Products Liability Law Daily Wrap Up, NHTSA NEWS—ODI INVESTIGATIONS—NHTSA closes investigation into loss of power steering assist in Mini Cooper, Cooper S vehicles, (Jan 11, 2016)

By John Dumoulin

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has closed its engineering analysis regarding the alleged loss of power steering assist in model year 2002-2005 Mini Cooper and Cooper S vehicles manufactured by BMW of North America, LLC. ODI had received complaints from consumers alleging an unexpected loss of power steering assist while driving, which caused drivers to experience difficulty in steering and/or controlling their vehicles (NHTSA ODI Investigation, No. EA11-005, January 5, 2016).

Underlying complaint and investigation. ODI originally opened the investigation of loss of power steering assist in model year 2004 and 2005 Mini Cooper vehicles as Preliminary Evaluation PE10-038. The investigation was upgraded to Engineering Analysis EA11-005 in May 2011. During EA11-005, the scope was expanded to include model year 2002 and 2003 vehicles that use the same steering system. The subject vehicles now include model year 2002, the first year BMW sold MINI in the U.S., through mid-model year 2005, covering approximately 109,000 vehicles.

The subject vehicles use an electrically driven pump to provide hydraulic pressure to a conventional rack-and-pinion steering gear. A pump, the electric motor, and an electronic control unit (ECU) are housed in a single component BMW calls a “Power Pack.” The investigation focused on contaminant-induced failure of the ECU resulting in a loss of assist without warning. When assist is lost, mechanical steering is retained, but increased steering effort is required to keep the vehicle on an intended path. Some consumers reported that restarting the vehicle (cycling the ignition switch) would often reinstate the steering assist. The unexpected loss of assist, and/or possibly the reinstatement of assist while driving, may contribute to a loss of vehicle control in certain driving situations. During model year 2005 production, BMW introduced a revised Power Pack design (the ECU incorporated a conformal coating of the circuit board), which resulted in a significant reduction in failures.

ODI identified 20 reports describing crashes consistent with a loss-of-power-assist event possibly caused by a failure of the Power Pack. Two reports alleged an injury, but both were minor in nature and did not require emergency treatment (a subsequent doctor’s visit occurred in one case). Ten of these reports described low-speed crashes with minimal, or in most cases no, property or vehicle damage (e.g., striking a movable barrier in a parking lot). Additionally, 27 other reports alleged or indicated that a crash occurred due to a Power Pack failure, but in reviewing these reports, ODI either 1) was unable to confirm that a crash actually occurred (eight reports), or 2) determined that the crash circumstances (e.g., adverse road/weather conditions) or cause (e.g., the crash was caused by steering linkage failure) were not attributable to a Power Pack failure (19 reports).

Throughout the investigation, BMW maintained that loss of assist in the subject vehicles did not constitute a safety-related defect, noting that the subject vehicles are smaller, light-weight vehicles that can be reasonably controlled when assist is lost. In May 2013, BMW launched a 13-year/150,000 mile extended warranty coverage utilizing the redesigned Power Pack as a replacement part. ODI continued its investigation. In July 2014 BMW provided ODI a status of the ongoing extended warranty program, and in May 2015 ODI requested an update of complaint data. Following a review of the provided data, ODI informed BMW of its assessment that loss of steering assist failures were not adequately resolved by an extended warranty program.

Vehicle recall. On October 12, 2015, BMW notified NHTSA that it would conduct a safety recall (15V-660) on approximately 86,000 subject vehicles not previously remedied with the new design Power Pack through regular or extended warranty programs. The recall covers model year 2002-2005 MINI Cooper, model year 2002-2005 MINI Cooper S, and model year 2005 MINI Cooper/Cooper S convertibles manufactured through February 9, 2005. Vehicles produced after this date are not included because the redesigned Power Pack was incorporated into vehicle production at that time.

Companies: BMW of North America, LLC

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