check fans and connectors for power

 

My car has been ringing for a while too!! My friends say my car sounds like a mouse squeaking. The noise is every time I move my steering wheel! I talked to one of my friends that works on cars (not minis) but he said it was normal!??? So if you're saying its a pump failure thing im screwed!?

 

no they sell new power steering pumps , or rebuilt ones I picked up a rebuild with a lifetime warranty for $250

 

ooooh!! where did you find those? and how would i know that-that in FACT is the problem?

 

As mentioned before climb under the car and look at the fan , is it running?
not running then check for voltage?
no voltage check fuse ?
voltage cooling fan not running bad fan? fan is replacable

Ebay has the reman units you have to be sure of the unit you need.

Bottom line if this is above your ability to troubleshoot you might want to take it to the dealer or a mechanic

 

Folks:

I just had my Power Steering in my 2004 Cooper S fail at 42000 miles also. After some research it has become obvious that this is a significant issue with a lot of owners. It seems that at as few as 20000 miles and characteristically at 40000 miles the fans quit overheating the pumps which subsequently fail. In my case, I had installed early a metal pan under the car to protect the fan as it had been advised to protect the fan from debris. It is not only an expensive repair that Mini will not give relief unless under the period of the warranty but most importantly it is definitely a safety issue. The steering goes absolutely hard when the pumps quit and though they may return function, at some point they die completely. If it unexpectantly goes out while you are driving you have a severe control problem.

I have lodged a report with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) through their online Technical Information Service (TIS). I urge you to do the same in order to get Mini to recognize they have a serious problem. Here is the website: http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/trd/

This is such a significant issue that a number of enterprising companys are overhauling the pumps and want the cores in return. There has also been an upgraded pump made available OEM as there has been some recognition of a problem.

Please report your experiences here as well as to the NHTSA.

Best regards.

 

Thanks very much for the nhtsa link. This is something that really ought to be addressed. My car is going into the dealer next week, and I'm hoping this will be covered by warranty.

 

I called our local dealer first to see if there was any Mini program to replace the pumps and secondly to find out how much they charge. Just for the pump, not including the fan which should be replaced as well, it would be about $800 part and labor, probably close to $1000 all totaled. I bought the parts online: pump $420, fan $110, and two liters of Pentosin power steering fluid (which is a requirement of this system) $45. As I have been a mechanic for 45 years, it should not be too much a stretch for me to do it myself. But I will document it all and try to get Mini to accept some of the responsibility even though I am out of manufacturers warranty as it is truly a safety of driving issue and it is becoming apparent that this is a widespread problem. Just Google "Mini power steering problem" and you will see many write-ups including a movement in England to force a recall.

Maybe we can get NHTSA to do the same here.

Let us know how you do.

 

my fan works fine and there is good voltage, I;m guessing i just need to change the fluid...where's the drain for that??

 

Good news for me. It turns out my '06 was still under warranty, so the power steering pump replacement was covered (and the annoying chiming sound went away). My fault for not knowing when my warranty runs out (we bought this car 15 months ago), but many kudos to Tillman's German Auto in Santa Rosa, CA for alerting me to that fact. I'd taken it to them because I didn't want to drive the 70 miles to Mini of Concord, but for saving $1,000 it's not a bad drive.