I was going 10mph through a roundabout and my car hit the curb. Fortunatly I had no front end damage other than an alignment. Now when driving on the freeway I hear a soft hum that comes and goes for a few seconds. I have new tires with no apparent bulges. I garfed up my 16in s-winder(need one) and have no vibration coming from the front either. Did I damage my rt front wheel bearings? Any thoughts will be appreciated. And if it is the wheel bearings could they be covered under warranty?

 

I'd take it to the dealer, do a drive with the service advisor to make sure they hear the noise, and see what they come up with. Just my 2¢...good luck!

 

And that is why I hate snow and don't live where it snows.

 

If the bearing or anything else is damaged and they know you hit something they could say "no" to covering it under warranty. Warranty does not cover collision or driver-caused events. I don't know how they could prove the bearing was damaged by the hit unless it had a cracked race or retainer.

Did the tires get replaced at roughly the same time as the snow encounter? The hum may just be tread noise on different road surfaces that is different from your previous set. They recently repaved several roads in our county and my tires really whine on the new pavement. As soon as I hit older pavement, they are silent.

Also, the new alignment could be setting the tread a little different causing tread-related noise like above.

 

We're going to be at Disney next week and Tues morning they are predicting 24 deg. All you need is a little moisture in the atmosphere...

 

keep us posted...

 

I plowed through with my just-a what I thought was just a "soft drift" pile left from a plow truck. It was go over it fairly quickly or get stuck. I figured the spoiler on the front would just act like a cow catcher and smooth out the snow. After the impact I did not think anything of it. The front of the car looked fine, the car ran well, and I did not feel much of a impact. I ended up paying $2000 for a new radiator. Does anyone know of a aftermarket shield that would protect the vitals under the front bumper and extending back to the suspension?

 

I would never move anywhere without snow!

Hope your car is okay!

 

Snow is fun - only when you're not worried about going anywhere or can drive around aimlessly and have fun.

I sacrificed that when I moved to SoCal from Denver - so far, worth it.

 

You have the right attitude to live in Buffalo.

I like snow too, what worries me about it are the snow melter's they use that also will melt my MINI into a pile of rust. Also the bozo's who can't drive worth a darn if there are two snowflakes on the road.

 

Maryland has to have the worst drivers in snow.I'm originally from the Northeast (R.I ,Conn.)where the drivers there don't slam on their brakes everytime there is just a dusting OMG

 

Well here the snow is almost totally melted already and people are still driving like idiots. There is literally ZERO snow on the roads right now (although it is 22 degrees) and I was just stuck behind people doing 20 in a 45. Ridiculous.

I don't mind driving in the snow at all, if it's really bad I just take my time getting where I need to go. The salt is the worst part. I just washed my car yesterday and it already looks like it hasn't had a bath in weeks. I hear in Erie PA (just south of me) they use sand instead of salt which is supposed to be a lot easier on a paint job.

 

I live out in the boones. My snow car is a '97 Ford F350 4x4 I got for cheap. A guy needs something to haul dirt, wood and rocks and things, when you live in the woods.



Most of the winter, the MINI stays inside.

Dave

 

I did the same thing as you last winter (except I hit the roundabout going 20...HEY it seems slow in a MINI!) and needed an alignment and a front right wheel bearing (about $350 IIRC).

 

I had my run in last year. Took it easy and had no problem going over unplowed roads on my summer tires but as I turned in to the parking lot at my office going just fast enough to not stall my car slid all the way over and hit the curb just hard enough to nick the rim. I know its not that bad, but what really sucks is I spent a weekend a few weeks before prepping and hand painting all 4 wheels and now there's a gouge in one :( I bought some good AS tires this year in hopes that I can avoid that again.

 

I think we're going to be reading a lot of these threads in the next few months....

Here in KC where we get snow and ice on the roads every year, you'd think it was a new phenomenon - at the first hint of snow people drive like they're gonna die any second if they go over 20 mph, and many drive with the 4 way flashers on, just in case!

Of course, you'll also see 20 or 30 SUVs in the ditches on the first really good snow day we get, from all the over confident cell phone chatting not paying a lick of attention driving way too fast for conditions idiots....

I just cruise serenely right on by them all in my MINI.....

 

Spousal unit in her first snow experience took our new AUDI into a curb at "just 10 miles per hour" unfortunately the wheel was at full lock when the curb impact happened to the side of the wheel.

Subsequent inspection found the wheel sitting 3 inches farther back in the wheel well and the car pulling over HARD.

Strut housing plus a bearing and and ......

About $1000 (1982 prices) later we discussed driving in snow

Do you have comprehensive coverage? This is not collision . .

hint hint ..warranty .... come on ..... what's MINI's fault in this? That's why I have insurance . . .

 

One suggestion.... if you hit a curb, I would have the dealer look at the lower control arm bushing.

The bushings are crap from the factory and it wouldn't surprise me if it trashed it.

I had a customer come in today with his clubman that hit a pothole a few months ago and is just now feeling the effects from a bad control arm bushing.

Just a suggestion...

Mark