Failed steering pump assembly on 2004 Cooper S with 60K miles. Failure of steering pump assembly created loss of steering and induces unsafe driving scenario. From the showroom, this vehicle (and others of this era) has provided a unique whine from the power steering assembly. The dealer would later inform me that this was normal to the BMW MINIline. Years later this feature has become a known problem and is confirmed and being investigated by the NHTSA. BMW (the manufacturer) has yet to acknowledge or developed a repairable solution towards this flawed characteristic. Another Toyota in the making?.. I hope not.

- Bristow, VA, USA

1)while driving my car in normal warm day temperatures in denver, co my power steering abruptly failed making it difficult to control my car. 2)has stayed failed 3)will have to get a rebuilt or new pump.

- Aurora, CO, USA

The power steering system failed as the vehicle approached and entered a "roundabout" circle. The system not only stopped providing steering assist, but the steering wheel stayed in the right turn position (did not return to center) which caused the vehicle to veer off the road surface. The power steering system has completed failed in the vehicle, which makes the car very difficult to drive (especially my for wife who was operating the vehicle when the initial failure occurred). Do to the non-functional power steering system, when making either left or right hand turns, the steering wheel stays in the turned position which requires the driver to quickly maneuver the car to prevent it from continuing to veer off of the road surface ~ this condition is present at all speeds with all degrees of steering input. In simple terms: If the steering wheel is fully turned "hard" to the left, it will stay in that position causing the vehicle to continue turning and will not start its return to the center "straight" position without input from the driver. Aside from the complete loss of steering assist (which makes normal steering very difficult at all speeds), the steering wheel positional issue (as noted above) introduces a very unsafe operating condition for the driver and vehicle.

- Fenton, MI, USA

The power steering failed on my 2004 MINICooper with no notice in city traffic. I was driving all of a sudden lost power steering which nearly caused an accident in heavy traffic. I had to have the power steering pump replaced for $1144.11 and found it was a very common problem.

- Chicago, IL, USA

Backing out of parking place, car is difficult to steer. This the third time it has occurred. I have not replaced the power steering yet due to cost.

- Louisvillie, KY, USA

It was so scary to not be able to make turns on freeway! on my way back from work san francisco, I started experiencing very stiff power steering half way and the situation got worse and worse. To the end I almost couldn't make turns. I barely can finally park the car in front of my garage and I was horrified by the experience for the whole night. Brought the car to get checked and it turned out the power steering pump needed to be replaced. It was way more expensive than I can afford but can I not to get that repaired? I needed the car to go to work etc. MINICooper should recall this power steering pump. It's a serious safety issue.

- Foster City, CA, USA

I was driving to work, on a windy road when my car lost it's power steering. The garage has to replace the power steering pump, fan and steering rack for a total cost of about $3,000! I was very lucky to have not run off the road.

- Amboy, WA, USA

On multiple incidents, there is no indication leading up to the sudden loss of power steering. Intermittent loss of power steering to the point where the steering wheel is nearly impossible to turn or maneuver. Problem would occur during initial startup of the car, or after 15 mins of driving, or after 2-3 hours of driving. So far, on all occurrences, once the car is shut off and turned back on then power steering resumes. Took my car to MINIof stevens creek on 8/8/11 and was quoted $180 for diagnostics, $848 for parts, $253 for labor. MINIhas declined to honor a no-cost replacement. I need to find more reasonable price for repair as I cannot afford the quoted $1300 at the moment. I have yet to have this power steering problem fixed.

- Newark, CA, USA

Power-assisted steering fails on 2004 Cooper MINIVehicle not driven aggressively. Shutting vehicle off, then restarting, will occasionally restore power steering but only for a brief period. Power-assisted steering works when first started for the day, but quits entirely within 30 - 45 min. Later. Driving without power-assisted steering is possible but extremely difficult to turn.

- Lawrenceville, GA, USA

The power steering in my 2004 MINICooper S failed, leading to extremely difficult operation of the vehicle. Car was under extended warranty but failure not covered.

- Santa Cruz, CA, USA

Continuous relapsing/remitting problem. Power steering has been going out nearly once a week for the last year and a half. 90% of the time the power steering comes back on after restarting the car.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

2004 MINICooper S first had an issue that drained the battery. Once power was restored and the car was driven and then shut off, there was a whirring noise, similar to a fan running, that continued after the key had been removed from the ignition. This noise and the apparent power drain continues until the battery is drained once more. Following these issues, the MINIbegan to become more and more difficult to steer. It is diagnosed as a power steering failure that is apparently common among this generation of MINIcooper. No accidents, injuries, or fires have occurred due to this failure, however the car is not safe to drive until parts are replaced.

- Leesburg, OH, USA

The steering pump cooling fan started to fail and had to be replaced. The dealership also stated the steering rack was leaking fluid and was going to need replacement at a cost of over $1,000.

- Washington, DC, USA

I purchased my 2004 MINICooper S 5 months ago. I was told by the dealer everything worked fine on the car. There was a whining noise in the car, which he told me was normal on min coopers. I was driving from boise, id to olympia, wa in my 2004 MINICooper S. then suddenly, about 200 miles into my trip, while I was over taking a semi truck on a right hand curve. My power steering tightened and I had to hold on really tight. I almost ran into the side wall. After further investigation I found that my power steering had died. It seems that there should be some kind of safe way for the power steering to die. Loosing power steering the way it did, and how hard it is to turn the steering without the pump sounds very scary. I drove down steep hill with sharp curves during the trip and I'm so glad the pump didn't die then. I then drove the rest of the way carefully as possible without the power steering. Now I know that the whining noise was from the power steering since the whining noise went away once the power steering died. It seems that this is a common issue with others as well. Now my car is parked and I'm not sure if I should replace the part or not. I feel BMW should take some initiatives to fix this issue.

- Olympia , WA, USA

The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper. The contact stated that the power steering failed while driving approximately 45 mph. The steering wheel became extremely stiff and additional force had to be applied in order to turn the steering wheel. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to the local mechanic who located the failure at the power steering pump and cooling fan. The local mechanic replaced the power steering pump and the cooling fan. The failure was not corrected and the steering continued to fail intermittently. The failure and current mileage was 55,000.

- Broussard , LA, USA

Loss of power steering. At first intermittent, now complete.

- Baltimore, MD, USA

I own a 2004 MINICooper, the power steering pump completely stopped working without prior warning. We were on our way to eureka springs Arkansas when this happened, luckily my husband was the one driving, I don't even want to imagine what could have happened if it had been me. I don't think I would have been able to handle the car through those curves.

- Muskogee, OK, USA

The contact owns a 2004 MINICooper. The contact stated that while driving 25 mph, the power steering failed and it was very difficult to steer the vehicle. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer were made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 55,000.

- Berea, OH, USA

Loss of power steering assist while driving making it difficult to steer the car. At times, there would be no power steering assist; restarting the car would solve the issue. Ultimately, the issue appeared to be a built-in electrical relay in the electric power steering pump that sticks. Only replacement option was to replace the entire pump.

- Colchester, VT, USA

The power steering in my 2004 MINICooper S failed, leading to extremely difficult operation of the vehicle. At speed the car is ok, if a bit cumbersome. At low speeds or in a parking lot, a tremendous amount of effort is required to be able to control the car. At first, the problem was intermittent - restarting the car sometimes restored control. However, for the past few weeks the power steering is completely dead.

- Orlando, FL, USA