BMW MINI - Power Steering Pump - Danger?

murtle27

Hi the power steering went suddenly on my 53 mini cooper S on Friday and after reading this forum and the posts on mini2.com I rang mini who advised me to ring my local dealership which I did that evening. I took the car to the local dealership where we bought the car. I have had a call today to say the ps pump needs replacing. The service department contacted BMW on my behalf but as we have not had the car serviced with the dealership for 5 years they will not provide any help with the cost of the replacement (£564 including diagnostic charge). Has anybody out there had a similar issue recently and any luck with BMW/Mini helping out?

Happyminidriver

Hello - just wanted to add an update somewhere - my pump stared failing this week - found these forums and went mad at mini customer service - got it logged all over my account tht I had been in contact with watchdog and wasn't a happy bunny. They got me straight in to get the diagnostic test and refused to admit a known fault. I changed tact whn I went in to the mini garage and explained how much I lied my mini and the mini service you get - that I was upset. The chap was lovely, he knew exactly what was wrong with my car and admitted it in not so many words.
Car in at 0900 - call at 1500 to say all fixed and mini were paying my full parts and full labour - I just had to pay for the diagnostic and fluid a 80 pounds, not 800! Lovely jubbly!
My mini is nearly 10 years old and was told if I had hit that mark I wouldn't have got anything, I was also told as my mini hadn't been officially serviced by them in 4 years I was lucky but happy with my result!
It also probably helped that I made a lot of ooh and ahh noises at the new minis !

Hope you all get it sorted and anyone new who sees this has a bit of hope xxx

omendata

Reviewed again on Watchdog yesterday with none other than Withnail And I - Richard E. Grant - seems being a celeb BMW will replace your car for free and send you a bunch of flowers to say sorry.

As usual one rule for us proles andanother for the rich!
No change there then!

dacouch

omendata wrote: »

Reviewed again on Watchdog yesterday with none other than Withnail And I - Richard E. Grant - seems being a celeb BMW will replace your car for free and send you a bunch of flowers to say sorry.

As usual one rule for us proles andanother for the rich!
No change there then!

I'm really glad Watchdog did not over dramaticise Richard E Grant's daughter's incident

MaFt

I've just been in touch with BMW's UK help centre and they said I shouldn't have to pay the diagnostics charge (£100) up front and even then it'd only be charged if there was no fault with the pump.

I feel a bit more confident with them this time around as they got slated on Watch Dog last night. 2 years ago when we first had the issue they denied all knowledge of any problems and said that internet forums are just hear-say and not 'evidence'. lol

Will keep you updated as to how we get on!

MaFt

keyser666

dacouch wrote: »

I'm really glad Watchdog did not over dramaticise Richard E Grant's daughter's incident

Thought exactly the same, including the trailers all week of his up and coming appearance

[Deleted User]

I'd also be annoyed if BMW were fobbing me off with the cost when it's a common problem, but I'm with VOSA, I think it's perfectly possible to steer safely with a power steering failure. It would surprise me if car safety standards didn't specify a maximum limit to the amount of effort required in the event of a failure, to prevent a safety issue.

When I bought my first car with PAS 30 years ago I tried switching off the engine and coasting in order to see what I would be in for in the event of a failure. It wasn't as desperate as some are making out.

Some years later I had a sudden PAS failure when a crank pulley broke in the middle of a busy gyratory system during the rush hour. It wakes you up a bit sharpish, but I wasn't in danger of losing control. A front tyre blowout would be a lot less controllable.

In a similar vein, I once had a Capri with an intermittent brake servo, so that I didn't know in advance whether I was getting assisted or non assisted brakes. That keeps you on your toes too, but it wasn't difficult to drive safely.

vikingaero

Let's make it clear that when the PAS fails on a MINI, it is far harder and sometimes impossible to steer. It doesn't automatically fall back to a level of steering effort such as on a car without standard PAS. On some failures steering can be virtually impossible without superhuman strength.

oldagetraveller

"When I bought my first car with PAS 30 years ago I tried switching off the engine and coasting in order to see what I would be in for in the event of a failure. It wasn't as desperate as some are making out."
Yes, but what was the diameter of the steering wheel? I'd lay odds that it was much bigger than on more up to date steering assisted vehicles.
I'm a fairly strong male and when the electric steering failed on a Vx Meriva I owned, when negotiating a sharp bend, it was almost ditch time. The wheel was THAT hard to turn out of danger.

[Deleted User]

The wheel on my Accord is no bigger than any other car, but the car is alot bigger than a Mini. I had no difficulty keeping control during an unexpected failure in rush hour traffic. A Ford Escort without PAS is at least as heavy as mine with the PAS failed.

I still think people on this thread are exaggerating a bit.