I was wondering if the dealer did as they said (because again, I heard the power steering fan while driving) , so I lifted the car and took a look.

i.imgur.com/K6gBDSF.jpg

They did indeed change the fan and the power steering pump, but not the hose. I doubt it'll do anything, but hmm.

 

chances are they changed the wiring harness as well. It was ne kit the dealer told me and they replace the pump the fan and the harness at the same time if there are any problems present. Mine is waiting for the kit from Germany now at MINI of Warwick.

 

They didn't change the wiring harness in mine. It was the back ordered part for me.

 

Wow! Silence. Old Boys Network it seems.

 

I heard a rumor tonight that all R50/52/53 any year will be covered under the new warranty. That's great for all. I will hopefully will hear more about this tomorrow.

 

Also getting my email to mini bounced back. Guess I should dedicate a day to calling them on the phone.

- Mark

 

I also received an email bounce back. Has anyone actually gotten a reimbursement yet? I tried calling them and was told that they would call me back. Never got a call, I have a feeling this is going to be a pain in the *** to get reimbursed for...

 

Same here , I picked it up yesterday from the dealer and the harness is the hard part to get from germany. They replaced the fan and pump and thanked me for letting them service it then sent me an online survey. The service manager said anything short of excellent is considered a failure by MINI. They really do try to do right by you out here. Inskip has about 10 dealers in the same lot and MINI is the lowest priceing one short of the Smart dealer that Porsche has to house lol. I cannot complain they didnt give one once of grief and even washed and vacuumed it for me. I am having a learning curve driving it with power steering again. Good luck to everyone at their respective dealerships. I hope you all have as easy a time.

 

...and I'm still waiting. Estimated that it would be the second week in June...

 

I got my pump and fan replaced under warranty at East Bay Mini in Pleasanton. I posted my story in this thread https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ms-thread.html

 

Got check from MINI last week. About two weeks after taking documentation to local MINI dealer.

 

Any word on your rumor? I am going to have to replace my pump in the next few months it appears. Was going to be July until I found my heater core tied off.

 

Also waiting on this.

 

Went to the MINI dealership today to have the wife's R53 looked at-dealer had installed stripes and rear ones were bubbling from behind. Anyway, when she picked her car up, the service manager told her to tell me to make an appointment that all parts were in !!
So, since I was with her, dropped it off. Should be done early evening !!

 

my car has 169k on it.:( :( :(

 

So...bad news. MINI said that I'm out of the extended warranty, build date, and that the pump if fine, some binding of something in the steering column, and will be an over $350 fix.
Some other things that were pointed out were PS fluid leaks and hoses, over $845 and several other hundred for a thermostat.
I'll get the info on a part, but is that normal?
I called MINI, since I had a contact (which initiated me starting this thread), and left a message. Hopefully, it gets covered somehow.
Hearing your vehicle "needs" several hundred dollars worth or "repairs" sucks...was running like a champ this morning, (minus the steering issue.)

 

Bummer. But you knew that would be a possibility.

Did they say what was binding? Did you feel something amiss. Tight?

Neither of those things are unusual. As I said earlier in this thread my guess is all of the hoses that haven’t been replaced are leaking and thermostats are a known issue. Both should be repaired.

But it sounds to me like it’s time to find a good independent shop. The repairs will be just as good (assuming you find a good shop) and will cost you half the price.

Good luck and keep us posted.

///Rich

 

Well, several hundred later-the steering feels like a new car..I just seeing all the work needed with hoses, was not expected, but maintenance is what is is, and required as preventative.
Rich-I will look for an independent shop. TY!

 

Wow, this is great! We have been waiting for years to get reimbursed for this obvious factory defect.

In August 2008 at 81,000 miles we had the power steering pump replaced on our 2003 R53. If I recall correctly the repair cost us something like $900. My girlfriend thinks that she has a copy of the receipt in her old computer at her office, and she is going to look tomorrow. But if she does not, hopefully they will honor our claim anyway given that we know the exact date and the exact mileage the repair was done, and it was done at the local mini dealer.

We sold the car more than a year ago, and we did not get any sort of notification from Mini. But we did replace it with a countryman, and lucky for us we just happened to be looking through the forum and noticed this thread. But I feel bad for all the former owners who will never find out about this and never get reimbursed.

 

So we sent an email to mini.assistance@askmini.com requesting that we be reimbursed for the expense we incurred to replace the power steering pump.

Our email included the Vin number of our car, the dealer where the repair was made, as well as the date and the odometer reading. But we keep getting warning messages that their server is not accepting our email. Anyone else have this problem? We triple checked that we have the correct email address pursuant to the letter that was posted above.

 

I guess i'm a little late to the game...I have not received the extended warranty letter and bought my car new in 2004. My power steering stopped working, temporarily, a few weeks ago. Good thing I'm strong! Took all the strength I had to turn some corners at low speed on my way home.

I didn't know about the extended warranty until a friend told me he had seen posts online about power steering issues. I should have known something was up when it stopped whining! (but why doesn't it whine now?) Unfortunately, my car was already at the shop (not a dealer). This whole nightmare just cost me $1919!!!! This included the pump (at $712), cooling fan ($175), hoses, reservoir. I called Mini Customer Service and she gave me an address to send the repair bill to and they will review it. It's up to them if it gets approved, apparently. She told me customer service had nothing to do with it and there is no way for me to contact whomever these decision makers are (in NJ). I will plead my case and hope they cover most of this. I am definitely in shock! Please let me know if there is anything else I should do. Thanks in advance.

 

Finally! My full power steering pump replacement check came from MINI, they covered the full cost of 1150.98 - not done at a MINI dealer even. Whew and thanks!

Edit: this was for a previous 05 Justa we had, not the 06... which I'm keeping an ear on and and will bring to them at the tiniest of noise changes..

 

How long did it take them to process your request? I am hoping they cover the full cost for mine too!

 

I sent in the claim within the week the info first showed up here on line so that's May.. not too speedy but I'm glad it finally came.

 

My friend with his R50 just got his power steering pump installed after a 6-month wait for parts. Michigan. He's happy, being retired and broke. It gives his Mini a new lease on life. He had hardly driven it anywhere all year because of the sound from the steering.