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A class action lawsuit claims BMW has been selling 2002-2009 Mini Coopers with a defective steering system that makes the Mini “virtually uncontrollable in traffic and starts a potentially catastrophic fire in the engine compartment.”
The BMW Mini Cooper class action lawsuit, filed October 12 in Newark Federal Court, claims that the vehicles have an inherent defect that compromises and diminishes the quality, safety, durability, craftsmanship and performance of the Mini Cooper. The lawsuit claims the defect manifests in the steering pump of the vehicle and causes, among other things, the complete loss of power steering and control of the vehicle while it’s in motion, and often results in the ignition of a fire in the engine compartment.
According to the Mini Cooper class action lawsuit, internal BMW documents show the company knew about the problems with the power steering and/or power steering pump in the cars, but failed to correct the problems and continued to sell the Mini Coopers without telling consumers the full truth about the dangerous defect.
The National Highway Transportation and Safety Agency (NHSTA) opened an investigation into the matter in April 2007 after it received over 32 complaints about loss of power steering and fires in 2002-2004 Mini Coopers. In response, BMW acknowledged that the defect’s primary cause was an insufficient seal of the power steering pump ground cable at its attachment to the chassis, which results in water ingress that corrodes the power pump power cable connector and leads to loss of power steering and “localized smoldering.” The NHSTA closed the initial investigation after BMW claimed to have fixed the defects, but NHSTA opened a new investigation into the later Mini Cooper models after it received numerous complaints from car owners about the same problems.
The BMW Mini Cooper class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of a nationwide class of persons who purchased and/or leased a 2002-2009 model year Mini Cooper. It is seeking damages and restitution for class members, attorneys’ fees, and an order prohibiting BMW from selling, marketing or advertising the Mini Coopers without a detailed warning about the defect.
A copy of the BMW Mini Cooper Defective Steering Class Action Lawsuit can be read here.
Updated October 25th, 2010
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43 thoughts onMini Cooper Defective Steering Class Action Lawsuit
Glad I stumbled across this site and info. I have a 2003 non super cooper. Last mothersday while at the grocery store the police and fire department were called because my car was apparently on fire! After getting it home and disassembling the front end it was very evident that the power steering pump and connector had caught on fire. On the upside the fire stayed local so as the rest of the engine was not compromised. At this point i have to by a new or risk a used pump because mine can no longer be refurbished due to its charred nature…. thanks again mini… as if the shit 5 speed midlands tranny wasn’t bad enough!!!
My 2003 Mini cooper has 55,00 miles, I just lost my power steering and yes driving is reather difficult, i call the dealer and ended up having a local deaker repair shop replace steering pump and fan assy, Cost me over $ 1,100 .
MY 2003 Mini cooper has 55,000 miles. I just lost my power steering and yes driving is rather difficult, I call the dealer and ended up having a local dealer replace steering pump and fan assy
My 2003 Mini Cooper has 65,000 miles. In 2007, the automatic transmission went out, thankfully, it was still under the extended warranty. This past weekend, my car battery ran completely down. Today I understand why. About 10 minutes after I turned off the engine a whirring noise started and wouldn’t stop. I called the Mini dealer and they presumed the noise is caused by the PS pump. Oh joy…
2005 Mini Cooper, 89,000 miles. Parked car and turned it off; heard high pitched noise; turned car back on and off again; still heard noise and then smoke came billowing out from under hood. $2000 to replace power steering pump and all it’s wiring, harness and hose.
Replacing PS pump for the third time on my 2004 Mini this weekend. Oh joy. When the steering pump fails, it makes driving rather difficult. Somebody eventually will die from this if someone hasn’t already. Thank you Mini Cooper for putting sub-par parts in your cars and then not standing by them. Beware of owning any Mini or BMW beyond the warranty – they are not designed to last any longer.
My 2003 Mini Cooper had this issue! The incident occured back in Jne 27, 2007. I parked my car and then noticed there was smoke coming from the front of the car. Opened the bonnet adn there were flames coming from the underside of the engine. The first attempt at using a fire extinguisher temporarily put out the fire, but it re-ignited and at this point called the fire department to put it out safely. The BWM dealer kept saying there was never a fire, just smoldering. The “smoldering” was the cause of a steering pump failure which overheats, which in turn damaged the loom (harness, or main wiring for the vehicle), which also ruined the battery. The cost was over $1000 to repair the “smoldering” damages.
Prior to the steering pump failure, there was no indication that there were steering problems, nor any possible electrical problems. Car mileage was at 65,525 at the time of the incident.
I filed a report with the Federal Consumer Agency. Hopefully this gets taken care of.
I too have failed power steering at 45k and now failed transmission at 75k. I own a 2003. I would like information on how to become involved with going after these crooks.
2003 Mini Cooper 109,000 miles.
Lost power steering right after i purchased. Two days later the CVS Transmission went out.!!!!
Please keep me posted on any class action information.
Thank you.
I just had a fire in my 2005 Mini Cooper S Convertible on Aug. 19, 2011 after returning home. I experienced no loss of steering, but after I turned off the engine and went into my home, my wife came in and said my car smelled funny and was smoking. Upon raising the hood, I saw that smoke was rising from under the heat shield in the rear of the compartment. In a few minutes, I had a raging fire and was able to put it out with a fire extinguisher from my garage. Diagnosis of repair shop and insurance co. was that the power steering pump failed and caused the fire. Insurance will not cover the pump because it is considered a failed part. Only the damage caused by the fire was covered. The pump and install. was almost $1,000. Can I be included in this suit?