Power steering pump failure that ended up in fire. Power steering failed and the battery icon light went on, afterwards it began to smell like burnt, I stopped the car immediately and open the bonnet, everything was covered on an ashes layer. The pump wires and connections were all melted along the pump.

- Braga, 00, USA

2003 MINICooper had power steering failure while being driven.

- Lockhart, TX, USA

I have a 2003 MINIcopper. I am experiencing the power steering shutting off. This has happened a few times usually when starting or stopping the car. And during hot weather in the summer. I also had the power steering fan replaced because it was bad.

- Long Beach, NY, USA

While driving, I noticed how difficult it had become to turn the wheel of the car when completing a turn. This occurred three times in succession at which point I was able to park the car safely out of traffic in a private parking lot. After opening the hood and not being able to see anything visually wrong, I.e., nothing broken, leaking, empty, etc. I called my husband who came to drive the car home. No warning lights appeared on the dashboard at any time when either of us drove the car. My husband did not experience any difficulty in turning the wheel when driving the car home. However, my husband then drove the car the same day a few hours later and encountered the same problem that I had. It was hard to turn the wheel - there was no power steering. This difficulty in turning the wheel happened in drive as well as reverse, whether turning right or left. Very scary!

- Kittery Point, ME, USA

Intermittent power steering (ps) failure. Approximately 20 minutes into a drive, power steering would fail (at any speed), making car extremely difficult and unsafe to drive. Took all my strength to turn the wheel; a frail person could kill someone. Turning the ignition off and on again would reset power steering assist. Had to replace ps pump fan and ps pump (damaged by overheating), at great expense (>$1100), to drive safely again.

- Plano, TX, USA

Driving home yesterday, my 2003 MINICooper S suddenly lost power steering as I was going around a curve. I had to muscle the car back into my lane to avoid hitting the car in the lane beside me. I was about half a mile from home and made it there without further incident -- but turning at slow speeds was dangerously difficult. I contacted the MINIrepair shop this morning and they said that this intermittent unexpected loss of steering control is unfortunately somewhat common with minis.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

On 5/26/10 lost power steering while driving on the long island expressway. 141,000 miles on car. Power steering electronic pump replacement cost $ $1005.

- E. Quogue, NY, USA

Power steering lock on it.

- Stamford, CT, USA

While driving a 2003 MINICooper vehicle steering malfunctioned while driving on highway. Auto barely made it to dealership. Determined to be a faulty power steering pump with adjoining parts. Vehicle had 46,594 miles and MINIwould not cover defect even though other owners complained of problem. Repair to me was $979.01 + 6% Connecticut sales tax!

- Newtown, CT, USA

When it first happened I was approaching a corner for a turn and without warning the power steering went out. Another car was at the corner and I almost hit it because I wasn't expecting to have to manually force the steering wheel to turn the car. There is no set time or length of drive for the power steering to just quit. Now even going straight down the road I can sometimes feel the steering stiffen up so I will make a turn to check and sure enough no power steering. Sometimes while in the middle of a turn the car will feel like it jumps a little sideways and I'm not sure if its the power steering trying to engage or what. I haven't done anything to replace the pump yet but I try not to drive it as often to decrease the chances of hitting something or the power steering pump going out all of the way.

- Rose Hill, KS, USA

2003 MINICooper S with 67,000K miles, power steering pump failed and caused a short circuit resulting in a complete meltdown. The pump, hydraulic lines, cooling fan and wiring harness were all burned or melted. There was no symptom or indication of a failure. Car drove and acted "normal" prior to parking it for the day. When I got back in the car, 8 hours later, no power steering. If it had been in my garage when the short/meltdown occurred, it may have caused fire. Miniusa basically said I was on my own due to expiration of my warranty. (60,000).

- Peyton, CO, USA

Driving 55mph on highway. Car starts pulling left and right as if caught in a groove. Pull off next exit and notice I have no power steering as almost impossible to steer as car comes to a stop.

- South Salem, NY, USA

The contact owns a 2003 MINICooper. While the contact was driving approximately 30 mph, there was a loss of power steering without warning. The vehicle was driven to the side of the road. The engine was turned off and restarted. The vehicle resumed normally for two miles, and then the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where the power steering pump was replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 77,000. The VIN was unavailable.

- Marble Head , MA, USA

The contact owned a 2003 MINICooper S. the contact stated that while making a left turn at approximately 25 mph, the power steering completely malfunctioned. The vehicle moved off the road and crashed into a telephone pole. The contact sustained minor injuries. There was no police report filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer had not been notified. The failure mileage was approximately 74,000. Updated 02/08/11 updated 04/21/11

- Pittsfield , PA, USA

Complete failure of power steering pump while driving resulting in almost complete loss of steering. Power steering pump was replaced only to have the remanufactured unit fail 12 months later. Upon investigation it became apparent that this is a known problem for 2002-2006 MINIcoopers. Have been informed that this pump design is poor and prone to failure.

- Kaukauna, WI, USA

My 2003 MINICooper S had a total failure of the power steering pump. The failure occurred while driving the car at aprox 60 mph on an expressway near buffalo, NY. The pump was replaced by me at a cost of aprox $800.

- Youngstown, NY, USA

Driving vehicle normally, power assist for the steering fails causing greatly increased effort to steer. This is addressed in PE10038 but the model years affected should include 2002 and 2003 as the electric power assist systems were the same. I have not yet attempted to replace any parts, only have confirmed fluid is full and both cooling fans operate. Cycling the ignition key briefly to the off position will cause power assist to resume.

- South Park, PA, USA

Loss of power steering while driving.

- East Lansing, MI, USA

Complete loss of power steering when warm car is started. Not a problem when car is cold. Requires approximately 1.5 hours for car to cool before car can be started and safely driven with power steering restored. Will be replacing with oem power steering pump. New pump is approx $600 and labor is approx $150 at independent mechanic. Dealer estimate is approx $1300. Other family members will not drive car due to fear that power steering will be lost while driving though this has not actually happened.

- Carlsbad, CA, USA

Power steering pump on my 2003 MINICooper S stopped working suddenly on the freeway. There were no signs indicating an imminent problem; it just cut assistance to steering and failed completely. Even though it was difficult, I was able to drive it to a mechanic to get a replacement ps pump for $820. This seems to be a very common problem for the MINIbrand since more and more people are reporting power steering pump failures even at 40kmiles (in my case, the car had 95kmiles when the pump failed). The failure of the power steering pump does pose a safety issue, since the steering wheel becomes extremely heavy and difficult to turn.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA