That will be how we get them to, well maybe not warranty them, but perhaps improve them, or sell them for a reduced cost!!
MINI/BMW DID anounce in EUROPE that "changes" had been made to improve reliability of the system (this is when the PS DUCT KIT came out (with the cabro, in 2005, the changes to the PS pump were said to be limited to reducing sound levels....) cost, about $80, and 1 hour labor or less on an S. This WAS after the government DID get involved...maybe they will retofit it for free if we ask after enough failures occur in the US. I installed one on mine.

Since Manual Steering is still possible after the power assist fails (hard, but possible, kinda like on an older Honda Civic or Ford Escort....I hope they don't say it is a driver convenience item!!

 

I'm going to be a millionaire selling Mini Cooper powersteering pumps..

But on a serious note. What will it take to get recognition? Will it take someone burning to death or severe property damage? The Firestone tires problem was not acknowledged until someone was killed.

 

From our friends at
Minimania.com
Rob Unsworth - Editor
16 Feb 09, 2:37 PM
The Mini is 50 in 2009. Once ever-so British, it was re-launched by BMW in 2001. Since then, more than a million have been produced worldwide and, as they say in their adverts, it's no ordinary drive, more a 'Mini Adventure'.
But some of you have found your 'Mini Adventure' is more a test of your nerves, because a crucial part of the steering system can fail without warning, and drivers can be left fighting for control of their car.
Frightening
It happened to Heather Hinam as she was driving her five-year-old Mini around a roundabout. Heather said: "I came to a roundabout, went to turn the wheel and there was nothing. It was just like the wheel was rigid. So, I wrenched on the wheel as hard as I could. I just managed to get a little bit of movement in it sufficient to get me around the roundabout. It was very frightening."
Heather had bought her Mini from a used car dealer but she took it directly to her local BMW garage for repair. They said that her power steering pump had failed. That's the crucial part that has made manoeuvring modern cars so much easier, and it's so essential that if it fails, steering becomes extremely difficult - far harder in fact, than an older car with no power steering at all.
BMW's customer service told Heather this wasn't a common fault, which is surprising because we've heard from dozens of other Mini owners who've told us they've had exactly the same problem, and have had to fork out anything up to £800 for the repair.
Shocked
Natalie Redford was shocked to find the steering on her six-year-old Mini became hard to handle on her journey home from work. As she turned right, she couldn't turn the steering wheel enough to make it around the corner and she mounted the pavement, narrowly missing a wall. "I was quite shook up - really shook up actually," Natalie told Watchdog. "Someone could have been on that path, and I could have gone into them, and there was nothing I could do about it at all."
BMW say that power steering pump failures are not common. When we rang 45 main dealers, 30 denied there was a common fault, 14 said they'd had a few problems and only one dealer said the power steering does have a tendency to go wrong. But if the problem really is as rare as BMW would like to make out, we were surprised to hear from one Mini specialist telling us he's doing a roaring trade replacing the faulty part.
Common problem
Matt Pike is an independent Mini mechanic, and a supplier of spare parts. He says he can barely keep up with demand for replacement power steering pumps: "At least 60 per cent of our regular customers have all had pumps changed. And we're getting at least two calls a day from people after power steering pumps because they're such a big failure. I'd say it's the most common problem we have with the Minis."
Some worried drivers have contacted VOSA, the government body responsible for vehicle safety. VOSA said they'd done their own tests, and were convinced that even if the pump fails, the car can still be driven safely.
Motoring expert Mark Brown is surprised the Mini's power steering pumps are failing so early in the car's life, and is concerned by the risks the failure can cause: "I'd expect power steering pumps to last virtually the lifetime of the car, with a few exceptions. I think that because of the number of reported incidents, and the potentially dangerous situation it can leave a driver in when the failure does occur, that we're getting into the realms now where a safety recall ought to be seriously considered."
BMW say that they're aware of an electrical issue which has the potential to affect the Electro Hydraulic Power Assisted Steering system fitted to more than 223,000 petrol-powered Minis sold between 2001 and 2007. This includes 175,000 Mini one, Mini Cooper and Cooper S cars sold between 2001 and 2005, 9,000 convertibles and 32,000 Mini Hatch cars sold in 2006 and 7,800 Mini Convertibles sold in 2007. BMW say that in January 2005 a modification was made to the pump supplied with all new Minis which virtually eradicated the issue.

Statement
In a statement the company said: "Mini UK strives to provide the best possible service to its customers and is concerned when they are not satisfied with their cars. We can appreciate that the issues these Mini owners experienced can be disturbing, but we have thoroughly investigated the cases of each customer, and worked hard to eradicate the issues described. As with all modern cars, power steering systems are an added support function that makes steering easier, especially at slow speeds, when parking for example. They are not an essential component of steering systems and cars can be driven perfectly safely without power steering assistance. All new Minis on sale today also feature new power steering mechanisms completely unaffected by these issues.
"However, Mini UK takes such incidents very seriously and has worked closely with the independent regulatory bodies who have liaised with us on the most appropriate route to take with this issue. Furthermore, we would advise that if any owner of a petrol-engine Mini produced between 2001-07 has concerns over this issue or has experienced a similar situation, they should contact our dedicated Mini UK Customer Service line on 0800 777129."


Article Date: Feb 23, 2009
Car Accociations: NEW_MINI
Hits: 1552



As you can see MINI UK says there WAS a problem....and they fixed....and they IMPLY that if you have/HAD and issue, to let them know....maybe they are helping the owners out?! Maybe we should all be calling MINI USA?!
Using aftermarket rebuilds, just masks the problems from the pencil pushers...the more we use, the easier it is to deny an problem.

 

Yes, they offered to help me after 3 months of calling/faxing documents and emailing but would not cover damages. I just paid the $1200+ out-of-pocket and told them to shove it. This business practice is absurd. If they really cared, this issue would be in their computer systems as a recall or service bulletin. The BMW Master Tech at Long Beach BMW searched for a long time and found nothing related to power steering pump failures.

 

Reply to post #475...

I'll guess we can agree to disagree.

 

Unfortunately that is exactly what most likely will have to happen. Sad, but true.

Now about those Firestone tires. Ford spec'd a tire they had no business using on an Explorer & then spec'd a low air pressure for a comfy ride. That fact along with owners never checking the tire pressure led to many needless deaths. IMHO Firestone was not at fault, Ford was...

Back on topic. BMW MINI has their head in the sand.

 

Over the years there have been many recalls & TSBs for just about every make of car. Bringing other recalls into this disscussion only muddies the issue at hand.

FWIW - I own a 99 Explorer - When the Firestone tires were replaced, you could see the inside of the tire side wall was disintegrating, along with the debris inside the tire itself ( both rear tires ). The vehicle still has 15" rims w/ 235 series tires - without issue.
Also - It was Ford that made the recall - Cruise Control harness - a fire issue.

 

Going off topic again, but what you saw is evidence that the tires were low on air pressure. That is why running low air pressure is so darned dangerous. You can not see the damage that is being done. That is until the tire goes bang.

It was not the size that Ford spec'd wrong, it was the load rating & the fact folks ran them low on air pressure.

Back on topic..... Spontaneous combustion.

 

Geeeezzzzoo! Your opinion is just that. I won't speculate on what the exact nature of the tire failures. I know about tires, pressure & proper rim width..... just a little credit please.....

In the mean time, fire, any fire, gets my attention.

 

This is not an opinion, it is fact. Sorry if you feel I've wronged you somehow.

Back on topic.... Spontaneous combustion.

Motor on...

 

All of what we are looking at has some relevance.... Even the Ford Firestone issue.
There is quite a bit of politics, public oppinion as well as public relations involved with all products. Example, I. M. Pei designed & speced the Hancock center, he, however, did not engineer the glass that was installed = fail. Asbestos was a building requirement for steam & some hot water pipes....fail.

1 of the big problems is - we have a first pay, last pay - If our insurance will cover damages, the Mini issue, BMW will not pressure their sub contractor for a recall or TSB. The fan was redesigned....... So?

So, where, exactly, will consumer protection come from? Most lawers & judges I know, say "make sure you have insurance". Is that the best we can do? Hmmmmm.

The problem with the Mini is the unpredictability. These fires can happen anytime & place.

IMHO the issue is a stone in the left shoe of BMW..... when they change their socks...... they may find the stone

 

The Ford/Firestone debacle was caused (as mentioned) by three things.

1. Ford specing the wrong tire for the vehicle.
2. Ford recommending too low a tire pressure to begin with.
3. The failure of many drivers to maintain this minimum level pressure.

 

I have an 03 Cooper and live in Seattle, WA.
In 2006 mine caught on fire when I was driving down the road. They told me what happened was that the heat shield behind the motor/above the exhaust manifold came loose and caused the wire clipped to it to catch fire. However, they had the car for quite some time 'determining' what was wrong and gave me multiple excuses. I ended up paying almost $4000.00 to have the entire power steering system and starter, wiring harness for the entire engine replaced, and then some!

-Greg Lees

 

The heat shield... Hmmmm.... It somehow worked it's way to the harness, the harness burned ( exactly what kind of flamable material ) & caused the fire........

 

Pretty creative forensics, I must agree. It would be downright laughable if it wasn't so sad that they actually tried to sell such a tale.

 

How dumb do these people think we are? Anything is possible, but.......

After spending 3 years in the US Army, 65 - 68 and hearing "Don't put a stick in your eye" woooozzzzeeerrr, how can that be a good thing? Only "Top Gear" can have a car catch fire in a car wash. BMW on the other hand.. just start at the begining of this thread.

 

Wow... I thought my '06 is out of the fray but now we have some '05, '06 and even '08 Coopers having this same problem. What a mess!!!

 

Though I think it's safe to say that the numbers represented by the '05 and later model years are still in the noise when compared to the total number of vehicles on the road. It remains the '02-'04 model years where there is an established trend of similar fires, and even BMW/MINI admits to a design flaw in the EHPS pump electrical harness which was subsequently "fixed."

 

On this 03, build date 10-02:

Feb 05 the car overheated. The expansion tank ruptured - coolant everywhere. 21K on the clock. Yes the SEL came on - too late....... No fire.

The car was still under "BMW care" - it was flat backed to the dealer 52 miles away. The PS fan was replaced as was a small wire harness mod & PS pump.

The fan was a melted mess ( if I had a camera I'd have taken a pic ). What appears to happen - PS fan fails - PS pump overheats & causes PS fluid to leak. On these early builds there is no fuse or link for this fan ( the replacement fan today has such a link at the fan )....... That said, I believe there is a possibility this criteria could cause a fire.

 

Thought you would be interested to know NHTSA has finally announced a formal probe of the MINI power steering failure / fire problem:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/nhtsa-pr...-failures.html

My 2003 MINI was among the affected, catching fire last year @ 60k miles and suffering $3,500 damage. My story is part of this thread, about 18 months back. When I approached MINI about support or compensation the company laughed in my face, but offered to cover my State Farm deductible ($100) if I'd sign a gag order and agree never to discuss my case in public... I laughed in their face.

I sold the car after it was repaired having lost trust in its reliability as well as all respect for the company. I filed a formal complaint with NHTSA at the time (April '09) but obviously the agency has been very, very slow to take notice of this shameful problem.

 

It's about DAMN TIME! BMW gave me the run around for months and ended up never helping me at all. My dealership did more to help than BMW corporate. I hope we get reimbursed for our damages.

 

Interesting that they are targeting 2004 and 2005 models, when it seems a good number of them are '03s.

 

Ditto for me in June. The claims adjuster attributed it to the power steering pump. The total damages with towing, rental car, parts and labor was close to $3K. My insurance company paid everything except the cost of the pump itself (they said the cause of the fire isn't covered--only the damage it causes) and some of the car rental. I notified MINI USA in expectation that there might have been a recall--but, as you stated SCoop--none exists. The MINI manager I spoke to agreed to pay for all expenses not covered by the insurance company (about $900) and he also told me that if I had called MINI directly when the event occurred they would have taken care of everything (of course, it happened on a Sunday). When I queried him as to how one would know that MINI would take care of everything he said that while they do not advertise this fact (I guess so scam artists won't take advantage) it is something they do. Anyway, I filed the claim at the beginning of August and was just notified that my check "is in the mail". My insurance company is also subrogating to collect from MINI. If you need further information please contact me.

 

I have just finished reading all 20 pages of this thread. I am new to the MINI world, having purchased an '03 MCS with 73k just a couple of weeks ago. When I was researching and shopping for an MCS, I had heard that there might be problems with the power steering pump fan, but hadn't found the threads about the fires. Prior to the purchase of mine, I talked with the mechanic who had worked on it. He told me he had done work on the PS fan years back. After reading this thread, I checked the maintenance records and it looks like all that was done was that the fan was "diagnosed and corrected", no parts (other than a 5A fuse) installed! This was back at 24k miles, in 2005. I thought the problem had been taken care of, but now I'm not sure.

It seems like there are two theories as to the root cause of the overheating:

1. Road debris clogging the power steering fan, preventing it from performing its function, or some general failure of the fan, and subsequent overheating of the power steering pump to the point where things combust.

2. Corroded wiring harness connectors. Presumably the theory is that because of corrosion, the current densities where the contacts are not corroded become so great that the contacts overheat and melt the surrounding insulators. I've seen something similar in a non-automotive electrical system where the load demanded current too large for the corroded contacts. Sounds like the conductors/contacts may be undersized.

Whatever the cause, in reading this thread I think I read that some owners said part of the fix was to install a "bigger fuse". This make zero sense to me; if anything I would think you want a smaller fuse since the fuse wasn't protecting against electrical fires...

Has anyone added a thermal or other type of fuse to protect against this? Somebody many pages back suggested thermal fuse, but I don't think anyone says they've installed in-line fuses themselves. I see quick disconnect battery connections mentioned. There's also been mention of a Moss MINI fan shield (is this better/worse than MINI upgrade? Can I get the MINI upgrade from anyone other than dealer?). Why isn't a supplementary fuse the second line of defense after the fan screen?

I wonder if MINI would blame aftermarket parts in the event of fire. One thought I had is using "bulb grease" for the contacts to minimize corrosion.

One thing that's clear is that MINI USA never took the opportunity to get out in front of the problem and do the right thing through a recall. I like the car so far but I'm not sure I would have purchased it if I had known about the fires. I wonder what percentage are subject to this problem...

I guess I need to investigate what version of the PS pump fan I have, whether it has the upgraded guard, and consider replacing the fan. Maybe the pump too. Anyone know how hard this is to do DIY?

 

Little did I know getting my wife her dream car was going to lead to all this!

Last thing I read on this thread was something about DIY. Just did it. After what was the most annoying DIY project of my life, I can see where it really could be a simple project. I'll try to post links to some resources shortly.

Mine was not a simple project because our engine bay fireworks had already gone off; I just didn't know it. Didn't find out until I reached up to unplug the wiring harness from the pump and came back down with a handful of charcoal. Anyways, this is my first post, but I'm sure many will follow.