk to the General Manager to get things done. The power steering failure is not common, but it is a known issue. This should be resolved without any problems (barring the snippy Service attitudes), or with anything out-of-pocket on your part.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, Rye. How's the stumble going?

I'm going to call MINIUSA now, at the urging of MINIDivision. Apparently, most of the service writers at Sterling are kind of putting out fires there, as they're very understaffed. I'm understanding to a point, but the musical chairs of MINI Service there is getting out of hand.

I have a rental Jeep Liberty right now, that I would very, very much like to be replaced by my original car :evil:

More later,
T

 

I just had my entire steering rack replaced last week . The car has 29,000 + miles on it. The symptoms were simple I started going thru steering fluid in a hurry. The funny thing was it was not appearing on the ground but it was actually filling the rubberboots at each end of the rack. They replaced it under warrenty and felt that some interior O rings had gone bad. The tech said it was the second one he had done personally. I did put my stock wheels and tires on as I did not want to give them any excuse to void the warrenty. I hope this info is of some help to you.
Randy
Team M7

 

My '03 MCS had the same problem - it took two hands to turn more than 30 degrees. I took it in under warrantee and if I recall correctly, they had to take out the steering pump to get to a bad electrical circuit behind it. From then on, it's been fine.
-Cor.

 

There are three things that could have caused this, and I've seen all three.

First, the fuse has blown (which alsoi relates to the fan). I believe it is fuse #5, but I could be wrong on that. I'll check.

Second, the plug on the unit has worked itself loose. Same effect - the pump is dead, so the steering is rock hard.

And finally, and the most involved to fix, is a failed pump. It does happen, and is usually also associated with a failed fan that lead to the pump dying. If they replace the pump, be sure they also check the fan.

Keep trying with the dealer, and let them know MINI USA has already responded online to your issue.

Hope that helps!

Randy

 

I too just had the rack replaced in my 03 MCS with 16,000 miles. Filled the rubber ram protection cover up with fluid until leaking started all over the garage floor. Never failed but would have soon if it had gone undetected much longer.

Rob

 

>>I too just had the rack replaced in my 03 MCS with 16,000 miles. Filled the rubber ram protection cover up with fluid until leaking started all over the garage floor. Never failed but would have soon if it had gone undetected much longer.
>>
>>Rob
My 02 with 30 k had the exact same problem as you . The tech said it is far from un common. had no symptoms except was going thru fluid all of a sudden. No lthe ground as it pools up in the boot ends of the rack. Replaced under warrenty.

 

Hello folks,
This may or may not have anything to do with the current PS Problem. About one year ago I had Power Steering (PS) Fan fail and the car overheated. I have a very early 03 (first week build) MC that has the Coolant Fan and PS Fan on the same circuit.

I notice the steering was tight when starting last week. The problem clears up with RPMs. Today I noticed the PS fluid tank is near dry. At this point the car is running fine while driving. The PS works normally except at start. The car's coolant is not getting hot (according to the temp guage).

I have an appointment at Sterling later in this month. I purchased a one ltr can of PS fluid from the dealership today. It’s only a question of time before the pump has nothing to push. The MINI uses a synthetic fluid, the can warns that the fluid should not be mixed with other types. The MINI is not alone in this warning. Honda PS fluid can not be mixed as well. The numbers on the Honda’s fluid container did not match the spec numbers on the MINI’s fluid container.

 

Same thing happened to my MINI yesterday. Pulled out of a parking spot and had to muscle the wheel. Thankfully, we were leaving the gym so I was particularly pumped up with testosterone. Winston (the car) is now in the shop. Waiting patiently for a reply.

What was the outcome of your PS adventure?

 

My appointment has not happened yet. I suspect the rack as there are no drips under the car and the resivore is empty. Could be the pump or a hose, but my money is on the rack.

 

Turns out it was the power steering pump that caused my MINI to drive like a '47 Ford pickup truck.

Serviced and back on the road, I'm happy to say.