Grant's rant over car 'defect'

Richard E Grant embarked on a furious Twitter tirade about how the steering on his daughter's car allegedly locked on a motorway

20 July 2013

Actor Richard E Grant has secured a replacement power steering pump free of charge from Mini Cooper after embarking on a furious Twitter tirade about how the steering on his daughter's car allegedly locked on a motorway.

The star said he was left with "clenched fists" and "bared knashers" after the incident involving the Mini Cooper, which he described as a "Timebomb".

He said it was the "what if" that has "done my head in", in a string of 13 expletive-laden tweets on Friday, in which he said: "I hope the f*****s will rue the day!"

Grant on Saturday revealed to his 59,755 Twitter followers that his angry rant was followed with positive action on the part of Mini Cooper.

He tweeted: "Mini-Cooper Power steering pump replaced FOR FREE post TwitterAid. Acknowledged it was a manufacturing defect. Gratitude and relief. THANK YOU Tweeters for your incredible support. The 'What if?'nightmare scenario on the motorway has mercifully been avoided."

A spokesman for Mini Cooper said the company was offering the repairs for free out of "goodwill". He said: "We are undertaking the necessary repairs and it will be free of charge. There's a willingness on our part that whatever the problem is it is rectified." The spokesman added he was surprised that Grant said the company "acknowledged it was a manufacturing defect". "No one from our organisation has been able to assess the car yet," he said.

Writing on the social networking site on Friday, Grant said: "Here's the Kafka:my daughter's Mini Cooper's steering locks on motorway.1 of the 200,000+ to do so.Repair will cost over a grand.Mini -

"-Cooper refuse any culpability.Insurers refuse to pay for repair 'as car didn't crash'.Yeah right!So she is left car-less, huge repair bill-

"-and Mini carry on as per.SHAME ON THEM ALL."

In 2010, about 80,000 Mini Coopers in America were investigated for potential power steering problems. The government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said it had received 54 complaints about the loss of power steering in the cars from the 2004-2005 model years. When the power steering stops working, it becomes more difficult for the driver to steer or control the vehicle.