BMW Part no. 32416778425

Due to the design of the 2002-2006 R50, R52, R53 Mini Cooper, Cooper S and JCW the power steering pump is not belt driven but an electric motor driven hydraulic pump. It is located under the car behind the motor in the center of the car. Directly below the pump is an electric cooling fan (box style) design to cool the pump assembly and electric motor.

We have found there is a fairly high fail rate of the electronics built into the pump assembly. All the contacts and switching gear (on / off) are internal and tend to fail in two ways.

1. The main contacts stay engaged (on) and the pump runs constantly whether the car running or parked with the key off. This will result in a dead battery within as little as a few hours.

2. The main contacts will not engage and the pump will not run resulting in no power steering.

Unfortunately both conditions result in the need to replace the power steering pump. Currently they are only available from the BMW-MINI dealer; the cost for the pump is $661.95. We are working on finding a reliable rebuilder in the US and have sent out a core pump to be evaluated, the cost should be in the $400.00 range.

If you have any questions please call our shop or send and e-mail.