Thats how BBC TV's Watchdog program put it the other night.
tinyurl.com/c7yfzn
I can see why people who have never experienced anything but power steering would think the whole thing had locked up and wouldn't turn when failure occurred. I remember the first time a brake servo cylinder packed up on an old classic range rover . I presssed so hard on the pedal I nearly tore a knee ligament.
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I thought it was just people with no experience of non power-assisted steering.
Ask my mother how she managed to drive an XJ6 back from Spain with broken ribs and a power steering failure!
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The problem is that a car with failed power steering is IME rather harder to steer than a car that hasn't got power steering in the first place - similarly with servo-assisted brakes.
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Anyone agree with me that the company's response is rather poor - as in around the houses? Aren't they really saying "Well you never really needed it anyway"? I wonder what happens if you do ring the 0800 number.
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The problem is that a car with failed power steering is IME rather harder to steer than a car that hasn't got power steering in the first place - similarly with servo-assisted brakes.
Hello Trees, Hello Sky!
That's what I meant!
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The problem as I see it, is in the old days we had power assisted steering, we now have power steering.
it used to be that you could steer, abet it was harder to turn the wheel, but it could be done, today Geoff Capes would be hard pushed to turn the wheel, when the power steering disabled.
of course, another downside is the more 'assistance' the less feel we get back from the road, thus at time causing problems.. i.e. recently on ice etc.
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My sister has an 02 Mini Cooper and had a power steering pump failure around 3-4 years ago. It was almost impossible to drive without any assistance.
She took it to the local independent that we use and paid around £250 to have it repaired, outside of warranty and didn't think to talk to Mini.
Looking around after the event, there have been stories of premature power steering pump failures on the Mini forum for quite a while.
Chris.
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Im thinking of buying a Cooper S to replace my Golf VR6, and saw this on the CBC Breakdown a while ago:
Reports of PAS problems. The electric motor which runs the pump packs up and sometimes takes the wiring loom with it (through overheating). BMW dealers quote £750 to repair, but BMW will sometimes approve 'goodwill' of half the cost of parts and labour. Reports of frequent steering column failures (sometimes BMW will pick up the tab).
Is the above the same thing as in the WDog report?
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As I mentioned above, my sister had the power steering pump fail 3 years ago. It cost £350 to repair at the local independent that we use, not £250 as I reported above.
She has no problems since.
After reading the Daily Mail article she rang Mini today who asked how long ago this happened, what the mileage was, where she got it repaired, how much it cost and then said that all cases are viewed on a case by case basis and gave her an email address to send the details and a copy of the invoice.
Now waiting to hear back.........
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I was hoping Miss Adventure was going to be more exciting......
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For interest, my sister's had an email reply from Mini,
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Thank you for your recent email dated February 19, 2009. I am sorry to hear that your vehicle's power steering has failed and I appreciate that the unexpected repair costs are causing you concern.
While we are aware of a few incidents where the power steering pump has required replacement, this is not a common problem on MINI vehicles. MINI takes customers safety very seriously and, had there been a known fault with the vehicle, we would have issued a product recall.
In the absence of a warranty policy, MINI UK may consider offering a contribution towards the cost of a repair. To enable us to consider supporting towards a repair, a MINI Approved Dealership would need to have diagnosed and repair the fault. I recommend discussing your case with the dealership who carried out the repairs. Should they determine that the steering has failed prematurely, they are able to contact us directly for assistance.
When considering requests for goodwill, the vehicle's age, mileage, purchase and service history will all be taken into consideration. We are not able to assess goodwill requests directly from vehicle owners or from a third party repair agent. Each case is assessed on an individual basis and our decision is communicated directly to the dealership.
I trust that this information assists you in progressing this matter and I can assure you that your case will be considered should your local MINI Approved Dealership contact us on your behalf.
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So because the vehicle was outside of warranty, to save money she took it a local independant that we've used for years. Because it wasn't taken to a Mini dealership they refuse to offer any goodwill.
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Are these Mini power steering pump failures in any way related to the awful whine from the power steering systems on early Minis?
It is one of those noises that allows you to identify a Mini even with your eyes closed.
Surely a system making so much noise cannot be functioning at its best.
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This is why I will now always stick to main dealers. They rob you blind but at least if something does go wrong, you get a chance of them accepting it's their responsability, and not blaming an indy.
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So because the vehicle was outside of warranty to save money she took it a local independant that we've used for years. Because it wasn't taken to a Mini dealership they refuse to offer any goodwill.
Not an altogether unreasonable response. They have no control or audit trail over what the independent does or why.
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Not an altogether unreasonable response. They have no control or audit trail over what >> the independent does or why.
Yes, I can see it from their side but with the car being outside of warranty and the Mini dealership wanting hundreds of pounds more for doing the same job I would have made the same decision to use the indy.
From the outside you don't know if it's the press scaremongering or if there really is an issue affecting a large number of cars.
Edited by Chris White on 26/02/2009 at 09:58
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From the outside you don't know if it's the press scaremongering or if there really is an issue affecting a large number of cars.
Yes that's a valid observation. On the original watchdog program they mumbled about 10's of owners complaining, then updated this week with "we have heard from lots more"
No numbers given, no reference to numbers of minis sold, no percentage failure, so absolutely no idea of the extent of the problem or in other words - typical watchdog sensationalist reporting. Of no use to the public at all.
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I count myself fortunate that I had an Astra for 15 years and 150,000 miles with never a problem from the power steering. Never had to add any fluid. I originally thought power steering was just another thing to go wrong, like electric windows. Nothing did.
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The big question is, does this incident make Mini less desirable to common public?
If not, then BMW won't bother caring existing customers.
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In the era of the original (real) mini I spent six weeks in the USA driving a V8 barge with one finger power steering and one toe power brakes. On my return to the UK I drove a MINI van and went straight to a garage to have the steering and brakes checked as thought they were not working properly. Not a new problem!
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