Some of you may have read my previous posts about my PSP nightmare.

Anyway, I took my R53 into the dealership for a power steering pump replacement under recall.

They replaced the pump, but then called me at multiple points to tell me that the low pressure line AND the high pressure lines had gone bad. And those weren't covered under warranty. So...my OTD price (for hoses and lines) would be $1250. They offered me a discount, and got the price down to 900.

It was Christmas, and budgets were tight, so I opted not to perform the hose/line repairs.

I drive the car home, and eventually get around to replacing the dead hoses myself. When I plug everything in and get to testing, the pump doesn't turn on.

I tried absolutely everything, all voltages are checked, fuses and relays good. I call back the dealership asking them if I got a bad PSP.

They now claim that they won't repair anything under part warranty because I drove the car home. No explicit warning or explanation that my possible driving the car could force the car to ruin the brand new pump that was installed.

Why would they keep everything connected, knowing that I was going to drive it home? Or why wouldn't they tell me that maybe I should get the car towed home? How do I even know if the replacement pump was working in the first place?

 

Start checking fuses as we see them blown often enough causing this.

It's not common to get a bad shelf new so hopefully that's all it is.

And this is why people hate dealers.

 

I did check fuse #39 in the footwell, as well as the 100A fuse in the engine bay. any other places that i need to look?

 

"I drive the car home, and eventually get around to replacing the dead hoses myself. When I plug everything in and get to testing, the pump doesn't turn on. "

I normally am very suspicious of MINI dealers. However in your case I am not about to paint the dealer as evil robber. It is a long time since Christmas. If you drove the car home after the dealer's pump replacement obviously the new pump was functioning fine or else you would have screamed hell and murder. So now more than a month later the PS does not function after you replace the lines yourself, I don't think the dealer should bear responsibility.

I seriously doubt that the new pump is defective.

 

The power steering NEVER worked, even after they replaced the pump. The drive home was under manual steering. And I figured this was the case because the lines were bad. How would i ever know if the pump worked in the first place?

 

I infer from your post above the power steering was not working to begin with when you went to the dealer. The dealer agreed to grant you the PSP recall replacement. The question is can you expect the dealer to fix the power steering if the malfunction has no relation with the cause of the recall?

 

 

Chico
Was there any fluid in the power steering system before & after the pump was replaced?
Were you billed for the expensive fluid? or is it at least mentioned on the repair order? It should be as it is covered by the recall. The dealer should not have left the system dry, leak or no leak.
What was 'bad' about both hoses?
When I had my pump replaced I was told the hoses had to be replaced or the warranty on the new pump would not be valid. In my case the hoses were 'damp' - no drips on my clean garage floor. I paid $400 or so for new hoses.
I later found out that the 'O' rings on the hoses often fail - I suspect that to be my problem; no real 'leak' or failure, just dampness.
If the high-pressure hose fails it empties the reservoir very quickly.
If the low pressure/return hose fails, it doesn't.