Sounds like it's controlled by an electro-thermostat. Good grief... another sensor!

 

If you install these yourself, please take a few pix for your fellow DIY.

Congrats on your new ride.

 

It's on the list.
It works in tandem with the radiator fan, I believe.

 

Yes it does, quick way to test it is to turn on the AC full throttle, that should turn on the Radiator Fans and will force the PS fan to run.

 

Just don't stick your finger in there

 

I just went out and moved the MINI (damn street cleaning rules) - there's a nice steady rain coming down, and I drove around for about 10 minutes looking for a spot. When I was parking I noticed what I think was the sound of the power steering pump. It wasn't overtly loud, but I did notice it. I thought it was odd to hear an electric motor sound over the engine. It came on when I was parallel parking and would go away a few seconds after the last steering input. I have until the end of June on my warranty. Is it an issue?

 

I am pretty sure it is normal. I just noticed it on my 06 MC cabrio too, and I looked it up somewhere...maybe someone else can chime in...

 

I have issues with this design. How much of a loss in power would it be if BMW opted for the traditional set-up, which is to hook up the pump to the accessory belt and run the radiator line in front of the coolant radiator. In its current set-up, the chance of failure multiplies. Debris may block the airflow or the fan itself, leading to overheating of the costly steering pump. The fluid used for the pump is quite fancy but the design is cheap and complicated.

 

I have mechanics and such in Nassau County, where I live, and Suffolk County, as well.

I drive the car in the middle of my sig pic - an '05 Cooper that is still on run-flats. Although I'm sure non-RFs are better, I've never found my RFs to be as horrible as some people here have described.

Cool, so youre a drummer! I play West African drums and percussion. I fold down the rear seats to fit my dununs and a couple of jembes when I have a gig.

 

Awesome! Yeah, sorry, dumb question your car was in your signature. Nice. Any garages you love out in Long Island? I'd rather drive a little farther to know I'd get a fair deal and someone who knows the car.

It turns out I do have run flats. I didn't know how to identify them. Oops. I know this now because my flat tire warning lamp came on last night when I was doing a "spirited run" on the BQE at about 1 am. I pulled off and checked the tires - looked fine - so I drove home normally and this morning checked the pressure - right front had 0 psi. And I can see the culprit - a thin nail in between the tread very near the sidewall. Where did that come from? I didn't even check the tire pressures since I bought the car last week. Doh.

So... I put in 35 pounds and a few hours later it had 30. I took it down the block and it still had 30 when I got back just now. This is my first experience with RFs. They say you can't patch/repair them, is that right? Does that mean I would have to buy a $250 dollar tire every time NYC decided to stick a nail in one?

 

Yeah, as far as I know, most places don't want to repair runflats. They usually will prescribe buying a whole new one, which is what I did a few times when I was running with my rf's for my first three years of ownership, it sucked. What you could do for now is buy a can of fix-a-flat(usually can find one in your local 7-11) and run on that until you get a new tire.

Whatever you do, don't keep refilling it with air, and putting it off. I did that on one of my tires before I went to non-rf's for like 8 months(yeah I'm an idiot) because it was such a slow leak. I just kept thinking, ehh I'll buy a new tire next month. What ended up happening, the rear left was the one with the nail, was that my two front tires ended up having uneven treadwear and started balding on the edges. I didn't think of the nail during my 8 months at the time but when I brought the car into the dealership for other issues they said my two front's were balding and they were out of alignment and I ended up buying two new fronts. I deduced through my own logic that I had caused that by having my rear tire constantly losing pressure every month which had an effect on the front two . Needless to say, I was starting to really second guess rf's, and eventually went to the non-rf's about 8 months after that whole incident. Not to dis on rf's, they are very helpful in the case of a flat, and I'm sure you can find rf's on tirerack.com or something that are cheaper than the stock ones MINI gives you.

Anyways, hope you figure out what to do. Pretty funny you live up in the 'Burg, my brother lives in Ridgewood which is east of Williamsburg, not too far. I was just up there three weeks ago, went to one of those bars that gives you free pizza with each beer!

 

Okay, now this is just my own experience, but I have plugged two RFs so far and both of them continue to function perfectly many thousands of miles later. They plug just like regular ol' non-RF tires, along with the same caveats - sidewall injuries mean theyre junk. If you can plug a regular tire, then you can plug an RF with the same injury.

Puppy, if you wanna talk about garages, send me a PM and include your phone number and I'll call you. Im off for a week and half and should have time in between the various things I have going on.

 

Lucky!

 

I dont attribute it to luck. I have guys who know how to plug tires, is all.