Loss of power steering on the 2002 MINI Cooper
When loss of power steering gets reported
Owners of the 2002 MINI Cooper report loss of power steering at a median of 85,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 65,000 miles and a quarter after 110,000 miles, from 15 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 80,000 miles. It is the 3rd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 60,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 120,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 58,800 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
Reports bunched into a band this tight usually mean the component has a life of its own: it goes at roughly the same mileage regardless of who owns it.
7% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60,400 miles | 64,500 miles | 86,156 miles | 112,436 miles | 119,200 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $600–$2,800 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
This mode is classified as critical, which means a failure can leave the car unable to stop, steer, or stay out of the way of traffic. It is weighted accordingly in the risk score.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 5 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2004, at a median of 75,000 miles, and latest on the 2003 at 100,000 miles.
By volume the 2005 carries the most reports, with 53; the 2002 has 15. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
The power steering on my 2002 mini cooper s, 62,000 miles, fails intermittently and unexpectedly while driving, causing an instant and unexpected loss of power assisted steering. This is extremely dangerous and can cause injury or death should loss of power steering cause the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Further research of online forums (mini2.com, northamericanmotoring.com, roadfly.com) indicates that this is a known problem affecting many mini owners, and power steering pump failure has also been known to cause engine bay fires. *cn
I recently had a 60k service on my 2002 mini cooper. A couple days later I drove from monterey, ca to los angeles, ca and my car was running fine. All of a sudden out of the blue, my power steering went out. I was driving on the 101 freeway and could not turn my car. I was able to get it to a repair shop where they told me my power steering pump had broke. $1,000 later the part of replaced. Luckily I was safe, as was the passenger in my car. But what if I had been on a very cury, busy highway? I could have driven off a cliff! This is not a part that should simply wear out or break, we are talking people's lives! I love my mini and am a proud mini owner and driver but after this I don't think I will ever buy another mini or bmw. *tr
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 10 MPH and the power steering failed. He stated that the power steering failure occurred no matter the speed and has occurred at other speed levels. He called the dealership and was told that they would not inspect the vehicle without him paying a diagnostic fee. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired at the time of the complaint. The failure mileage was approximately 67,000. The current mileage was appproximately 67,500.
Also reported on the 2002 MINI Cooper
Other steering problem
Other visibility problem
Other powertrain problem
Complete transmission failure
Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault
Power steering pump or fluid leak
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 15 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does loss of power steering happen on the 2002 MINI Cooper?
Across 15 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 85,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 65,000 miles and a quarter after 110,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is loss of power steering on the 2002 MINI Cooper?
15 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 1.4 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed