Long story short. I went to Maine on the 19th and came back today. while driving home, there was pouring rain for about 60 miles. I drove 70 mph (65 mph is the speed limit) through the rain with dsc on. the dsc lighted up frequently.

now heres the strange part. right after it rained the roads were starting to dry and i drove another 60 miles, i could not feel any vibration. but for the rest of the journey back home which started right after i paid the toll and drove over the little speed bump, for the last 90 miles starting from 65 mph there was heavy vibration in the steering column (moving left and right), pedals and basically the whole driver and passenger compartment. it starts at 45 mph when flooring it.

what kind of damage do you think is under the car? (now i see why people drove slow and i was passing them like crazy) I will never do this again!

also i was testing the car hard too because i thought it was the roads surface.

hopefully its just the alignment.

 

what year is the MINI, type of MINI, Miles on MINI and Miles on Tires will help NAMer's help you better

 

Warped rotor or maybe you lost a wheel balancing weight.

 

Broken motor mount, perhaps? You'll know because when you check your hood you'll see some black greasy stuff leaking out (usually on the passenger side). Check the threads for "broken motor mount" for more info.

 

Update:

For AutoXCooper
2002 mini cooper s
108000 miles
7000 miles on snow Michelin x ice xi 2 tires not rotated (cant be the culprit because there was not problem driving 7000 miles


for ZippyNH
the rotor looked shiney. and the wheel balance weights are intact. 25s for the front and 35s for the rear.

for irieman
i opened the hood and checked the black motor mount, its not leaking anything


hopefully this is cheap and easy fix

 

I would concertrate on the powertrain/tires/brakes as opposed to other areas since it appears to be speed dependant.
In the first year I ran snow tires I had a similar problem....was an issue with a hub-centering rings. Are you useing steelies or alloys? Is this your fist year on the winter rims and tires? Or did you just have the snows mounted on rims you have used before? Did you get the rims hand tourqued? Sometimes if they are put on with an impact wrench, it can warp rotors....it can take a few miles to have happen. Maybe a free inspection at a brake place will ensure that the rotor is round and not warped....since you drove in heavy rain, with the dsc light flashing, I'm betting the brakes heated up, and the rain "flash" cooled them. Very hard on rotors.
I don't think it will be too hard or pricey to track down. It will just take some time, and maybe some money, depending on if you need to have someone troubleshoot it for you.
Ps....
Look at the inside of the tire and look for a bubble....those bumps can dammage sidewalls.

 

Where are you? Are you in Mass?

 

Zippy, thanks for your detailed follow up post, i am now more confident.

to answer your questions, i am using alloy rims but i dont know what material the hub rings are. come to think of it, prior to the road trip, with the windows down, there were noises while creeping in a walled environment like burgerkings drivethru (noises are around the front wheel drivers area) i will drive more later today to observe the noises.

i hand tourqued the rims, these are newly replaced tires but old rims.

Btw, im from Connecticut, have to drive to Maine to see my sister, haven't seen her for 8 months since their wedding

and this happened yesterday, not today forgot to edit.

as for the brakes, i did not use it much (i let the car slow down by itself), but i accelerated alot and that caused the dsc lights

 

ok my bad, dsc is auto braking?

 

Hello Viper133, If the DSC is coming on it might have just been one or more tires lossing traction in the rain. If it happens on dry roads then you may have a bad sensor. With 100K if you have not replaced the front control arm bushings it might be time.

 

definitely look at the tires. Your problems sounds like one I had a few years ago. After I hit a bump in my car, the tread on the tire became damaged and caused a vibration at 60mph.

 

 

+1. I experienced vibration at 70mph on my 335 with new aftermarket wheels and turned out that the vendor didn't balance the wheels LOL After I got them balanced locally the vibration went away.

 

Some of my wheels have LOTS of weights at various places around them to balance... I could throw several of them, and if I looked at the wheel, I would think "the weights are still there" because some would still be on there...

Worth a quick balance check - easy and relatively cheap.

 

Turns out to be the front axels and bushings, autoxcooper was right.

it costs 3200+ to fix

i have to find another mechanic instead of the dealer or get another car

 

Just had my front lower control arm bushings done for about $400 down here by my non-dealer MINI mechanic. He removes and replaces the axles to do the bushing install, so no more labor for the axles. A pair of axles can be had for about $900 from some discount MINI parts suppliers... that's a long way from $3200... even if you need a few more parts, or upper strut bushings also...

Find a local independent BMW shop and they should be able to help you...

 

Did they say what was wrong with the axles? Unless there's something detailed wrong with the Axles I'd replace the bushings 1st then see how car is after that. Also check the wheel bearings too.

Paul is right an Indy BMW shop will become your best friend. However I don't understand why any tech would want or need to remove the axles to replace the front control arm rear bushing.

 

I believe that's actually the "official" way to do it if you use the factory tool and press the bushings on the car without removing the carriers - no need to drop the subframe.

 

ok this is the exact memo.

"roadtest checked front suspension, checked rims, TI res, axles found play in both front rear A frame bushings, and play in both front axles cv joints upsell sent"

service advisor also highlighted that something was leaking in the axles and that the rubber cover is tearing

there all in uppercase. and i corrected some spelling error

heres the dealers pricing

$1400 for parts (and i believe he said 500+ each for the axles) and $1800 for 13 hour labor which also includes alignment.

 

Holy crap!! Odd it would suddenly become an issue (the vibration)...rather than makes clunks, during turns, etc. If the rubber is going, that not good.....sounds like I would be looking for another estimate.....and perhaps a second opinion. The rubber does need attention.....but heck....
I am very surprised to hear that....


I use Greasy's Garage
(508)754-7327 24 Wells Street Worcester, MA

Highly recommended.....is an hour and 15 drive for me. A good, mostly MINI shop, good work, and good prices IMO. The talk to Pete.....he is the owner and the MINI guy. He might have some insight.
Depending on where you are in CT it might be worth a drive. It is just around the corner from U-MASS medical center if i remember right.

 

zippy, thanks for a recommended shop, however it will be a 2hr 15 min drive.

hopefully this is reputable shop near me! http://www.danburybenz.com/index.html

$89 per hour.

i also have another shop recommended by a friend, the company (Acr Automotive) have worked on Mini's

they charge $85 per hour. compared to the dealer at $130



Autoxcooper! thanks for recommending me the powerflex bushings, once i determine i want to fix this car, i will know where to get the parts.

 

Wow...that indeed is dealer pricing!
Can you post a couple of Mini suppliers? My car still has one year of warranty, but just in case...good to have info handy.

 

I encourage you to get detailed bids from all 3 shops. I also encourage you to let them source the parts too. A shop that supplies the parts will stand behind the parts. Your parts your issues.

We have customers that drive well over 2 hours each way to have to work for them. A rental car for $30 a day is a deal to get the work done right the 1st time by the right shop.

 

My MINI specialist is nearly 2 hours each way from me. Well worth the drive, IMHO.

Classic MINI and Morristown MINI offer discounts off list parts pricing to NAMers.

bimmerschwag.com also discounts

pelicanparts.com not so much

As Dustin says - if you're not doing the work yourself, most mechanics you will use will have a source for parts - best to let them source it. Let them know if you are price sensitive, and sometimes they can/will do better than list pricing - they pay shop/wholesale rates in most cases.

 

Ouch. I had the same thing at 50,000 miles, but with different symptoms. WHen I would step on the gas I would hear a loud thud. I took it to a mechanic who thought it was my transmission. I thought the thud was my exhaust banging around and needed to be tightened.
The transmission guy found the problem and I think he charged me $1500 to fix it. He said the axles just looked tired from me beating on the car and it was only a matter of time before they snapped.