I got my mini 2 months ago with 15 miles. As soon as I left the lot it pulled to the right. I checked the tire pressure and got an alignment; still drifting. It turns out the camber was off, so that was fixed. Still, I can do circles if my hand is off the wheel.

So now I will head back to the dealership to take the service manager for a ride. However, I do not think this will better the situation b/c apparently (according to the service manager) the car "naturally" drifts to the right.

I'm not the coldest beer in the six pack but I'm pretty sure the only "natural" drift of any car is forward. Am I wrong, or does the manager think I have "retard" tattoed on my forhead?

 

They hit a curb prior to delivery and will now blame it on you...

At 100, I can let go of my steering wheel without drifting...yours does have alignment problems...

 

Only NASCAR guys and IRL drift only one way, but their goes left.

 

Maybe your MINI has 2 right feet?

Seriously though, something sounds amiss.

 

Tell your service manager that MSFITOY's & Crashton's car doesn't do that. No matter what speed I'm going. That's not right & not very safe either. Look in the phone book for a Bee Line alignment shop. Have those guys check it out for you. It could be caused by the tires. There is a very slim possibility that your cars not quite square.

 

I had a similar issue with my first car. The service guy swore up and down "All cars drift to the right due to the convex of the road to shed water" so i took him for a ride and drove on the wrong side of the road (of course only when it was safe to do so ) it still pulled to the right. It was a very quiet ride back to the dealership.

 

I wonder what the service guy says when someone has a car that drifts to the left?

"All MINI's drift to the left to compensate for the convex shape of the road to shed water that would make an ordinary car drift to the right."

 

x 2.

I've heard that "natural tendency toward the right" thing before. It might be true on some vehicles, but.. If the majority of similar cars go as straight as arrows, then.. Yeah, something's suspect.

 

Our cars are built in Jolly Old England where they drive on the other side of the road. If it's supposed to drift right it may be some kind of device for population control.

 

That's crazy talk....they will fix it. My Coopers been straight as an arrow since early '03. Yes, there are all the "theoretical" road surface factors, but if you can tell it's pulling, then it's pulling......period.

I predict they'll align/balance it properly and you'll be one happy MINI owner!!

 

a mini from 1970 doesnt drift. one from 2006 with 0 miles on it should really really not drift.

kick some ***

 

My 2004 used mini does not drift to the right! No new or used car of any make or model should....can't believe a dealership would make up a lame excuse when something is wrong and needs to be fixed. Maybe you need to remind them you purchased a high quality BMW product not a Kia!!! Good luck.

 

It's been my sad experience that this kind of thing is the normal dealer reply when they don't know what's up. They send their service people to school so they can learn to tell customers whopping big lies with a straight face.

 

*files this comment away for future use on a smart-a$$ service guy*

 

I dunno...maybe if BMW had Kia build the Mini, he wouldn't be having this problem...

 

is heavily crowned. Even then it should be rather easy to hold straight. If your S/A says anything other than, "we'll fix it right away, sir"...then ask to drive a lot car for comparative purposes. Hopefully, it won't suffer from the same abnormality. GL.

 

Thanks for the replies. I took a service attendant for a spin the other day. He said the steering wheel wasn't centered.

I think this was b/c he was holding it counter-clockwise to keep it from drifting to the right!

He said he would call me, probably on the 12th of never.

 

Had the same problem on another car. When I didn't buy the "crown of the road" bulls***, the service manager tried "It's a safety feature. All cars drift to the right in case you fall asleep you'll drift off to the side of the road instead of into oncoming traffic." Didn't buy that one either.

 

After 2 alignments and a camber adjustment, the problem is still exists; though, to a much lesser degree. This might be due to tire wear pattern, or to ??

Since I knew the service dpt. would say, "It's normal" again, I filed a Lemon Law complaint. Now I've got the engineer coming to take a look.

 

Didn't you know? This is the new method for keeping drivers awake behind the wheel!

 

This has nothing to do with the topic...But, my dad always says "I'll tell you on the second tuesday of next week". You're "He'll call on the 12th of never made me laught out loud!

 

Very curious what the outcome is. Sounds like he was hoping you would just give up. (Don't give up). Maybe try a different dealer and tell them what the other one said to see if they agree. If they laugh you know you did the right thing.

So far I am happy with my dealer, things that I was affraid to ask but did anyway got answers like no problem thats what we are here for.

 

Ok, I think I have a similar thing... Since I picked up my car new about a month ago, I've noticed my steering wheel is slightly tilted to the left (only a few degrees, but it's noticeable)... So if I am driving on a straight stretch of road, the steering wheel is not exactly level.... I haven't noticed much drift, etc., but is this normal?! I called the dealer way back but never got a reply and kind of let it go, but it's kind of annoying... I remember talking to a friend about it and he said something like all steering wheels are slightly off so if you fell asleep at the wheel it would take you away from oncoming traffic... mmm...

 

Not normal - car should drive straight on a level road and with the steering wheel centerd. It may veer a bit with road crown and this should be easily verified (left lane = left veer, right lane right on an evenly crowned road). Should veer only very slightly, not too much.

1) Check tire pressure. FWD cars are sensitive to this, especially with low profile tires. Front two and rear two should be even side to side.
2) If ALL aligment specs are in-spec (including chassis alignment), it may be a "tire pull". Dealers usually throw you at the tire manufacturer for this, so you head for a tire store that sells your brand tire and they tell you it's an alignment and it''ll cost you $85 for them to verify alignment before telling you "it's the tires" and pro-rating you ona tire purchase. Get to know your Service Advisor and have THEM go through this for you.

Car should drive straight.