Hi all, need your honest opinion.

I had my power steering repaired in my 2002 at the dealership in July 2016 under recall. My pump has now failed as a result of a "corroded power cable" that leads to the pump. Because the cable broke the pump, they want to charge $1500 to fix it, as it was not their part that technically failed. How would you respond to this? Do you think the mechanic should have known/communicated a faulty cable? I feel like this was a waste of their time and money, and now they're trying to get money in this round. I shouldn't have to look under the hood or have a second mechanic check their work and let's be honest, I'm a beginner with repairs.

It will get repaired, but if it costs me, it's going to be done by my trusted MINI mechanic and not by the dealership technicians.

Positive MINI thoughts. Thanks for the support!

 

I think I'd want to know exactly what "corroded power cable" really means & how it could possibly "break the pump".
As expressed, this makes no sense whatsoever.

 

Yes and the name of the dealer. On the cable, it was either corroded at that at the battery or at the pump. It takes copper a fair amount of time to corrode.

 

Here's MINI of Portland's notes:

 

This takes some believing.
As written, the dealer is saying that the pump they replaced less than 2 years ago has already corroded to the point it needs to be replaced again. I believe this is covered by the pump warranty.
If the tech can work out the difference between a plug & a socket, even if the cable is demonstrably bad, it's under $100 & 10 mins to install.
Can you get a 3rd opinion locally?

 

How do they know that the pump didn't cause the cable to corrode? How do they know that the cable caused the pump to fail? Why didn't they replace or suggest replacing a cable that was bad to begin with? Maybe they didn't properly secure the cable when doing the pump. Lots to fight about. Who is your indy mechanic and what do they have to say? What would they charge to fix it?

Is the pump really broken or does it really just need a new cable or fuse?

MINI of Portland is great with the newer cars, still under warranty but they can get sketchy with older cars because they want you to pay big dollars or buy a new car.

 

Agreed-- I've gotten that vibe from them the three times I've gone in. I even told the woman yesterday that I don't appreciate them treating my car like a POS because it's older, and I had been considering a newer MINI but probably won't be buying it from them now.

It sounds like they're being extremely ambiguous about what really happened. I feel the cost quote is coming from having to replace the pump, as well as the cable. I take my car to Dynasport in Portland for most repairs, and the car is still driveable, so I can easily take it to them for a third opinion. The first mechanic here in my town said it was a pump failure but no mention of the cable corrosion.

 

Good news: they're covering it! Praise to the MINI god.

 

Good for you, thanks for the update!

I have seen a couple damaged and chewed on from Mice. I have seen a couple times the clip in part breaks and will not hold in the socket.