Not sure if this is the right spot but... here goes

I have recently noticed my car pulling to the right at slow speeds under mph in about 10 feet I would be in a ditch and if at 40MPH I would pull in about 100-150 ft. Now I only have 2900mi on my car, so is this something I should have the dealer look at to see if there is a bigger problem or what? I drove these same roads in the same manner in my ford taurus before I got my mini and never had a problem... so it isn't like its pothole country. Also next weekend the 24th I am going on a 2700mi round trip for 1 week so I kinda want to get it fixed before then..

-Josh

 

My 1st thought would be low tire pressure in one of your right side tires.
The tire warning light only comes on if there is a pressure drop while the car is on.

 

I experienced the same issue and thought - geez do I need a front end alignment already??? Nope - it was low tire pressure...

Donna

 

Josh, thats a classic sign that it needs alignment. I think there is another thread here the other day about MINIs following the crown of the road. Mine does it all the time but your sounds like an alignment issue. Take it to MINI (for free service). Drive it on a completely flat surface (hard to find) and see if it still does it.

If your SURE its not following the crown of the road, get it looked at IMHO.

 

Don't be coming around here with a poor limping mini Get that beauty fixed!

 

Probably Tramlining. My car is on stock runflats and completely even on level ground, but if one of my wheels gets into a dip I have to fight the steering wheel to keep it going straight. You'd be surprised how strong the car can track if one of the wheels is on a part of the road with differing levels of traction.

 

The issue I had was not quite the same but here it is for entertainment value. I noticed the car was pulling to the side under hard braking and taking a direction of its own on extremely crowned roads. The dealer suggested I upgrade the brakes. While changing the springs it was a surprise to find all of the shipping strut shims still on the driver’s side front strut.

 

I'm going to chime in some "worst" case scenario.. Your car is pretty new so it shouldn't have this problem.. When I got my car (used), it was pulling to one side and I didn't think anything of it.. I also thought it was just an alignment issue.. When I was replacing my OEM shocks/springs w/ aftermarket, I did notice that my OEM camber had ripped... Dealer also pointed out that I had the "ballooning/mushrooming" problem of the shock tower (passenger side)...

It turns out that the old owner had probably hit some major pothole/bump, thus ripping the OEM camber plate, and causing the mushrooming problem.. Dealer wouldn't replace the camber because 1. I had an aftermarket setup (even though I just had installed it when I noticed the rip), and 2. the mushrooming problem tells them the car had hit something bad.. I ended up changing it to RDR camber plates, and my pulling to one side disappeared...

I'm sure this is not your problem, but something to check if the alignment or tire pressure is not the problem.. I still believe this is a weak link of a MINI because I'm not alone in this problem. If you do a search, you will find lots and lots of info on this mushrooming problem..

///Gilbert

 

If I didn't have to go to work when I first posted I would have told ya I made sure all my pressures were the same and made sure I didnt see any visible damage to rims/tires. I don't think I was tramlining because it happens everywhere... including my driveway... I have a square one so i can go in different directions with the same result. Sounds like I needs to give them a call tomorrow and get my baby in before I leave.

-Josh

 

If it's happening everywhere I think you probably just need an alignment. Check it out at the dealership if you're car's under warranty. I hope it isn't something serious like the camber plate

 

 

any update on this??

 

alignment.... fixed...

-Josh