I'm driving R53 04 mini cooper s as a daily car. I'm pretty much driving every day but not a lot since my work is only 10 mins away. It's got 121k miles and car ran fine til yesterday.

While driving near my home, I suddenly lost the power steering function and had to haul on what felt like 60 lb. weights to get the wheel to respond.

it was quite a challenge to negotiate turns and curves to get the car home. Is this because power steering pump went bad?

Does it cover by warranty? I've heard from someone saying it was a recall before but not sure if it's still valid.

 

Check your VIN online (https://www.miniusa.com/owners/tools...rt/recall.html). The power steering pump was recalled but it affects only certain years and build months. Good luck.

 

I would check the fluid level first. Due to the age of the vehicle, it is possible that the hoses have dried out and are leaking. If so, it may just need some $25 per quart unicorn blood to make it work again, but it may also have killed the pump. If that is the case and your car is not covered by the recall, I would try to find a wrecked MINI in the junkyard to salvage one from. New, I believe it is around $800 for the part, but you should be able to find a rebuild for less. Also, be certain the cooling fan is functioning properly as a bad one will also kill the pump. It should be cleaned on a regular basis, especially if the car has a oil leak. When I got my car, it had been fitted with a new one 3,000 miles prior, but a leaky crank angle position O-ring (the sensor is in line with the fan and any leak will stream back into the fan while the car is moving) had coated it in oil and sand and dirt had adhered to it, causing it to become thick with grease. This, and leaky original hoses to the reservoir would have killed the pump in short order. What was shocking to me is that the previous owner had paid a supposedly professional European car specialist shop $1600 for the installation of the new pump and fan and they neglected to fix the root causes of the failure.

 

Mine is a 04 R50. I called BMW today. It covered under the recall on steering pump. I noticed mine is a little whinny.

 

Are you serious? I called the dealership and they said 13yrs/150000 whichever comes first so my car couldn’t be covered.

 

Try a different dealership. Some will do it under warranty even if not "legally" covered under the recall since they are reimbursed by the manufacturer. Worth it even if you have to drive a bit to drop it off.

 

Given no help from the manufacturer, know that you can buy a rebuilt pump at Summit Racing for $257.

 

My car was purchased over seas by someone else in military. I called BMW to check on recall. My car was not showing up in there system. She looked a little further an found out about the over seas purchase. So the original owner never received the recall notice. So they are adding my car into the system. I having to send them a copy of registration and bill of sale. Was purchased in Germany. Then imported to the U.S..