I'm sorry if this have been posted already, but searching something here is very annoying.
My concern now is about the alignmnet. I have an 06 Mini S with 20k miles. I've been told that all the Minis have the same problem, they pull to the right?!!...? I've been told that is because of the FWD, but I haven't seen that in any other car... Is it normal? That sucks! Is anyway to fix it? I have stock suspension.
I'm not planning to spend a lot of money on suspension upgrades right now...

Thanks

 

If it's pulling hard enough to one side to be annoying to you, then it's not normal. If you're driving straight and then let go of the wheel, the car should keep going straight. It may slowly drift to one side (preferably to the right), but the wheel shouldn't immediately turn to one side.

Check your tire pressures, get the alignment checked, and if those don't cure the problem then you may have a bad tire or something else that needs fixing.

 

Let me guess - dealership told you that? There is some pull, can't remember which way, under HARD acceleration, which I think is inevitable (the pull, not the hard acceleration ). I think it's called "torque steer". Sounds like you are talking about something more than that.

 

At 20k miles it's under warranty so have them fix it till your satisfied. It sounds like a toe adjustment is in order. That will fix the pulling but if it is not the cause it won't be the cure. There is something not right with it pulling like that and for toe to get out of adjustment is very very rare with out some underlying damage (mushroomed strut tower plate which is a common problem if you hit a pothole really hard) will affect your toe. The dealership service dept should take the time to look at all the possibilities before saying that something is normal. My 05 MC doesn't pull in any direction (coasting, accelerating and braking) so what your describing is not normal.

 

It is not something serious. Is just that the car goes slowly to the right if I don't hold the steering wheel.
And yes... I was told about it by a guy from a Aftermarket Mini shop. He was supposed to re-center the steering wheel (another issue), but after he gave me the car back, I noticed it is pulling. He says it is normal on Minis. He says is torque steering... So I need to make sure about it since now I'm dealing with his work's warranty...
I tried fixing the steering wheel issue at the dealer, but it was a pain! So I took the car to a recognized Mini shop close here. Unfortunately, nothing is perfect.

 

Is it pulling just under acceleration, or does it do it even when you're just cruising along at a steady speed. Torque steer would only happen under acceleration, and fairly hard acceleration at that.

 

It happens at crusing speed. I know the guy moved the alignment to correct the steering wheel. He wasn't supposed to do that! But now we wants to charge me to fix the alignment, which was fine before he worked on the car...

 

If it's pulling at steady driving speeds, then it has nothing to do with "torque steer", and the guy is full of it. If he &*#$ed up your alignment to center the steering wheel, then he should fix it on his own dime. The steering wheel can be removed and realigned, which is what should have been done.

 

I agree with the above posts...

it should not pull at all under 'no-load' conditions.

torque steer under hard accel. is another story.

and if he ad to recenter the steering wheel , then the car is not aligned correctly esp. if it is pulling (assuming that the road crown is not too severe.)

Good luck on getting it fixed.

 

You should check your shock towers for mushrooming.

 

I had one mushroom, but it has been fixed already and I also installed the M7 strut bar. The problem was the steering wheel that was not centered, the alignment was fine. After the guy did the work on the steering wheel, the car is pulling to the right.

This is what he said to me: "We adjusted the tie rods so that the excessive dip in the wheel that you complained about was fixed. Obviously the two previous alignments didn't do the trick. We did not do any re-alignment on your car. If we did I would be happy to remit any charges for that job. I would also offer to you that ALL MINIS pull to the right. Because of front wheel drive and torque steer, all MINIs have a tendency to pull to the right. If you want even more proof of that, drive a 2007 and mash the pedal at 1500 rpm in first or second gear."

 

unfortunately alignment is NOT covered under the warranty.

i had a similar issue though.. i did have a toe adjustment and my wheels balanced. it went away.

 

There is a massive difference between a 2006 or earlier MINI hard top and the 2007. First is power delivery. The 2007 will torque steer because it generates alot more torque and does it at lower RPMs than the 2006. Second, there is a bearing assembly on the 2006 and previous models in the drive shaft that keeps the drive shafts to the front two wheels the same length. This prevents alot of the nasty torque steer effects that you would normally expect with a front wheel drive car with that much power. The fact that your repair guy mentions the 2007 as a reference to check (when it is an entirely different powertrain!) seem suspicious. That he mentioned torque steer seem silly coming from someone who is supposed to be a professional. That should only happen under hard accelleration, not all the time.

That being said, it is fair to say all cars will drift to the right or left if you take your hands off the wheel. The car will follow the crown of the road. If you do not feel any pulling when you have your hands on the wheel, and you only notice slight drifting when you take your hands off the wheel you probably do not have a problem.

One thing you can try is to drive on the opposite side of the road (please be very careful if you are doing this!) If the car pulls to the left now its just the slope of the road that is causing the pulling. If it still pulls to the right when the slope of the road goes to the left you may have an alignment issue.

 

my car does not pull either direction as long as there is no crown of the
road. it's not unusual for the steering wheel to be slightly cocked towards
11 o-clock position to compensate for the crown.

find a vacant flat parking lot and see if it can go straight without
any steering input.

 

sounds like you need an alignment. i had pull/drift to the right when i first got my MCS and after an alignment it doesnt pull at all. Torque steer is inevitable but not the same as pulling while cruising or coasting. get an alignment, it's a small price to pay but it should straighten out your steering wheel and you won't have it pulling. you should be able to get one for under $100 and the dealer will NOT cover this since an alignment can be thrown off after hitting nasty bumps or potholes in the road.

 

I believe you covered it. But I once had a bad tire that caused a no load pull, but that's a one in a million shot. Anyone recall Firestone 500's from the 70's?

regards,
Red

 

I live in a remote part of AZ and the closest dealership is 200 miles away. A word to the wise when serching for an alignment shop or body shop or whatever the first thing I ask is "have you ever worked on a Mini" if the answer is no I move on. I recently lower my MC with H-sport springs and rear control arms and asked around with people I knew where to take my baby for an alignment I got 3 recomendations. Only one of them had experience with Minis he charged $70 for the job. I ended up with a computer print out of the settings and the camber, toe and caster were perfect!! The tech who did the work took her for a test drive (he was worried that the 1/16th of toe out in the front would amplify torque steer) needless to say but he found no torque steer, imagine that!!! Your situation is sounding pretty fishy. I would ask for remittance of all money and find a new shop!

 

Aaaah, the Firestone 500s.

I had a bad tire in the recent batch that's on my car currently that was causing a pull. I was told that it's not all that uncommon. The tires were purchased from Tire Rack, and they replaced the bad one without a blink. New tire, problem disappeared.

 

my 06 MCS does the EXACT same thing, i can tell you right now that tires, wheels, air pressure, and alignment arent gonna fix the problem my MINI has always done this, so far what im going to have the dealer check is whether or not i have a defective caliper or a messed up master cylinder for the brakes or if something is blocking the hoses or finally if my power steering is messed up somehow, i wont be ino th dealer until the 25th though, ill let you know what they say

 

MINIs will follow the crown of the road. No biggie. Its supposed to do that. Just get in the middle lane of a three lane highway, should be flat there and try driving with no hands then. It should not drift (mine didn't).

 

wow, that sucks. i dunno what to tell you about your car but i've had a few alignments done due to suspension upgrades and wheel/tire upgrades and my car drives straight and true when i let go of the wheel on a flat road.

 

ummm i dont even own a mini and i know a 02-06 mini simply cannot torque steer; the driveshafts are of equal length! I think the same applies with the R56's too... not sure. I would say its just your stealer trying to get away with yet another mistake. Don't back down, and you'll get it fixed under his dime. These dealers need to be put in their place sometimes. Good luck with it!

 

My 06 MCS pulls to the right (usually the right) at VERY LOW speeds (like when I brake at a red light)....what could cause that??? Is it just uneven brake wear? I have almost 20K miles....

 

It could be a number of things... try checking your brake fluid levels? Maybe your master cylinder is sending more pressure to the right brake for some reason. To answer youre question, I find it hard to believe that your left front brake would wear more than your right. CarTalk might have the answer

 

Someone is blowing smoke at you. Torque steering comes from different length driveshafts and manifests itself as the steering wheel fighting you in a turn when you step on the go pedal. There is a big long explanation for why it happens, but the Cliff Notes version is what I just described. You likely have a problem with your tires or the alignment (toe setting) on your car.

As a first step, I would suggest getting a 4-wheel alignment at a dedicated suspension alignment shop. Once the alignment is at spec, if the car still pulls to one side, you need to look at your tires. One tire is likely slightly greater in circumference than the other. You can prove it by swapping tires from one side to the other and if the car reverses the side it pulls to, you have your answer.