Long term? Maybe. Short term. Nope.

 

Hello,
This is my first post on here. I purchased an 04 Mini S from Carmax (57,000mi) about three weeks ago. I was driving it off base last Wednesday when all of a sudden the power steering stopped working. I pulled over, cursed, and turned off the A/C and the stereo. I got out and checked the P/S fluid and it looked fine. Carmax has a 30 day warranty and i had purchased their extended Maxcare warranty which will take it all the way up to over 100k mi. After pulling over and checking the fluid i got back in the car and it was working again The next day (July 4th) i was driving it to Carmax when the P/S went out about three different times while i was on the highway. I've read all about the P/S pump, fan, etc and its discouraging. Carmax has had my car since the 4th of july and i'm still waiting for them to figure out what is wrong with it. They said that it was slightly low on P/S fluid which it wasn't and that they can't get it to replicate the problem. So, i'm stuck driving my other gas guzzler car ('68 Mustang). I purchased a newer car because i wanted reliability and good gas mileage; and i didn't want a Camry. So now i wait. I miss my Mini. I had just gotten a stereo installed and tinting and i was getting ready for a July 4th weekend of surfing and boose. Has anyone had any experience with Carmax and their extended warranty? any suggestions if they just give it back to me without fixing it? i might just take it to Brecht BMW/MINI and pay my warranty's $100 deductible.

 

You have all the classic symptoms of needing your power steering pump replaced or rebuilt. There is a slight chance that your power steering fan is not working causing you pump to overheat and shut down. Intermittent loss of your power steering is well documented in these fora.

My power steering fan went with less than 11,000 miles on my 05 R50. The engineering of this particular component is very poor and causes many problems for Mini owners.

I would inform you Carmax repair facility that you will hold them liable for any damage or loss of life that may result from you power steering going out while driving the car. Print posts from this forum and take it in. Considering your life or that of someone else may be at stake, taking your Mini to a reliable certified Mini mechanic would most likely be my choice. I would try and force Carmax to pay your deductible since they were unable or not qualified to repair or remedy the problem.

Best of Luck. By the way......thanks for serving.

 

Not to be off topic,but i went to top up my PS fluid and own a Haynes manual which says the fluid is Dextron 11,totally incorrect and could cost you another pump plus a steering rack AND NOW YOU'RE TALKING DOLLARS.The correct fluid is Pentosin CH 11 S,thank god i did my research.

 

This may be of interest to you
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=150546

 

My new to me '03 Cooper is making a noticeable electric whirring sound when you move the wheel. The steering is working fine, but the dealer is saying a new pump is needed... Anyone know the sound I am talking about? Is that a sign of the end???

 

They all normally make an electric whirring sound. However, if the sounds gets ridiculously loud, or doesn't shut off after you turn the car off, then I'd be ready to replace. If you have any doubts, record the noise, upload to YouTube and we'd be happy to take a listen and give our two cents, Burke.

 

I wrote down this Address in my bentley manual.

BBA Remanufacturing Inc.
300 Myles Standish Blvd
Tauton,MA 02780
(866) 573.2740

Good luck

 

If the pump is working I think you are OK. Here is some more detail about the operation of the pump. I posted this on the Bentley forum (RallyCOOP)and thought I posted here too....so here it is... a lot of theory.

The pump has two connectors; a three pin and a two pin.


On the 2 pin connector, pin 2 goes directly to battery positive through a 100a fusible link located on the bottom of the fuse box under the hood (aka terminal 30). Pin 1 goes directly to battery negative (aka terminal 31). These two wires provide the heavy current to run the pump.

On the three pin connector, pin 1 should have battery + when the key is on (aka terminal 15). Pin 2 goes to the alternator and should reflect the output of the alternator when the engine is running (this signal is used to tell the pump electronics that the engine is running). The pump will not run if it thinks the engine is off unless its bad). Pin 3 is used to communicate pump errors on the diagnostic bus.

The pump operates in two modes: standby and full output. When the car is idling and no steering demand is present the pump is in standby mode; it runs at 80% capacity and an rpm of 3500...the current draw is 7amps +/- 10%.

When the steering is turned, the pump senses a pressure change in the hydraulics..this change causes the pump to switch to full output and runs at 100% and at an rpm of 4500.

If the steering is turned to either end of its travel, or if the wheel hits a curb, the current to the pump is momentarily reduced to 30amps.

The battery voltage is monitored, it must be between 9 and 16vdc or the pump will not operate.

If the temperature gets to 230f (110c) the operating current of the pump will be reduced.

The pump contains the controller and will produce the following errors if a problem is detected.
Power supply fault
Electric motor fault
Fault caused by excess temperature
Control module fault

Hope this helps

 

Wow. Good info.

 

will a pump error produce an ses light? i've got the now familiar very loud pump whine but that's it . also does anyone know the specifics to rebuilding? can't we source the parts to do these ourselves?

 

The errors I refer to require an enhanced scan tool. The SES light is specific to the pollution controls mandated by law for all automobiles sold in the USA. When the SES light turns on it means that the pollution from the tail pipe has exceeded 1.5 times the federal standard allowed!. If you live in a state that requires an inspection the vehicle will fail. Get the car scanned at auto zone for free and report the codes stored and I can advise you further.

 

no ses lights here just curious as to the systems ability to detect power steering issues . i've had three go on me now and not once has the car kicked a code or such that i'm aware of .

 

#39 5A Alternator/Electric Steering control unit/hydraulic pump
#41 5A Park distance control unit/power to K69923, Relay fan steering control module/pump

(http://www.murmini.com/pages/electrical)

problem could be either

 

We have an 2003 MCS with 24,000 miles bought the car in July.At first in had the normal whine to it.About a month ago after a fairly long ride at 70-80 mph on a hot day we parked it and it was a lot louder.Since then the louder version pf the noise seems to come and go.I had the fan checked at a friends shop He took it out of the car and had it running on the work bench for about an hour.It was quite and not running hot.His supplier cant get an o.e pump for $300.00.Not sure if I should replace it now or wait.

 

Just as an FYI I had my pump and fan replace in April....and to my surprise it is failing again...after $1900 later...

 

Where is the fan located ? Can't find it anywhere :(

 

I ordered a new pump today from my friends CarQuest parts store.He said there is a foot note in the catalog saying it is a brand new ZF pump with an improved design that lessens the whine noise from the pump.We will see

 

what price?

 

He is selling it to me at his cost $300.00 List price was $600.00 wholesale $400.00.I'm having it installed tomorrow hopefully

 

The new and improved style pump was installed today at my friends shop.The whole job took about an hour and a half with a top notch tech taking his time.Fille dup the fluid and started it up.It is 100 % silent not even the "normal" p/s pump whine.

 

I take it this is not a reman part.
Do you know if it is only available form CarQuest or is it a MINI part?

 

It did not come in a CarQuest box the label said World Pack on it. I was told it was a new ZF part but it did have a core charge on it.The store that got it for me is in the south burbs of Chicago.

 

My '05 MCS started leaking some sort of fluid (now I realize it's power steering) at 104,000 miles. Slow leak. I'd notice a spot on the ground maybe two inches in diamter... yesterday, at 105,500 miles the power steerin felt like it went to manual steering. This morning the steering seemed normal for a while on the way to work and then it went to "manual" again... there is fluid in the resivoir; maybe not enough... If I top it off, I wonder if I'll start leaking again... curious if I just have a HOSE leak or is it the pump itself...... ugh. I really do not want to spend $1100.00 on this at the dealer.

 

at least you got to 104,000, I didn't even get to 36,000 and I had no leaks to warn me. The ****ing thing just went