2005 MINI Cooper S problems
Owners have filed 383 complaints about the 2005 MINI Cooper S with NHTSA. Steering accounts for 56.1% of them — far more than any other system, ahead of air bags at 20.4%.
Complaints383
Crashes8
Fires31
Injuries7
Deaths3
What owners report breaking
Steering 56.1% · 215
Air bags 20.4% · 78
Electrical system 6.3% · 24
Power train 3.4% · 13
Engine and engine cooling 2.1% · 8
Seats 2.1% · 8
Engine 2.1% · 8
Unknown or other 1.6% · 6
Severity
Of those complaints, 8 describe a crash, 31 describe a fire, 7 report an injury and 3 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 8 model years of the MINI Cooper S in this data, 2005 draws the most complaints of any of them.
Filings have fallen off, 6 in the last three years against 26 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 66,000 miles.
In owners' own words
Power steering pump seized and needed to be replaced. Power steering fan failure and also needed to be replaced. Power steering hoses leaking and also needed to be replaced. Output shaft seal is leaking, but has not been replaced at this time. These repairs cost me approximately $1000! I have found numerous complaints about power steering failures in the 2004-2005 MINI. Please make bmw pay for this! Steering · reported at 100,258 miles
While driving through a residential area, the wheel of the car became very hard to turn. It was determined that the electric hydraulic power steering pump (EHPS) was malfunctioning. The fan of the ehps was not disengaging when the car ignition was turned off, therefore running down the battery and causing the ehps to not work correctly. The next day, with the same ehps, the power steering was working fine. Steering · reported at 64,868 miles
On september 12th I was making my commute home from work in my 2005 MINI Cooper S. Upon my return home, my battery indicator light went on. I parked and turned off the car and the next morning when I went to run errands the power steering was non-existent. I had he car towed to the bmw/MINI dealership where they gave me a diagnosis of a failing power steering pump and a bad alternator. *Tr updated 09/08/11 Steering · reported at 97,800 miles
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…