Hi guys,

I just got my 2007 R56 Cooper S back from the dealer where it sat for a couple of weeks while it waited its turn in line to get some rattles / minor things fixed.

I got it back yesterday and on the way home late last night hit a group of entrance / exit ramps that I drive on every day. These ramps are great for spirited driving and I usually do my fair share of having fun in the twisties.

Last night while heading up the first ramp (which I've done 100s of times, literally) it felt like there was something wrong with the car, specifically in the front end. The second ramp confirmed it and when I got home I took a look under the car. It was very late at night so I thought I may have just been out of it.

Today I tried to repeat the experiment although very cautiously as I suspected there may be a problem with the car and didn't want to end up in a ditch. I experienced the same thing, but this time I got a DSC light while it was behaving strangely, DSC seemed to be braking the front left wheel.

I called a service advisory at the local dealer and he told me to give it a try with DSC off. I did, even more cautiously (~30 miles per hour instead of the usual 40-45 when I'm driving spiritedly) and the car became extremely unstable. I had to save it from spinning on the ramp.

As I mentioned, I've driven this set of ramps 1000s of times, and at least 100+ in my Mini (usually around 40 MPH without a problem or DSC even kicking in). I was driving nowhere near the limit and the instability of the car didn't seem to be contingent with the velocity or direction of travel.

The service advisor told me to bring it in monday but seems extremely skeptical that there is anything wrong with the car. I questioned the safety of driving it over the weekend and he assured me that as long as there are no lights illuminated, the car would be fine (which it seems to be under "normal" city driving conditions).

Thoughts? Ideas?

 

Disconnect the battery for a bit (you'll lose all your settings). Reconnect the battery and try again. Don't forget to wear your crash helmet. Drive safe.

 

Why would the battery play into it?

 

The DCS is controlled by electronics right?! Maybe it needs a reboot. Also, are your tires inflated properly?

 

Right I understood that it's electronic, but the car seems to have issues even with DSC turned off...

They seem to be inflated properly, I'm looking for my gauge as we speak to double check.

 

Did any of the rattles involve brakes or suspension? Are the wheel lug bolts tight?

If the dealer over-inflated the tires it could cause squirrely handling, but they would have to be way over. What kind of tires, and what kind of shape are they in?

 

No, all of the rattles were interior noises, so there should really have been no reason for them to be poking around with anything mechanical.

The tires are the OEM model, (I'll double check exactly which when I go outside) and are wearing evenly with the exception of the right rear which was replaced about 6-12 months ago due to a puncture.

However, that is how I bought the car a couple of months ago and have had ZERO problems with it driving the same way in the same area until now

 

UPDATE: Left rear tire has a nail in it.

Everything looked fine since they're runflats, and the other night when I checked it seemed to have pressure, but this morning it did not.

I drove to the gas station, filled it up to 38 PSI and it seems to be holding air. I called around and it seems that 50% of places will patch it, 50% will not so I figure for $60 I'll give it a shot.

Since it's holding air at the moment (and even when it was pretty much empty still held its shape) I'm assuming I can keep driving it until tomorrow afternoon assuming that I keep an eye on the pressure, right?

Also, I wonder why the TPMS didn't go off...

 

maybe the car was in a prior accident....

 

I don't think so, I'm also not sure how an accident would correlate to TPMS not working....

I did reset it at one point about a month or so ago when it did alert me because everything seemed okay and it happened when i went over a rough railroad crossing