2005 MINI Cooper Engine cooling Problems

“Electric fan that cools the power steering pump on our 2005 Mini Cooper failed. Our mechanic says had we driven very far, our power steering pump would have failed. He tells us this is a common problem with minis, and a full 50% of his Mini customers have experience fan failure, pump failure, or both.”

“Generally, I love the Mini Cooper having purchased it in the after market. However, not long after the warranty ran out, I had problems for several weeks with my steering wheel seizing up but an incident in february 2012 sticks out most in my mind since I was on I-95 in the rain and could not adequately steer the car to take an exit. My 11 yr old daughter was with me at the time. I pulled to the shoulder and shut the car off and was able to restart and resume driving. …”

“Our 2005 Mini Cooper s has been plagued with an engine problems since we first purchased it in july of 2005. While driving, the engine suddenly loses power causing the vehicle to stop suddenly. This problem has occurred while driving at a speed of 65 MPH on a major highway. We've contacted the dealer a number of times and requested service appointments. We have been told each time that it is not necessary to bring the car in and that the problem is being caused by a loose gas cap. …”

“On march 12, 2009 at approximately 9:00 pm my wife and I were driving back from dinner in northridge, california when I made a stop at the local post office. I was driving my 2005 Mini Cooper hatchback and did not notice any warning lights or errant behavior with the car. I stopped at the post office to mail a package, parked the car, turned the engine off, locked the car with my wife inside the auto, and went in. When I returned approximately two minutes later I found my wife in the car in a great state of panic with smoke pouring out from under the hood of the car. …”

“On 3 different occasions after traveling a few hundred yards or so our Mini would suddenly lose power and go into a limp mode as we move from either a stop sign or traffic signal. This would cause the vehicle to stop in the intersection causing a potentially hazardous condition. The vehicles ses check engine light also comes on. We have taken our vehicle in for service three times to get this defect addressed. Mini states that it is a known problem with the current software. I now have a third version of the software, but we are afraid to drive the car to test it out. …”