My 2006 MINI was recently rear-ended. The impact zone was the driver's side corner of the rear bumper. The car was drivable, but we had it towed home from the site of the accident and did not drive it until it was fixed.

We got the car back from the shop yesterday, and the cosmetic repair looks flawless. HOWEVER.

The car now has a vibration that feels like a flat tire (but obviously is not). It's very noticeable at low speeds. Someone from the shop said it's probably the passenger side ball bearings. What I'm extremely irked about is that the claims adjuster could (he said) not connect it to the accident.

All I need to know is that I do not have my vehicle back in the condition it was in prior to the accident.

What do you think? Have you experienced this? Is it possible a rear-ending could throw a front wheel out of alignment?

 

Did you mean wheel bearing? The passenger rear wheel bearing could have gone bad or could have been damaged in the accident. Did you get an alignment as part of the repair? They should have done one to make sure nothing shifted. You could have a bent suspension component like a bent control arm.

 

Bearings and alignment are not the same. You need to have the car examined by a competent specialist.

 

I think it's wheel bearing. And yeah, we're going to get a second opinion from a different garage.

 

1. If the wheel_bearing is causing this symptom, is it safe to drive the car until I get it fixed?

2. Can I fix this myself? What needs to be done?

3. This is a different car forum, but the last post made me think, because the steering is now also noticeably tighter than it was before the accident. Would a fault somewhere in the power_steering system cause regular thumping that increases with car speed?

 

You're probably fine to drive on the car for a little while still. If you want to check just jack up that corner and grab the wheel at 12 and 6 and wiggle hard. Then try again at 9 and 3. You shouldn't have any play. If there is a lot of play then no it's not safe to drive on.

You can fix it yourself. If it's anything like my '10 it wasn't too hard. Caliper and rotor needs to come off. Then there are 4 bolts holding the wheel hub to the knuckle that you loosen from the back side (towards the middle of the car). If you haven't had them off they can be pretty rusty which could make this job go from "not too bad" to "well... crap..." pretty quickly. The new hub with wheel bearing is kind of expensive. We got ours from Pelican Parts. Like $160 or something like that.

 

Why spend 1$ fixing it?!
Go back to the adjuster....get it fixed. Period.
Yes...you most likely need an alignment...heck a subframe might be bent or a suspension part bent...big $$$ parts.
Do not diy it....the ins company should pay 100%.

 

 

Don't take no for an answer. Technically they are putting you at risk and not fulfilling their contract. There is no way you can let this slide. Even if its just a a wheel or a bearing or just alignment (which always should be done after an accident). Sorry to hear your situation.

 

I appreciate all the responses.

I found the problem and filed it under "none of the above".

There was a very short screw attached to a piece of plastic that was embedded in the treads. The tire was not punctured. Girlfriend drove it off the garage's lot that way and the only reason she didn't immediately bring it back is because she noticed it just after leaving the lot and they were already closed.

It's definitely sloppy on the garage's part, unless my girlfriend just happened to roll over it exactly as she was driving the car away, but it seems that there is no wheel bearing issue. In hindsight, I never thought of this because I assumed the garage was staffed by professionals and they would not return a vehicle to its owner with something stuck in a tire.

I found this screw in the tire while rotating the wheels. Incidentally, the handling is now slightly better. I'm glad I did this before taking it to another garage and paying them to tell me I had something stuck in a tire.

 

Glad you found the problem and all looks to be in order. Curious, was the left rear wheel damaged at all?

 

I know a guy who got rear ended in his R53 and it screwed up his front suspension, have them check everything.