HI all, I just purchased a 2002 Cooper 5sp w/ sports package and xenon and stuff. the car has 22000kms on it and drives alright. However, i noticed that the steering column will make clicking sounds with I turn it at a slow speed. is this normal?

also, maybe it's my skill level since this is my first manual car but shifting form 1st -> 2nd is pretty rough. should I let the clutch out slowly before giving gas? thanks all! this is a fun car!

i'm from Vancouver BTW

 

I get a slight thump in the steering when passing 90 degrees in both directions. It feels like a pebble is in the steering column, but I'm not sure if it's just the universal joints working or something more serious. There's no clicking, though. Can you feel any feedback? Are you sure the clicking is from the steering wheel (can you hear it with the windows rolled up?)?

 

I have a 2002 MCS and had the same audible clicking only at low speeds. The dealer ended up replacing the steering column under warranty. The newer ones have a somewhat different linkage so maybe it was a common problem with the early steering columns.

 

My 03 MC developed the same thing about 4 months after I bought it. This is a well documented problem with Minis and there is a lot of info about it on Mini 2 .com. The fixes range from lubing the the column to a full column replacement. East Bay Mini lubed mine and it's been fine ever since.

 

Hi, 43MA,i am from vancouver too, i just bought a 2002 MCS around a month ago as well. anyway i just brought my car to service today. (for changing the tach and flywheel)and also i told them the clicking sound from the steering wheel. they mark it down and will have the technician to check for it. still waiting for the service guy to call back to pick up my car. If there's any news i will let u know. btw, since it still under warranty, if there's anything u think it goes wrong with your mini, go to Mini and have those service guy to test drive with you, they will listen to the noise that bother u and they will mark down whats wrong and then they tell the technician guy to check for you.

 

It's a well known problem. My 02 had the same problem and the dealership replaced the steering column under warranty. I remember seeing other posts that lubing the column will only fix the problem for a while, and it will come back eventually. If you need more info PM me.

 

check out the thread on www.motoringfile.com

called "the dreaded steering click" there is a failure very common to early build cars that can only be fixed by replacing the steering column. Get to a dealer at once.I think the warrentee follows the car, but I'm not sure. Good luck.( I convinced the dealer /MINIUSA to replace mine even after the warrentee had technically run out-60K.) Jock

 

thanks alot u guys i will bring the car ASAP. and cupoftea did u get your flywheel and stuff replaced for free?

and i didn't know that these HIDs are self-leveling!! that's just a big plus!!

 

yes
its for free, cuz my mini is still under warranty

 

As the weather is getting colder here, I've noticed the same 'thump' in the steering when passing 90 degrees in both directions. But it happens only when I turn the steering when the car is sitting still or pulling out from the garage. I haven't noticed anything when I'm driving in the normal speed. It's definitely not a click. You just feel the 'thump', no audible 'click' at all.
It's a April 04 MCS. Anyone has experienced this lately with the cold weather. Did a search here but the results are mostly related to the 'Clicking'.
Ahamos, have you found out anything so far??
Cheers
Stephen

 

Well - I Just Bought A Used Mini-s 2003 - And After A Month I Notice The Clicking Sound When Turning To The Right. It Is Fine When You Turn Left... So I Have A Special Warranty That Cost A Bundle - And Will Be Getting As Much Info Together From You Guys So The Dealer And Mechs Will Be Informed On The "well Known Steering Colume Problem---

Who Else Can Help Me Get More Info ... ??????

I Am At Email-ricrobin1@cybertron.com

Please Help Me----

Oh - I Love The Car - Drives Like A Go-cart With 6 Speeds And Super Charger....... Turns Heads On The Road.. Oh The Girls Love It...
"never Any Interst In Me-tho Ha :>

Rick Robinson
Mary Esther - Florida

 

Mine feels more like a slight "pop" in the column. Brian Harris MINI fixed mine under warranty. Here was the problem. The upper strut mount cracked on one side. Supposedly this made freeplay in the steering because the struts were able to move due to not being secured down all the way. It was fixed for a while, then came back after about a month and a half. I let it go, but then at MOTD '06, I had Detroit Tuned install my lowering springs. When Chad finished installing them, the steering didn't "pop" or click. as a matter of fact, it seemed like it had just rolled off the showroom floor. About 2 weeks after the install, it came back and has been this way ever since. Brian Harris said they might replace the column out of warranty since it was a recurring problem. Hopefully they will even with the mods, because it happened first, before any were done. It's blatantly obvious that this column was a design flaw.

 

My April 04 MCS has the same problem. It feels and sounds like some cracking their knuckle. It was temporarily fixed a year ago when the dealership said the greased the steering column, but it recently came back. It only happens during slow turning and usually as I accelerate when making a sharp turn from an almost full stop position.

I'm fighting with the dealership now because they can't get it to reproduce when they test it.

 

my '06 has developed this problem when turning to the right... its pretty annoying...

 

Just got our 04 Cooper S back from the dealer for the same issue. We had them check on the steering wheel clicking every time we had it in for routine maintenance. The problem was intermittant. It only occured when the ambient temp was 60'-70'. Finally started doing it all of the time. They replaced the power steering pump under warranty and the problem seems to have gone away. Hope this helps.

 

power steering pump is kinda of an interesting one. Guess I'll have to show them this thread.

 

I also had an odd “clunk” or “click’ in my steering. Usually at slow speeds, when backing out of a parking spot. It wasn’t as if I could hear it, but I could feel it in the wheel. I had it into the dealer several times, and they could never reproduce the problems.

A month or two later, by power steering pump spontaneously combusted! (see https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...7&postcount=92)
I was really lucky and caught things before they got out of control. My warranty had expired a month earlier, but luckily my dealer did the right thing and fixed it all up with no charge (kudos to Northwest Mini - they rock!)

Now the clunk is gone, and the new PS pump is *vastly* quieter than before.
I’d get the dealer to check out the PS pump

 

Holy crap. I followed the story of Scooter a while back, but didn't know this was a growing problem. I've had the same palpable clunk in the steering: no perceptible noise, but the wheel kind of pops, like a knuckle being cracked.

The dealer was unable to replicate it, but it persists to this day, and I'm well out of warranty now. I've also had a non-MINI tech tell me that the PS pump is way too loud on my car. Hmm...

I suppose it's time for me to invest in a master kill switch, so that I won't need to keep a 10mm wrench in the car and dive into a burning engine bay to disconnect the battery.

BTW, excellent job spelling "definitely" correctly. It's awfully rare to see that word spelled without an "a".

 

I've got this "clicking" issue with my steering as well. I've got an 03 with 54k kms and my warranty expiring in July of this year.

Mini Yaletown's first attempt was lubing the steering column but the problem still persists. I've booked an appointment and I believe they will replace the steering column as a next step, they mentioned that they've only had two cases in the past that they've replaced the column.

Let's hope they do the right thing! Thank God i bought this car with a warranty remaining... $3k + of stuff they've fixed in the past 2 weeks.

 

Bought a used 2003, and mine does it at low speeds as well. My car is at the dealership as we speak for this issue as well as a few others. I'm hoping I get a new column out of this situation. I will say that it hasn't been doing it much at all since the weather has warmed up.

 

Oy. Clara just started doing this this morning. I noticed it when I had to really crank into a tight parking spot...first when I cranked into the spot, then when I straightened the wheels back out when I was in the spot. I cranked the wheel back and forth a couple more times while I was sitting there and it kept doing it. It's not really an audible sound, but I can feel it in the wheel.

Hopefully it DOESN'T do it when I leave but looks like we might be heading for the dealership...

 

I just bought a USed 02 MCS and i have the issue. I can only hear it inside the vehicle and I get it with the PS pump runing and when i disconnect the battery and turn the wheels manually.

Luckily i spotted this when i purchased the car and have a voucher from dealership saying they will fix whatever the problem is....I think i might need a new PS pump and Steering column

 

Ive got an 03, and in my car I hear this sound like water flowing for the first 20 feet or so each morning when I drive off. It sounds like the noise is coming from the steering column but cant be 100% sure. Is this something similar to the clicking sound everyone is talking about? I also get this loud thump from somewhere underneath car that I think I can feel through the steering wheel when I pull out of a parking spot in reverse. The thump or clunk is intermittent and the dealer could not reproduce the problem.