Mini Power Steering Failure

judiths

I am amazed to find so many people have had similar experiences to mine in which the Power Steering Pump failed in a Mini . I was on a three lane island at the end of the M11 in rush hour and had to stop and restart the engine as I was unable to steer. This caused chaos and much hooting of horns. I cannot believe there has not been a recall for such a dangerous fault that has happened to so many people.

mark5

how old is your Mini?

Microstar_2

Its a very common failure. I'm sure exactly how many we have replaced, but its a lot!!

thescouselander

Watchdog did a programme on this - definitely a common fault. You could have steered though, it just takes a bit more force so no need to block up the road.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

the bmw mini power stearing is electronic and the units tend to fail due to poor design/cheap electronics.

Microstar_2

We find the units have usually shown signs of overheating. We can obtain rebuilt units for a little over £200.
Minis can also suffer various other electrical faults, including ABS ECU failure and sticking throttle pedals (although this has not been as widely reported as with Toyota!!). At the first sign of any sticking get the APP replaced and also the adapter plate.
Minis are not particularly reliable or good quality cars, certainly nowhere near the quality of other BMW products.

amininightmare

I have struggled to continue enjoying my MINI adventure - since now, at only 6/7 years old my MINI has joined the catalogue of other MINIs that have suffered the catastrophic failure of their Power Steering. No portent. And NO....the car cannot be used post failure. Even a Sherman Tank would have a better turning circle. First I was frustrated by the failure - then at the "no longer in Warranty therefor not our problem" response, I initially got from BMW. Now I am fired up at the potentially life threatening position I was placed in, with my son in the car, all because of the economics of an engineering flaw - known, but blind-eyed by BMW. I have my case currently being reviewed by customer care at BMW and we will see if they offer to cover the cost of the fault (pump and two connection looms) of a touch under £1000.00. But you know the more I think about the situation - it has become VERY much more than a mechanical failure issue!!!

somech

i have heard of quite a few people who have asked bmw nicely and had the power steering replaced foc.even cars at 5-6 years old (the dealers dont advertise this though)

blue_haddock

There are cheaper ways to repair this than going through BMW - google BBA Reman as they are a specialist automotive electronics company who offer reconditioned pumps at a fraction of the bmw price.

rev_henry

thescouselander wrote: »

Watchdog did a programme on this - definitely a common fault. You could have steered though, it just takes a bit more force so no need to block up the road.

I was going to say that... also apparently a common misconception is that it just makes it as hard to steer as a non PAS car. Which it doesn't, its actually more difficult because you have the deadweight PAS system working against you or something?

forgotmyname

No its usually just the shock of not having a feather light wheel, Guy at work had a volve & the pump had been bypassed with a shorter belt for some unknown reason, He thought the steering was meant to be like that.
He fell in love with the car after changing the belt to a proper one. He hated parking it before that & tried to avoid tight parking bays.