This most recent awesome problem with my 1300 mile old Clubman S just started last night: when I turn the steering wheel more than 3/4 of the way in either direction I hear a pronounced sucking/whooshing type of sound.

What could this be? It's NOT the sound that almost all cars give when you turn the wheel all the way to lock in either direction; this is a different sound that starts happening at only 3/4 of the way.

Is someone playing some kind of joke on me??

 

Ive never noticed any sounds out of my steering unless its right close or AT the lock.

9600kms on my 09' cooper S without a single problem.. and trust me I'm listening!!

Take it to the dealer and complain! Should be covered under warrantee if it is in fact a problem

 

It's been to the dealer 5 times since I bought it 4 weeks ago. Well, off I go again, I guess...

 

Is it the same problem over and over again? What's your local lemon laws?

 

Unfortunately, no; it's new problem after new problem.

 

Buy a Hyundai if you never want to visit the service dept.

 

Take it to the dealer and have them check your connections.

 

I'm fine visiting the service department every so often, but 5 times in the first 4 weeks is a bit of a joke. Bitter? Angry? Hell yes, I am! And I have every right to be.

 

I'm taking it back to fix this and another problem with the A/C; hopefully they can get to the bottom of both.

 

Mini wasn't dead last in the J. D. Power Initial Quality rankings for nothing... You're living proof...

 

Sorry for your pains, man.

It must really be irritating when YOUR Mini has problems, and others do not. You'd think with all the robot manufacturing these days that quality would be more consistent- or that BMW/Mini would exercise better quality control amongst their sub contractors.

 

Uh... but you bought a MINI. The reliability data is out there and you chose to ignore it. So... no, you do not have a right to be bitter and angry.

 

That was my first new car and I saw the shop a few times but nothing like my BMW did.

 

I took a chance and accepted the fact that I might have some problems over the lifetime of the car, but I absolutely have a right to be angry at the AMOUNT of problems in the first freaking 1500 miles.

 

Is this true? Not surprising if it is.

 

Well, many other people do have problems as well, so I know I'm not alone. Again, it's just surprising to experience this many problems in the first 4 weeks.

 

I think your signature says it all "prayers for good reliability"

When people do things like this I have noticed that exactly the opposite happens.

Stop praying for good reliability and things will probably change.

 

Ha ha! Nope, I'm just one of the unlucky ones, unfortunately. That quote didn't go in until a few days after I started having problems, ironically. (and I'm actually agnostic)

 

Welcome to the world of Mini quality. Mini died after 2 weeks, total junk. What do you expect for CDN 35-40k?

And Tazio, maybe you have money to burn but the rest of us don't. You buy a new car, you expect it to work reasonably well. Having it towed away, or 5-10 trips to a dealer to fix poor quality issues is NOT in the data.

I'm glad there are so many supporters out there, Mini needs it. When word gets out about how poor quality is, it will eventually impact sales. Then maybe BMW will act. Having owned 3 of these, the last 2 being JCW's I can say these are the most fun you can have on 4 wheels, but not with these kind of problems...

 

Lot of 2010 Clubby problems floating around out there... wonder if BMW is buying parts for these cars from 4th world countries with no QC, in the interest of keeping costs down?

OP Id really suggest you try to sweet-talk the dealer in taking that car back. That's excessive. If they balk go to MINI corporate.

ALso, a whooshing sound with an all-electric steering system doesnt sound right, are you sure the tires are properly inflated? Best to do around 36psi all-around, to compensate for pressure reduction in cold weather that will set off your TPMS.

And pay no mind to Tazio's lectures. He/she/it is die hard 1st gen (i'm sorry) and always loves to jab 2nd gen owners whenever possible. That he/she/it put together a full sentence is nothing short of remarkable...

 

Thanks, Sequence...will check the inflation of the tires. FYI it also makes that sound even at super low parking speeds (under 5 mph), and it's intermittent, which means that it will never do it when I bring it in to the dealer.

I might do what you suggest and try to get them to take the car back but I'm fairly certain it'll be a very difficult battle to do so. At that point I'm not sure that I'd even want to order a replacement...I love the car so much but am very worried about reliability after such a shoddy experience, of course.

 

Just do what I did. Buy a used one. That way all those dumb problems will have been worked out by the time you get it.

 

BMW knows it can simply seduce customers with the way the Mini drives. People tolerate and even make excuses for the lousy reliability because they enjoy driving the cars so much when they're working.

The only thing which will force BMW to change its ways is for a viable competitor to emerge. I'm surprised and disappointed that none has. I'd love to see a Mini equivalent manufactured by Honda or Toyota. Or even Fiat.

 

Very true.

 

Just an observation -- 1. I find many cars with lower JD Powers ratings. 2. Perhaps there would be an advantage to having another dealer take a look at the car. I have found wide variations in dealer quality. Perhaps its not the car but rather, its caretaker?