# 2005 MINI COOPER S — STEERING
> NHTSA complaint `850685` · 2011-04-08 · BMW of North America, LLC
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 0
- **Injured:** 0
- **Fire:** Yes
- **Crash:** No
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** No
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** MINI
- **Model:** COOPER S
- **Year:** 2005
- **Manufacturer:** BMW of North America, LLC
- **Component:** STEERING
- **Miles at failure:** 92,000
## Narrative
ON TUESDAY, 5 APRIL 2011, I DROVE MY 2005 MINI COOPER S ABOUT 20 - 25 MILES HEADING FOR WORK - I MADE A BRIEF STOP FOR COFFEE.  THE CAR OPERATED PROPERLY DURING THIS DRIVE, HOWEVER, WHEN I LEFT THE COFFEE SHOP I NOTICE A VERY ACRID SMELL IN THE AREA. WHEN I GOT IN MY CAR AND STARTED IT THE "BATTERY" INDICATOR LIGHT WAS ON.  I CHECK THE OWNER'S MANUAL AND IT SAID THIS INDICATED THE BATTERY WAS NOT BEING CHARGED.  AS THE CAR WAS RUNNING I DECIDED I COULD DRIVE IT TO WORK AND THEN ADDRESS THE CHARGING ISSUE.  WHEN I BACK OUT OF THE PARKING SPOT I REALIZED I HAD ALSO LOST MY POWER STEERING.  I WAS CONCERNED THAT MY CAR MIGHT NOT BE COOLING AS WELL, SO MOVED THE CAR TO A SPOT FURTHER OUT IN THE PARKING LOT TO ALLOW FOR A TOW TRUCK TO PICK IT UP.  I REALIZED THE ACRID SMOKE SMELL WAS STILL WITH ME AND DECIDED TO CHECK UNDER THE HOOD. WHEN I LIFTED THE HOOD I FOUND THERE WAS A FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT.  FORTUNATELY I CARRIED A FIRE EXTINGUISHER AND WAS ABLE TO PUT THE FIRE OUT - THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ALSO RESPONDED.  THE CAR WAS TOWED TO SANDIA MINI COOPER IN ALBUQUERQUE NM AND I HAVE SINCE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE POWER STEERING PUMP MALFUNCTIONED AND CAUSED THE FIRE.  FROM SOME RESEARCH I HAVE DONE ON LINE IT APPEARS THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE ISOLATED TO MY VEHICLE, BUT THAT IT WAS OCCURRED IN A NUMBER OF CASES.  *TR
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*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*