Hello all,

I got my Clubman S on Nov. 7th as brand new (9 miles) at Alexander Mini.
I fell in love with the car right away but i noticed that handle was tilted toward the right and when I try to center it the car would not go straight.
WTF. so i called the dealer and told technician that it looks like my aligment is off and he told me to make a appointment and bring the car in so I did week after. when i got there he told me that they cant do anything about it because alignment is not covered by warrenty so if i want to get alignment done i need to pay $270. WTF. he could of told me that a week ago when i was on the phone. anywayz its going to be very long story if I write whole frustrating and disapointed issues with the dealer so i am going to go simple. after getting alignment done by specialist with right software it was still the same so i got another alignment job done rightway and it was still same!!!!!!it wasnt alignment problem???? did any one ever had this kind of problem with a new car???????????
thank you all!

 

Well I'm not sure what you mean by "handle was tilted"?

If you mean the steering wheel cross bar was tilted to one side and when you level it out the car does not got straight then then I can help you.

I know a lot of people that align cars just drive the car on the machine and "Do Not" level the steering wheel before the alignment. So by not doing that they are not correcting the problem I believe you are complaining about.

If they were to level the steering wheel then they would find that the front needs adjustment.

Where do you live?

 

Did you tell them about the steering wheel being crooked or did you just ask for an alignment? The wheel alignment could be just fine, even with a crooked steering wheel.

It's best to tell the mechanic the problem (crooked steering wheel) and not diagnose it yourself.

Dave

 

If the alignment is good but your steering wheel is not centered when the wheels are straight forward, then the dealer needs to remove the steering wheel and re-center it. It sits on a splined shaft so all they have to do is remove it, and then rotate it until it is centered while the wheels are still pointing straight ahead.

Did you have a different steering wheel installed by the dealer, or had they installed one on it before you purchased it (dealer accessory)?

 

Many cars have one fat spline, that makes it impossible to put the steering wheel on in a different position. I haven't had the steering wheel off of a MINI, so I don't know whether or not that could be the case in this situation.

Something else that could affect the steering wheel position, without affecting the alignment is if the steering knuckles are screwed out on one side of the steering rack and screwed in the exact same amount on the other side. But in that case, the car would turn tighter in one direction than the other. Still, it would not be apparent to a line up man who didn't drive the car after checking the alignment.

Or if you didn't tell him that the reason you want the alignment checked is that the steering wheel is crooked.

Dave