Hi guys,
finaly got my new gearbox fitted last week and back driving her again to only be coming off motorway in poring rain at weekend to suddenly have the power steering fail on me??????

After pulling over and checking steering fluid which seems ok it was working again????? Later on that night it happened again,also the headlights seemed to be flickering??? Dont know if this is to do with same issue?

Anyway,the car has been ok last 4 days???? I phoned company that fitted new box to see if they may have disturbed anything when fitting new box but said no?

Has anyone ever had intermitant steering faliure and then been ok again or is this the start of yet more bad luck on my 02 cooper

Hi Jon,

It's a common problem I'm afraid! Both the wiring loom and the pump can fail. I'd suggest that due to the intermittant nature that it might be just the wiring loom in this case?

The power steering in my One failed too, where it stayed on all the time even when the car was switched off and locked! That was both failure of the pump AND the wiring loom.

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2008 MINI Cooper S R56
2003 BMW Z4 3.0i SE Roadster

1320's are a good source for anything that needs replacing. Where abouts are you Jon?

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Have Got ~ PlayMINI Exhaust, Dave.F Hybrid Air Filter, Custom BBR I/C Intake, Paul Martin & AndyH Detail, JCW AeroKit Front Bumper and Side Skirts, JCW GP Rear Bumper Trims, Aero Grill.
To Get ~ , 11% or 15% Reduction Pulley & Janspeed Manifold

I had the same problem on my 52' Cooper, pretty much the same problem as Nik. The steering pump was still making a noise when the engine was switched off. It's such a common fault with the earlier Mini's i'm affraid, it was on watchdog. Luckily I managed to claim some money off the repair from my local Mini dealer as they were aware of the common fault too!

i had this problem with my 03 cooper and it just FAILED worked one minute and the next it stopped ,cost me 350 quid ,

Im from worcester in west midlands.
How on earth do you go about getting money off???
I wasnt sure if the fault was due to extreme heavy rain as its been ok again so far or just waiting to happen again. Im due to be driving to devon on saturday so bit worried incase it happens again.
I swear this car is cursed

How old is the car, how many miles has it done and when (in terms of mileage and age) did it come out of warranty???

Either way, you can argue that as it's a known fault, reference Watchdog, you cannot be held liable for the cost of this failure. They have a system called Good Will, this is where the dealership contacts MINI/BMW and pleads your case and sometimes they come up with the goods and cover part of the part or labour costs.

__________________

Have Got ~ PlayMINI Exhaust, Dave.F Hybrid Air Filter, Custom BBR I/C Intake, Paul Martin & AndyH Detail, JCW AeroKit Front Bumper and Side Skirts, JCW GP Rear Bumper Trims, Aero Grill.
To Get ~ , 11% or 15% Reduction Pulley & Janspeed Manifold

its a 2002 cooper with 90k miles.
it used to be my uncles who died mid last year and left it to me in his will so i dont want to get rid of it. ive put alot of money into modifiying too.

Mine was a 2002 as well, was at 70k miles that it failed.

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2008 MINI Cooper S R56
2003 BMW Z4 3.0i SE Roadster

great,looks like im in for another expensive month