10 of the 38 complaints about the 2006 Mini Cooper Convertible are about the steering — 26% of everything reported for this model year. Half of the failures with a mileage on record happened before 81,800 miles.
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Complaints
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Crashes
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Fires
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Injuries
Filed with NHTSA, in their own words.
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Power steering pump grinding. This was a recall on the 2002-2005 model but not the 2006. The same issue is happening with this car that happened with the recall vehicles and I would expect bmw to fix this problem. Thanks
NHTSA complaint #11613786 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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Power steering pump went out while driving the car. Car was extremely hard to steer. Almost hit a guard rail. Had the car towed home and then to a garage. This is a known problem with Mini Coopers from year 2002 to 2006. Websites and Mini Cooper Forums are loaded with Power Steering Pumps failing. No warning. Pump was confirmed to be the problem by an independent garage that only services high end german cars. Power Steering Pump was diagnosed to be bad on 8/04/2022. Car has a little over 60,000 miles on it.
NHTSA complaint #11480699 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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I DROVE THE CAR EARLIER AND IT WAS FINE. I RETURNED HOME AND THEN HOURS LATER TRIED TO PULL OUT OF MY DRIVEWAY TO FIND I COULDN'T TURN THE STEERING WHEEL. THANK GOODNESS I WASN'T DRIVING WHEN IT WENT OR I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TURN THE WHEEL. APPARENTLY AFTER READING ONLINE QUITE A BIT THIS IS A PROBLEM AND THERE IS NO RECALL OR EVEN A CAMPAIGN OR BULLETIN. THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR. DUE TO THE SAFETY ISSUE ALONE I'M FRANKLY SHOCKED. APPARENTLY BMW DEALERS ARE CLEANING UP DUE TO THE EXPENSE OF THE REPAIR. I'M LOOKING AT A MINIMUM OF $1500. APPORX 60% OF VEHICLES HAVE HAD THIS ISSUE.
NHTSA complaint #11375864 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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POWER STEERING GOES OUT WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD, WITHOUT ANY WARNING. VERY STIFF. HARD TO CONTROL. CAN'T TURN. SCARY!!!
NHTSA complaint #10959726 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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POWER STEERING RANDOMLY WHEN OUT WHILE IN MOTION. THANKFULLY, I WAS ON A LOCAL ROAD GOING SLOWLY WHEN IT HAPPENED. PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE, TURNED OFF THE CAR AND TURNED IT BACK ON. POWER STEERING CAME BACK.
NHTSA complaint #10864428 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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FEBRUARY OF 2014 DRIVING MY 2006 CONVERTIBLE ON CURVY HIGHWAY AT 50 MPH. LOUD SHRIEKING NOISE AND THEN STEERING BECAME VERY DIFFICULT TO TURN. TOWED TO MECHANIC. HAD STEERING PUMP & FAN REPLACED. TOTAL COST $1,038.54. 2005 MINI'S HAVE BEEN RECALLED FOR THIS EXACT DEFAULT. CALLED MINI AND THEY WILL NOT REIMBURSE ME BECAUSE MINE IS A 2006. HOWEVER, MY MINI WAS MADE IN 2005.
NHTSA complaint #10644301 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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POWER STEERING FAILED WHILE DRIVING. THE POWER STEERING RETURNED AFTER PARKING THE CAR AND STARTING ON THE NEXT TRIP. OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS, THE POWER STEERING FAILED SEVERAL MORE TIMES. IT COULD EASILY CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IF IT HAPPENS AT THE WRONG TIME. THE PROBLEM WAS FIXED BY REPLACING THE POWER STEERING PUMP.
NHTSA complaint #10585981 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MINI COOPER CONVERTIBLE. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH OR LESS, THE CONTACT EXPERIENCED A SLIGHT LOSS IN THE POWER STEERING. THERE WAS NO WARNING INDICATOR ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE STEERING WHEEL MANEUVERED WITH DIFFICULTY, EVEN THOUGH THE POWER STEERING HAD NOT COMPLETELY FAILED. THE VEHICLE CONTINUED IN OPERATION. IN ADDITION, A TICKING NOISE WOULD EMIT FROM THE TRANSMISSION. THE CONTACT PLANNED TO TAKE THE VEHICLE TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR DIAGNOSIS. ALSO IN MAY OF 2009, THE ENGINE AND CLUTCH WERE REPLACED. MOST RECENT THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAULTY POWER STEERING PUMP AND TRANSMISSION MALFUNCTION AND THEY ADVISED THE MANUFACTURER WOULD BE INFORMED OF THE DEFECTS. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 44,164 .
NHTSA complaint #10419840 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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I HAD MY CAR FOR A WEEK AFTER GETTING IT BACK AFTER A VERY EXPENSIVE TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT WHEN I WAS DRIVING IT AND TRIED TO TURN ONTO THE HIGHWAY. IT WAS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO MAKE THE TURN AND I NARROWLY AVOIDED ENDING UP IN THE BAR DITCH. UPON, GETTING MY VEHICLE TO TOWN I IMMEDIATELY TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC. MY POWER STEERING HAS FAILED AND I WILL PROBABLY BE REPLACING THE WHOLE SYSTEM AT A THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE. AFTER PAYING 6500+ FOR A TRANSMISSION THAT WENT OUT THROUGH NO FAULT OF MY OWN, YOU CAN IMAGINE MY DISAPPOINTMENT AND FRANKLY, MY DISGUST. I CALLED THE CLOSES MINI COOPER DEALERSHIP (ABOUT 400 MILES AWAY) THEY OFFERED NO HELPFUL INFORMATION AND NEGLECTED ANY MENTION OF THE NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH THIS COMPONENT, THE CURRENT INVESTIGATION, AND THE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT THAT WAS FILED LAST FALL. I FOUND ALL THAT OUT THROUGH MY OWN RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET. OBVIOUSLY, I HAVE NOT REPAIRED THIS YET BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HOW I CAN.
NHTSA complaint #10402488 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 MINI COOPER CONVERTIBLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE WOULD MAKE A LOUD NOISE AND THE POWER STEERING WOULD FAIL. IN ADDITION, THERE WAS A LEAK COMING FROM OVER THE POWER STEERING PUMP. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP WHO DIAGNOSED THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND REFERRED HIM TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 70,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 72,000.
NHTSA complaint #10400826 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.