OMG! I hope the owner got out! This is a serious problem that MINI/BMW should do something about. Maybe they fixed it in the later models.

 

Any pics of how you did this? Also, what did you use to insulate? Thanks.

 

No pic's at the time this happned all I did was to disconnect the battery. The heat shield is U shaped and snaps into two places on the starter using rubber grommets and then screwed on to the OIL filter housing, if the screw is secured there should not be a problem, I took the shield off and after cleaning the esction that is directly under the starter with alchol I then applied electrical tape covering the complete bottom half of the shield.

 

Hey guys, you may already know this, but just in case I thought I would tell you--- I just noticed last night while looking at brochures on the MINI, in the "little book"; an accordian folding style quick reference booklet, under a heading titled "Let's Sweat The Details" that for the 07hardtops the steering is listed as "electric, engine-speed-sensitive power steering" but for the convertibles it says "Electro-hydrolic, engine speed sensitive power steering" so there HAS apparently been a change. The convertibles will be updated I suppose for 08. So, perhaps in a small way, they have acknowledged this? Not that it helps anybody with anything other than an 07 hardtop. I can snail mail this booklet if someone wants it. PM me with an address if you think it might help your lawyers any.

 

Listen people, I know these cars are incredibly cute, peppy, and cool due to the design and uniqueness, but lets face it, if is looks like it, smell like it, and acts like it, then it must be a POS.
I was incredibly attached to my 02' MCS until My car had this problem as stated earlier, my insurance company (luckily) had to shell out $8000 dollars to have the complete car rewired due to a faulty power steering fan. The dealer-ship had to completely gut my car inside and rewire it with a brand new wiring harness, control module and a newly design power steering fan. The whole repair took 2 months. I have owned a lot of high end cars (BMW, Audi, etc.) and I have never had a car had the complete wiring harness burn up due to a **** poor design with a power steering fan.
I've called the BMW customer relations and spoke to a person who was nothing more than a smooth talker who indicated that I should not expect the same quality in a mini as a bmw due to the fact that it is assembled in England (even though engineered in Germany) The fact of the matter is that Mini Cooper is a premium brand and the design of the components which cause this problem are worst than that of korean makes. Does anyone remember the Ford Pinto??
This company needs to be taught a lesson for not backing up thier product. The only way this company will be forced to make good on this problem is through a class action law suit. Remember,Kill this brand before it kills you or someone close to you.
I have since unloaded my MINI on a VW GTI and will not return to BMW as a customer. (Note: I have owned 4 BMW products)
Sorry I am long winded but i hate to see people spend hard earned money on POS's that are passed off as premium brands.

 

PLease report all problems to the NHTSA. That way they will have to listen. A lot of power steering failures can cause more than a fire. Come into a turn and have steering go out and not be ready and you go off the road.


http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/



Paul

 

I already reported my incident to the Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Defects Investigation.

I was contacted by someone from there with more questions about the complaint and told they would follow up with me this week.

 

Its good to hear that NHTSA is putting some attention to the complains!

 

Excellent. Thank you.

Paul

 

I was contacted today by the DOT inquiring about the fire I had. It seems they are specifically investigating the power steering pump issue in 02's and 03's. It's a start, and good news indeed!

 

Read through all 9 pages of this thread, and am still confused as to whether this issue is confined to earlier models . . . any instances of this occurring in '06 Coopers?

 

As of now, there have been no reported incidents of this happening in '06s. If they haven't changed the design of the power steering pump, however, it could only be a matter of time and/or miles.

 

The power steering cooling fan has been mentioned a few times in this thread and here are some new vs. old comparisons. The newer on the left has a protective cover and ports for the fan motor.



The newer version (06 build date) on the left has some added circuitry; perhaps a fuse? I didn’t open the lid because there is some sealant around the in & out wires.


I have some power steering noise that has become persistent, I was told by a local tech it had to be the fan, so I replaced it; it is the pump which is making noise and not the fan I know now for sure. The parts department head also talked me out of purchasing the pump and going for the fan replacement instead. He showed me a few month sales records for the fan, and from the very large numbers he is distributing, I would say the fan should be a recall item also; 14 went out in one week. Come on PS motor recall; MINI USA, buy me a new pump.

BTW, I keep a fire extinguisher close at hand also.

 

I will be posting a link to this thread for the Middle Georgia MINIs Club, we have one or two older ('02/'04) models in the group. Thanks SCoop for bringing this to light.

 

Has anyone considered a system like this?

It is a fire suppression system with nozzles that can be placed anywhere you want. Just pull the handle and it extinguishes the fire. Assuming the nozzles are pointing at the area of the fire. Summit Racing does sell other kits with more nozzles.

 

Nice...I need to look into this

 

It is scary how many occurences of this exist!

 

What are the actual stats.? 1 in 10,000?? Still..... if my house burned down because of my MINI catching fire........ I'd be pi$$ed..

I did mount an extingushier(sp). Hope I never have to use it.

 

It recently happened to my 03 cooper with 62k miles.Fire at pump, burned out harness, hose fan etc...Having terrible problem getting it repaired in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Ron Lawrence

 

I found this site yesterday, 1 day after my Mini caught fire while I was driving it. I did a google search, and here I am. My story: I bought a 2002 Mini Cooper in 2005, with about 32000 miles on it. Fell in love quickly. Then, 2 days ago, I was 1/4 mile from my house, on the way to the grocery store, and I thought I heard a spark or something, and then there was smoke coming from the passenger side right under the dash. I somehow managed to pull over, pull the e-brake, undo my seatbelt, turn off the ignition, grab the keys, and then got out. Within seconds there were massive flames coming from the interior. Take a look at these pictures.

 

OMG. I almost threw up looking at those pics. I'm really sorry for your loss. Just glad you made it out safely. Really interested in what might have started an interior fire of that magnitude... obviously some short or electrical failure under the dash or the BCM, but what I wonder?

 

I'm really sorry that your first post on here was this kind of bad news! I'm very glad you contacted me and I hope the email I sent you had some good info.

I get more and more PISSED every time I see this happen - again and again - and the "mother ship" still refuses to accept ANY kind of responsibility. I know - we've been down this road before. But urggggggg...

First off and MOST important, you got out of the car and are okay.

Donna

 

I can't imagine how you must feel, I am sorry for the loss of your MINI. Surely there is something as a community we can do to get MINI/BMW to look into this. There are too many instances of fires for this to just get swept under the rug.

I am glad you got out safely and are OK.

 

d*mn! how horrible. glad you're ok!

 

Why isn't the fan and the pump itself unpowered when the ignition is off?? Would it be hard to do that, ie put a relay or something in that kills power when the car is not running? Good grief...

Even though I have an 06, this thread (among other things) prompted me to pony up for this part:

http://www.mossmini.com/Shop/ViewPro...eIndexID=59579

At least I can hope it means less garbage might find it's way into the fan... and a good supply of cooling airflow. We'll see..