30k And Power Steering Pump Fails

[Clarence]

I have a three and a half year old MR2, with only 30k on the clock and driving around a roundabout the power steering failed. No leaks, to warning, just stopped working. Both the AA and an independent garage have said that it is very unusual for a power steering pump to fail so early in its life and in such a way. However, because it is out of warranty and the previous owner had imported the car Toyota say that its not their fault.

Have other people had problems like this? If the pump failed because it was a sub-standard one should Toyota be helping me out? And do the pumps seriously cost £800+? Are they made of gold or something?

Any words of advice or other people's experiences would be gratefully received!!

[dawolf]

Obviously it's rare for the pumps to go at 30k but ultimately any part can fail at anytime on a car. I knew they were pretty expensive but not that much! Do you have a mk2 or mk3?

[Clarence]

Its a mk3.

I know things can go but the AA thought that it was a premature failure even though it was out of warranty, as in it had a fault from manufacture.

[Kelvyn]

Are you absolutely sure the pumps gone??? Its quite common for the power steering relay to fail which means that the pump doesn't pump. Never heard of anyone having a pump fail though. You could check to see if its the relay by trying the flick the ignition on/off quickly about 20 times trick. If the contacts on the relay have stuck that normally clears them for a while.

[Jimlad]

heard of loads of P/S issues with Mk2's. Generally the relay sticks but can easily be resolved by above. As for the Mk3's ?? Never heard of it.

[GIDDLEPIN]

I had a new p.s. pump fitted to mine at just over 12 months old (warranty fortunately)

About 2-3 months ago the p.s. stoped all of a sudden again but kicked back in after I stopped and re-started the engine.

It's down on report at the local mr t's so if it happens again I'll get another claim.

[jdbecks]

i heard the automatic transmission boxs are a bit doggey with the mk3s aswell??