F56 Mini - intermittent loss of power steering

kona786

kona786

kona786

Soldato
Joined
25 Jun 2007
Posts
22,402
Location
Downtown
Has anyone come across this fault on their recent model MINI or possibly on their BMW given they might share the same parts or system. The power steering fails and this can happen while the car is in motion and at start up.

Fault shown on screen:

uc


' increased steer effort'

uc


It comes and goes over the past week and I have it booked in to get diagnosed. It disables the whole traction and stability control system when this fault occurs.

If it is indeed the power steering pump that is failing I find that pretty poor going for part longevity from BMW/MINI given the car is 2016 MY with 23k on the clock.

I purchased the car from a sytner dealer 2 years prior and it currently has full dealer service history from new. Should I be pushing to get the part replaced as a good will gesture or at least partial discount?

Thanks in advance
 
[TW]Fox said:
There is no power steering pump, the F56 has electric power steering. So, it seems like it's a motor issue.

The car is 5 years old - whilst it's annoying it isn't exactly beyond the realms of possibility that things might go wrong sadly.
Click to expand...

Yes my mistake, power steering motor not pump.

And yes most certainly annoying but goes with owning an older car territory. Will try my luck with MINI but I'm sure they'll just laugh at the prospect of discount.



paradigm said:
Could also be electrical system related rather than the motor itself. Battery dying or alternator issues can cause sporadic electrical faults on modern cars.
Click to expand...

Thanks yes very valid point. It could be sensitive to a tired battery, I'll get this changed as a first port of call as its on the original unit AFAIK.
 
Gaygle said:
The first thing to check with EPS issues is the battery voltages whilst the engine is on and off. It always seems to be the case that when batteries are slowly dying, the EPS is one of the first things to start showing issues. It's an easy diagnosis to make and can solve issues without even having to lift the bonnet. But in fairness, at 5 years old in the middle of the summer, it's not the most likely cause?

Second thing that can happen is the earthing points on the EPS pump can go bad.

The third thing, and possibly the most likely is the power steering motor is failing. Now, MINI are on their TENTH iteration of the power steering motor since 2017, so this lends credibility to the fact it's a part that they are having a lot of problems with. It reminds me of when the high pressure fuel pumps on the N54 engine were a big failure point - they kept releasing a new part for it every 6-12 months and never fixed the problem.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips.

Edit. Just read that again... 10th revision since 2017! Gosh.

Yes battery seems unlikely given the car starts fine and now other faults have shown. Out of interest you guys with an AGM battery, how long have yours lasted?

If I do get a replacement EPS motor it will have to be a used part as MINI don't sell the motor separately and want £1500 for the rack and motor. Typical dealer tricks.
 
Last edited:
jpaul said:
general question : I guess you don't have a obd/code scanner, but, if it's non invasive, presumably it would quickly give you a rapid diagnosis;
... I mull over getting one to add to the DIY toolkit, if they are not $$.
Click to expand...

I don't have one but I'll be popping over to my mechanic tomorrow for a first look. He has scanner. Thanks.
 
Just a quick update.

The OBD scan didn't show up error codes under steering which I thought were odd. There were some faults under stability and TCS.

Codes were all cleared and the car has been behaving the last 2 days.

New battery to be fitted next week.
 
coupe69 said:
Sounds promising, for future reference how often was this fault occurring?
Click to expand...

At one point almost every time I started the car. I used to leave the main headlights on (goes off when when car is locked). I believe the extra power drawer on start up showed up the weak battery.

thewanted said:
If I may ask, how much did the battery + fitting cost and did you have to have it coded?
Click to expand...

80ah Varta Agm battery is £110 off amazon. Mechanic charged £35 for fitting and coding
 
The Great Poobarr said:
Looks like I'm hitting a similar issue with my 14 plate F56 Cooper. Had it in for diagnostics today and was told they suspected replacing the electric power steering pump might fix it. Pointed out it didn't have a power steering pump, kinda got nowhere, so I take from that they have no idea and were guessing. Did the new battery fix your issue entirely?
Click to expand...
Believe it or not it was rodents that chewed my cables near the front axle. Patched it back up and it's been good.

You could well have the same problem.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom