At approximately 35mph the power steering of my 2003 MINICooper erratically engaged and disengaged several times. I responded by slowing down and trying to maintain control of the vehicle. Once stopped, I turned the car off completely. Once out of the vehicle I heard an electric motor running. I opened the hood to investigate and noted a small amount of smoke rising from the aft portion of the engine compartment. I went back to the ignition switch to confirm it was off and removed the keys. The electric motor continued to run and as I went back to the open hood the smoke volume had increased dramatically. The smoke had a very clear electrical smell and color. I immediately began trying to disconnect the battery. While obtaining tools from the hatch of the car, the electric power steering pump assembly erupted in flames. I obtained my fire extinguisher and directed it at the aft portion of the engine compartment. This produced no results and the flames returned quickly. I then got the tools from the hatch of the car and cut the battery cables. This caused the fire to subside immediately. At the repair facility the power steering pump assembly (electric) was removed and determined to be the cause of the fire. The fact that I had tools and 25 years mechanical experience prevented this car from burning to the ground. In my opinion this is a major safety issue on two levels. First: Loss of directional control. Second: Fire hazard, electrical component that cannot be turned off with the ignition switch. This must be investigated and the manufacture directed to apply a fix to all affected vehicles.

- Winston Salem, NC, USA

I purchased a used MINICooper S six months ago, in December 2011. I drove my vehicle as I normally due, just across town about 10 miles, and it was fine. I parked my car and went inside. When I came out, about 10-15 minutes later, and tried to back out of the driveway, the power steering was non-existent. I pulled back into the driveway and checked the fluid level and let the car cool down for a few more minutes. When I restarted the car, the power steering was back. Since then, the power steering is intermittent. If the car is hot, it usually does not work, but if the car is given a chance to cool down, then it seems to work, but the problem is occurring more and more frequently and I have found many complaints from other MINIowners.

- Danville, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2003 MINICooper. While driving approximately 55 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver. The vehicle suddenly regained power steering. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostics or repairs. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000.

- Grove City, OH, USA

I drove my 2003 MINICooper S to my local department of transportation to renew my driver's license. Nothing abnormal occurred on the trip to the dmv. When I got in and began to drive home, there was no power steering. Later that evening, I started the car when it was cool and the power steering was back until the car warmed up. The radiator fan and the power steering fan do not function upon doing research on the internet, I have found that this problem occurs extremely often in 2002-2007 minis. I also found, posted on a MINIforum by someone claiming to be an engineer, a diagnosis of the problem. Carbon dust from the electric motor that operates the power steering pump gets into the control unit attached to it. Since the chip was not properly sealed with a lacquer, it causees a short circuit in the chip. This causes the pump to fail. Another possible cause is the failure of the cooling fan for the power steering pump. The fan can seize, stop cooling the pump, and eventually it will overheat. This also trips a fuse that stops the radiator fan. As a result, the engine can also overheat. I have determined that the fan has stopped working. Since I have only had this car since the middle of winter and the has been the only warm day I have driven it, this was the first time I noticed it. I plan to avoid the $1000 charge to have it replaced at the dealer by repairing it myself but many people are not this fortunate. I believe this design flaw can and will cause serious accidents to occur. If my mother, sister, or girlfriend had been driving my car on the highway when it failed, they would not have been able to steer resulting in a serious crash. While perusing various MINIforums, I have read stories of several serious crashes. I would like to see a recall on all 2002-2007 MINIcoopers so that this problem can not harm someone.

- Coeur D'alene, ID, USA

While driving, it felt as though my power steering had gone out. I continued to drive to my location. Once in the parking lot, steering became near impossible, especially while going at very slow speeds. When I went to back out of my parking spot that evening, it was unable to be done, causing me to call a tow truck to tow my car.

- Archbold, OH, USA

The power steering failed and stooped working as I was driving through boston. Now, the power steering pump stays on even when the key is taken out of the ignition.

- Wiscasset, ME, USA

Vehicle lost power steering. I had the power steering assist cooling fan replaced twice and the relay switch for the cooling fan. It worked fine for a time. Now (10,000 miles later) is intermittent.

- Madison, WI, USA

Power assist for steering failed completely while driving normally. Subsequent brief (< 1 minute) function after restarting engine also ends up in failure. Behavior is consistent with failure that caused Canada to issue recall for same model vehicle for same issue (Transport Canada recall # 2003055).

- Bridgeport, CT, USA

The power steering system failed. It comes from the power steering pump failure and also made the alternator and battery go bad. It becames very difficult to turn the wheel.

- Newark, DE, USA

My 2003 MINICooper (R50), with manual shift and 83,567 miles, was parked on a city street when a passerby noticed smoke and fire coming out of the engine area. The fire department was called to put the fire out. The time from the car being parked until the flames were extinguished is estimated at 10 to 20 minutes. The car was towed the following morning to a MINIdealer service center for diagnosis. The diagnosis was that the auxiliary power steering cooling fan had failed. The other items that are estimated to need replacement are the power steering pump, engine wiring harness, auxiliary wiring harness, power steering pump reservoir hose and power steering return hose. At the time I was on a trip out-of-town 600 miles away from home and the car is still at the out-of-town dealer. Prior to the incident no signs of anything suspect with the car were noticed. Approximately 1 hour prior to the incident the bonnet of the car was opened at a military entrance gate vehicle inspection and no signs of any issues were noticed at that time. To my knowledge there is no aftermarket equipment in the affected area. I am the 2nd owner of the car having purchased it at 35,086 miles mid-2007 from a long-time friend who was the first owner. I maintain the car and keep all maintenance records. I believe the manufacturer should be responsible for all repairs and the return of the car to my home. I have read about recalls by Transport Canada for 2002-2005 MINIsteering pumps which would indicate this issue is worthy of investigation for recall. This is a dangerous vehicle defect. Please formally investigate this incident.

- Marietta, GA, USA

The contact owns a 2003 MINICooper. The contact stated that the power steering assist failed without warning while driving approximately 30 mph. The power steering warning light illuminated after the failure occurred. The steering wheel had to be turned with extreme force as smoke emitted from under the hood. The contact was able to extinguish the fire. The fire initiated in the steering pump compartment. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure and the current mileage was 80,000.

- Bristol , TN, USA

The power steering went out just after I purchased it. I see that there are multiple complaints about this problem for nearly every year model that this vehicle has been produced for the american market. I called a local dealership to see if there was a recall and I stated that message boards online were loaded with angry customers complaining about the same thing. They refused to admit that there's a problem and want to charge me $2500! please, NHTSA, do something about this!

- Sugar Hill, GA, USA

Went down a dirt rode to meet a client. Powersteering was working. Met with client, got back in the car, and the powersteering was no longer working. It is very difficult and dangerous to drive this car when there is no powersteering.

- Horseshoe Bend, ID, USA

The steering pump failed on the freeway.

- Union City, CA, USA

Steering pump failed and had to be replaced.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

While driving at high way speed car lost steering assist, intermittently came bad then failed, I then slowed down steering did not came back, once stopped large amount of smoke coming from under hood the smell of electrical burning, even with key off I could hear electric power steering pump still trying to run, the fire was from the heavy battery feed wires into the power steering pump the composite end of pump melted, once I disconnected the battery the source of fire was removed, I have spent the last 4 years working in a GM dealer ship, master ase tech, I feel if I was a typical consumer and had not known to pull battery power the out come could had been worse.

- Holladay, UT, USA

The contact owns a 2003 MINIcopper. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked in a residential garage, smoke emitted from under the hood of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic where the mechanic confirmed that the power steering pump caught fire and melted the wiring harness. The manufacturer was contacted. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 80,100 and the current mileage was 80,600.

- Alpharetta, GA, USA

While driving the 2003 MINIthe power steering failed making the vehicle difficult to steer. Since the original incident, the power steering works intermittently. Research shows the likely reason for the problem is a power steering pump failure. I am ordering a new pump to replace the failed pump. This seems to be a common issue with MINIfor this year model. MINIshould be held responsible for the cost of the repair including labor as the pump appears to have had issues since 2002.

- Wellston, OK, USA

Power steering seem a little hard but while cruising on the freeway it seemed like it almost went completely out. Hasn't happened like that since but its still a little harder to turn that what I think it should be.

- Tacoma, WA, USA

While driving to work at approximately 25 miles per hour and in the process of turning around a bend, my power steering gave out. As the curve was of decreasing radius, this failure was evident by a significant (>100%) increase in resistance to steering angle change and upon completion of the turn a complete lack of automatic return to a neutral steering path (the car wanted to "stay" in the turn). Returning the car to neutral steering angle also required significant (>100%) additional application of force. Upon pull-over and restart of the car, the power steering returned, but only for approximately one minute of driving. For the remainder of the drive the power steering fluctuated in and out making driving difficult. Car will be taken to dealer for fault diagnosis this week as the issue has persisted and continued to worsen (longer droughts of power steering operation) over the past week.

- West Point, NY, USA