Any one else have a shimmy for lack of a better term at around 70MPH? seems to be 67-73 the car vibrates at an intolerable level, of course I drive right in this range most of the time. The car only has about 2000 miles on it, but I don't think it has always been there.

I have an MCSc, JCW

thoughts? is it normal, abnormal, correctable???

 

I have an 05 Cooper Cabrio, and I don't experience this at all. I'm not technically inclined, but I wonder if maybe a wheel is out of balance?

 

I'll take a stab at this. Has this problem been apparent since you have owned the car? Or did it pop up out of the blue one day? If it did, did you drive through a muddy patch before you started to notice the shimmy? This happens all the time with my 4x4 full size pickup. I collect a load of mud on the insides of my wheels that throws the wheel balance off resulting in a shimmy. I just hose out the backs of the wheels and the problem goes away.

 

I have an 07 MCc and have driven the car at speeds of 100 with no shimmy or vibrations. You might want to check and see if one or more of your wheels are missing the weight, also have the alignment check. This might be the problem you are having. just a thought.

 

I have that exact same shake in my '08 Sidewalk S at the same speed as you. Car is 5 months old with already 15 000Km on the clock. Been doing it since delivery day.

I always thought it was normal because of the convertible, maybe I should get it checked also

Maybe it's those stupid 17" pirelli runflat tires?

 

yep, gonna have to get it checked out.

The car only has 2000 miles on it. I am 99% certain that it was not that way the first 1000 miles or more. No mud caked on the tires, I will have to check out the weights to see if one came off. Looks like a trip to the dealer.

 

Let us know if they come up with a solution.

My dealer is to far away and i'm storing my car for winter very soon, so i'll go next year to get it checked.

 

I have an '08 cabrio that has the same shimmy since day one. Now have 3K on the clock and just had tires rotated and balanced to see if that was the problem. Still have the shimmy. Any other thoughts. I have Perellie tires....wonder if that is the rood cause

 

The dealer thinks it's the alignment. I pick up the clubman next week, and will drop it off then.

 

I'm positif those tires doesn't help at all, I hate them SO much

 

I recently traded my 2003 Mini Cooper for a 2005 Mini Cooper Convertible. My trade was made in another state while on a business trip. I of course test drove the car before trading, but not at high speed. From day 1 since driving home the convertible has this really weird shake/vibration that happens between 60 and 75 MPH. What makes it weird is it comes and goes, but mostly comes. I know it is not the tires because I bought brand new ones the day before for my old Mini and had the dealer swap them. Wheels and all. I did not have this problem on the old Mini. I took the convertible to the closest dealer to me and they say nothing is wrong and that this is 'normal' for a convertible. I find it very hard to believe that BMW/MINI would produce a car that has a shake/vibration like this. My windshield mounted GPS looks like jello while on the interstate to the point that I cannot read the directions.

I am hoping that some of you other convertible owners have had similar issues and have a possible solution.

Thanks!!!

Adam

 

I have an 08 S convertible and the shake is absolutely not normal. I have no shake or vibrations at any speed (up to 100+mph). I would have a road force balance done, as regular balancing will not ferret out problems such as this. Because it is speed dependent, it must be a balance issue. BTW, I also have the runflats (Dunlop) with none of these problems. The dealer that said this is normal for convertibles was a total moron. It is not normal for any type of car.

Steve

 

'05 S Cabrio and no shake/shimmy at all. I am running new Michelin run flats.

 

While it seems this problem afflicts some of our rides I was wondering if anyone has had the problem resolved and what the fix actually was.

 

My 05 Cabrio had a shimmy & shake at 60-70 mph for over a year. Changing tires did not help. It started making a noise when I would turn the wheel hard. Dealer fix was a loose axle nut on drivers side. Still shook & the noise returned. Took it back a month ago, just out of warranty & the dealer said the engine block end of the axle had broken off. At first they said it was the tranny I never went back to pick her up. Bought the Clubman. I've since learned that they wholesaled the Cabrio out. It had 37K miles on it. I guess they didn't want to deal with the little lemon either

Lois

 

I just called service department at my dealer in Annapolis, Maryland. Spoke to Jane and told her about my problem. She told me she is working with another customer that has Sidewalk edition with exact same problem. They had already installed a JCW strut brace with no effect. Customer was coming back later this week and they were going to try four wheel alignment. She asked me to call back at end of week to see what the outcome was. I have to say....I was impressed...we had a long discussion....told her about the many posts I've read...kind of eliminated some things like brand of tires. Also, since I don't get vibration or shimmy through the steering wheel...I think the problem is somewhere in the rear. Will keep you all posted.

 

When I took my Mini Convertible to the Mini dealer, they of course insisted the shake was a tire balance issue. They supposedly put all four tire/wheels on the road force balancer and said all but 1 were fine and they only added 10grams of weight to that one. At that point I had to think it was somethine else. The dealer contacted Mini and Mini of course said it had to be the one tire that was off a little. So to appease myself I took my Mini back to the Firestone dealer that sold me the Bridgestone tires (not run flat...hate them) and explained the issue. They put all four tire/wheels on the road force balancer and said they were all 30+. This was AFTER the Mini dealer supposedly did the same thing. Firestone took it another step and did a match balance by breaking the tires and wheels down and swapping tires around on the different wheels until they got the number down to a 16 on 3 out of 4. The fourth tire/wheel combo was still at a 23. I of course at this point was skeptical, but after a test drive it seems that 80-90% of the shake is gone. I was extremely surprised. I told Firestone the results of my test drive and they said they would order two more tires so they could match balance the one that was at a 23 until they could get it down to where the others were. All at no charge. Customer satisfaction they say. The replacement tire(s) will not be in for another week, but if they swap out the one tire and the little bit of shake that is left goes away I will definately be a very satisfied customer, and a believer in the road force balancer combined with a match balance. The only thing that puzzles me still is I had these same tires/wheels on my Mini hardtop the day before I traded and did not have any shake. I still have to assume the convertible is more sensitive to the harmonics created by the one tire/wheel.

I will update you once we swap out the last tire.

Thanks for all the input!!!

 

I had the same issue I just picked up my 05 MCSCa and driving it home as soon as I went over 55MPH I got a crazy shimmy. Once back in colorado I had my pops who works at a dealer have all four wheels balanced and checked. Ends up a had a very slightly bent rim on the front and all four wheels were off balance. they moved the bent rim to the back (getting repaired in a week or so) and had all the wheels balanced as close to zero as possible.

Bam-a-lam shimmy is gone. I can feel a slight vibration from the back (most likely due to the bent rim) but the car rolls super smooth on the highway now. thank god. Getting oil change and allignment next week. I have runflat NanKangs, noisy as hell but they were on the car when i bought it and they are virtually new.

Hope this helps.

 

I have a '06 MCSCa and never had anything like what has ben decribed here and I routinely hit the speed range where the problem came up for some of you. My Mini has 16,600 miles after 28 months and I have replaced 5 of my Goodyear Eagle run-flats already (1 due to a puncture and 4 due to sidewall bubbles - all pothole damages); all replacements were done under insurance. About 1,000 miles ago I had my first wheel alignment. Seems the problem described here has bitten a few of you and I would be interested in hearing what the diagnosis is when you guys figure it out.

 

Our Sidewalk had the same problem, at pretty much the same speed. Our Dealer performed the road-force balance and while doing so, discovered that one of the tires needed to be moved on the rim (match mounting) to create a more concentric assembly. Now it's smooth as butter. I agree with the concensus of NAM members that the run-flats are rough and noisy (and they probably magnify any little suspension or tire/wheel nuances), but...it's what we have (for now).

 

Well, here is my update. The Firestone dealer replaced both rear tires and got them way under the maximum number for the road force balance. Unfortunately this did not take care of the last little bit of shake that I have. My Mini still shakes a little at about 45mph and 70mph. It is not very noticeable, and is considerably less than before. It would shake your hands like crazy before. I guess for now I will have to live with the small amount that is left. Maybe rotors or something else is responsible for the remaining shake. I still think, having owned both a hard top and now the convertible, that the cabrio is much more sensitive to the road and the slightest irregularity in the road causes these harmonic vibrations. If I find something else to get rid of this last bit I will update.

 

I just had mini do my allignment at Schomp Mini, The slight vibration is gone. Ends up my allignment was also completely out of whack like the tire balance. Car drives like butter and I was worried it had bent suspension parts. worries are gone.

 

jdamann, that was my mini Jane was talking about. Strut brace was no difference, road force, no difference. It is back a Mini of Annapolis now. They had a tech road test it before I picked it up both times. I drove it with the head of service and he was able to tell it wasn't fixed. If the area we drove it was their road test I can see how the tech would of missed it.

I saw someone else posted about their "little lemon" I must tell you that thought is starting to enter my mind now.

 

WOW...would be a shame if we had to go down that path but...that is what it's there for. I wonder if this problem is more wide spread than what is showing up here on this board. Could it be that a lot of Cab's are not driven on or at highway speeds? I'm not giving up but I do think we need to bond together and get BMW to pay attention to this problem. Based on what I've read I don't think tire balance and/or alignment are the root cause.

 

It doesn't look like anyone has found a fix yet. I agree that it doesn't seem to be a tire balance issue. It looks like everyone has tried that.