My MINICooper S has less than 27,000 miles on it. It has been carefully driven and has sustained no crash damage. Had several warning lights come on the car and had failures with the ABS, steering angle sensor, and front wheel sensor. In addition and most importantly, I was told that I had "mushrooming" and cracked front shock tower mounts on both sides of the car, and that alone would cost over $1,400 to repair. I was told that hitting potholes or other road hazards caused this. In addition, the dealer, roadshow MINIin memphis, tn, stated that the shock towers and front bushings were considered wear items, and that they could be redamaged immediately if the car came in contact with another pothole. Additionally, I was told by MINIusa that no engineers or national representatives could be contacted, and that the dealer would handle all questions and concerns. I asked if there were any upgrades and fixes offered by MINIand was told that there were none. However, this problem seems to be fairly common, and there are several aftermarket companies that address this issue, . the service manager at the dealership stated that he sees this problem on 3-4 cars in the shop every month. It appears that this is a design flaw, that there can be strut collapse or suspension failure while driving, and that MINIshould have addressed this problem with these cars. For normal driving conditions to have resulted in deformed and cracked strut towers is unacceptable and represents a hazardous situation. I have never owned an automobile that had strut tower failure under normal driving conditions.

- Little Rock, AR, USA

2003 MINICooper power steering failure. While driving at normal speeds the power steering suddenly quits working intermittently. It will work on and off.

- Seattle, WA, USA

Power steering failure. While driving the MINIfor about 20 minutes we made a turn on our road home and the power steering failed with no warning whatsoever! it was almost impossible to turn the wheel! we feel very fortunate because we live on a windy road that has many large redwood trees on the sides of the road with a creek down a ravine. We could have easily hit one of those trees head on. Or if we weren't able to turn the wheels we could have ended up at the bottom of a ravine in the creek! extremely dangerous!

- Santa Rosa, CA, USA

2003 MINIcoopers- power steering failed during exit from nys thruway-ran off the ramp due to unexpected loss of steering power. No damage or injury- turned engine off- restarted- power steering back on. Condition has occurred several times since.

- Utica, NY, USA

My 20 year old daughter has a 2003 MINICooper with approximately 47,000 miles. The vehicle has been maintained very well, including oil changes, a 100 point inspection at 25,000 miles, coolant flush, brake system flush, etc. She was driving it home from work on a county road. As she rounded a curve the power steering went out. The failure had never occurred before this time. She could barely turn the wheel, according to her description and narrowly missed hitting an oncoming car. She drove it to the nearest parking lot and called me at work. I left work and exchanged cars with her. The problem was intermittent for about a week and then the power steering went completely out. I called the MINIdealer, which is about 50 miles away and they claimed the problem was not very common but to drive the vehicle until the problem persisted. They suggested this because they wanted to be able to track active fault codes. No injuries were sustained as a result of the failure but it was a close call. I searched the internet, only to find out that BMW was well aware of the issue. I also found extensive documentation from other MINIowners who shared similar experiences. Someone should not have to be injured of killed before BMW is forced to step up and do the right thing by addressing this significant, known, safety issue. Oh and by the way, I just picked my daughter's MINIup from dreyer and reinbold BMW in indianapolis. The bill was $1200. Ironic that BMW can afford to invest millions of dollars in indy car sponsorship but they are not willing to step up and take responsibility for a safety issue.

- Columbus, IN, USA

My friend and I got into my 03 MINICooper S this past weekend. We were driving along il rte 1 until I got up to a 2 way stop. I was making a left turn but I realized I lost all power to my power steering unit. I barely was able to make the turn in order to avoid getting broadsided by a Dodge Ram barreling at me at 60 mphs.

- Champaign, IL, USA

Power steering pump on my 2003 MINICooper S failed, very hard to steer once failed, now I'm having the same failure again after replacing it last year. Read on threads and owners everywhere are having the same problems.

- Providence, RI, USA

The contacts owns a 2003 MINICooper S. the contact stated the power steering failed intermittently. He confirmed that when shutting off the engine for a few moments the power steering would reset itself once it restarted. Neither the dealer nor manufacturer was contacted to report the failure. The VIN was not available. The failure and current mileages were 80,000. Updated 11/03/10.

- Alexandria, VA, USA

MINICooper power steering failure. Need to maneuver vehicle to avoid a collision with another and on coming vehicle. Steering wheel locked-up and driver was distracted. This power steering failure was a result of failed power steering pump. This failure was corrected by a repair. Costing $850 us dollars. Old part is available

- Milford, CT, USA

Sudden failure of power steering assist in traffic I was barely able to control car.

- Bristol, CT, USA

The power steering on my 2003 MINICooper stops working while driving without warning. It happens when going straight, as well as mid-turn. It has happened three times. I was told I must replace the power steering pump.

- Monticello, NY, USA

2003 MINICooper. Power steering pump failure. It works, then stops.. cuts out mostly during turns. Dangerous! told by MINIdealer that no recall was involved. Parts and labor was over $1200 to repair. New power steering pump lasted 2 years before same exact problem occurred.

- Newburgh, NY, USA

The power steering pump and related parts in my 2003 MINICooper had to be replaced in 2006 and again in 2009. There was no specific incident that caused the problem: The power steering just stopped working while I was driving the car. 4/26/2006 38,492 miles power steering fan seized - replaced by dealer under warranty 5/03/2006 38, 709 miles power steering pump faulty -replaced by dealer under warranty 11/19/2009 89,305 miles power steering pump, power steering rack and steering shaft defective - repair paid for by car owner. Mechanic returned defective parts to MINICooper.

- Mountainside, NJ, USA

2003 MINICooper S, 90000 miles. Power steering wheel failure during normal driving. The steering wheel is extremely hard to turn manually, thus causing panic and real danger, because the car swerved out of a turn. Dealer says it is a common issue, and need to replace the fan or pump, repair price $1300. MINIneeds to recall the car.

- Monterey, CA, USA

My 2003 MINICooper S spontaneously caught fire while parallel parking in los angeles, ca. The power steering pump failed, a fire shortly followed. The los angeles fire dept. Was phoned. Car needed to be towed.

- Long Beac, CA, USA

Failure of 2003 MINIcooper manual transmission. My car has been under regular maintenance. I first noticed the car losing power going uphill, then it became difficult to put the car in gear. Next morning I was unable to get into reverse, was extremely difficult to shift and some gears could not be engaged. At a stop light I began hearing a very loud grinding noise, like metal in a blender, the car would not engage in gear, I had to be pushed out of the intersection. The dealer offered nothing. My private mechanic found metal shreds throughout the transmission. Said a bearing had come loose and destroyed the interior of the transmission, all at 65K miles. He also said the engine could have failed while on the freeway at high speeds and this could have been life endangering. Also the power steering pump went at 30K miles. Both very costly repairs and the transmission locking up a very serious life threat. The replacement costs for the transmission were $3K and that was from a private mechanic. Online research shows a plethora of consumer complaints and information that MINIcooper knows about this. Neither the local dealer nor corporate office would offer any help in replacement costs.

- Solana Beach, CA, USA

Driving home as usual, when I turned to back-in to the driveway and the power steering went out. Very difficult to maneuver car into the driveway. Left car overnight and tried again next day. Fine the next day, but happened again the following day. 2003 mcs 31,700 miles. Looking into cause of failure.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

Power steering goes out without warning leaving car difficult to control.

- Austin, TX, USA

Took 2003 MINICooper S to performance driving school and had power steering pump catch on fire.

- Duluth, MN, USA

Spontaneous engine bay fire in 2003 MINICooper with 60,000 miles. Vehicle was driven normally to work, turned off, parked, locked and left. Unattended car caught fire several minutes later. Seattle city fire department responded to emergency call, but fire self-extinguished within 10 minutes. Soot covered engine bay and acrid smoke permeated vehicle. Inspection revealed melted connection between wiring harness and power steering pump, requiring replacement of pump, cooling fan, wiring and other parts. Internet communities of MINIowners contain numerous reports of sudden engine bay fires in 2002 and 2003 MINICoopers caused by electrical shorts linked to faulty power steering pumps or fans. Frequently these fires occur after the car has been switched off. They always result in moderate vehicle damage and major repair costs (mine is estimated @ $1,600). Occasionally they result in total vehicle loss and / or additional property damage. Had this fire occurred in my home garage at night the results could have been catastrophic; if this kind of incident (sudden power steering pump failure + electric fire) were to occur on a freeway at speed it could easily result in fatalities. BMW / MINIusa has reportedly quietly reimbursed individual owners who have suffered spontaneous fires, but has not acknowledged the widespread nature of the problem -- which is ridiculous. As I discovered while researching my incident, if you google "MINICooper fire" or "MINIpower steering pump failure" you get a rash of these reports. Apparently NHTSA investigated MINIengine bay fires in 2006-2008 and dismissed the problem, alluding only to the chance of some "localized smoldering." This is irresponsible -- my MINIwas billowing acrid black smoke and could easily have burned out, taking other cars on the parking deck with it. Shocking that this major, dangerous vehicle defect has been ignored. I am one of many victims. Please reopen this investigation into MINIfires. Thank you.

- Edmonds, WA, USA