So I just purchased a brand new '09 MINI Cooper Convertible (with racing stripes!) a week ago. As I'm driving the car on our very first (of what I hoped to be many) road trips, I noticed a knocking noise coming from the tire. No big deal, I thought, there was probably something stuck on the tire. I stopped, inspected the tire, found no problems and headed on my way again. I did this twice. After my third stop, I got back into the car and attempted to merge onto the interstate when the steering wheel started shaking violently. I quickly pulled over and into a gas station parking lot. As I was nowhere near a dealership, roadside assistance suggested that I attempt to drive to the nearest dealership. I backed out of my parking spot and was headed back to the road when my wheel fell off. MY. TIRE. FELL. OFF. Of my brand new, bright and shiny, beautiful MINI cooper convertible. Three of the lug nuts were loose, one had broken in half. Obviously the rotor hit the concrete pretty hard, as did the front end on the driver's side. The tow truck came, I got a rental, and was on my way, but I am very concerned about the state of my vehicle. She's still at the other dealership, several hundred miles from home waiting to be evaluated while I'm driving a...well...not the brand new car that I paid for. I was only going 5 or so MPH when the wheel came off, but the dealership has confirmed that three of the front panels were damaged. I am also concerned as the service tech I spoke with this morning told me he had problems starting the car. Roadside assistance, my dealership, and the dealership she has been towed to have all been very helpful and polite but I still don't have my car. Anyone have any similar experiences???

 

Man that sucks! I've had a rear wheel fall off before but it was on a 66 baja bug not a MINI and it was a disaster. I did have a close call a while back similar to yours. Heard a knocking coming from the front drivers side after a tire change which got progressively worse over a short time and after pulling into a gas station I found all four lugs on their last few threads. If your MINI came down on the front passenger side you could have oil pan damage,a cracked engine mount,exhaust downpipe/flange damage,radiator and of course the bumper,inner fender,and sideskirt damage. This breaks down to dealer negligence and compensation on their part should be expected. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Ouch.... Is the MINI dealership taking full responsibility for it?

 

Ironically, I had one fall off my '73 VW Thing once, too.

It certainly does sound like dealer oversight. They should have you running as good as new soon, I would imagine. While you probably can't prove fault, it wouldn't hurt to get on touch with the dealership owner directly and at least ask for something in return for your troubles (and potentially deadly experience). Maybe free scheduled maintenance for the life if the car, or something along those lines.

I also have an '09 convertible, btw. Enjoy it when you have it back again!

 

Thanks guys, for the insight. The car actually fell on the front driver's side though I'm sure I'm still at risk for all of the things you mentioned. The dealership has been great so far--they have told me they will be covering all of the repair costs. The dealership it was towed to is having an engineer look over the car before they do any repairs. This is estimated to happen at the end of the week which is a longer wait than I'd like but I certainly want the repairs done correctly. I'm just hoping the damage is minimal...

 

It must be the racing stripes!!!

Good that you're not hurt. This is dealer negligence... 110%. I would demand that the dealer have the car on a lift and showed what they fixed/replaced.

 

Unless you had dealer installed wheels and tires, BMW should have torqued the lug nuts at the factory or checked at the port of entry. Either way, the "dealer prep" charge is supposed to cover such things as double checking lug torque.

 

When you get the surveys from both the dealership and MINIUSA tell them how dissatisfied you were with the dealer prep on this car. I had an incident at a dealership when my car was in for service and MINIUSA said that they usually don't hear of any problems and they were very proactive for my case.

 

Oh man that sucks. If I were you I would ask for another brand new car at a lower price than before. If they can't offer you that then at least they should give you something else. Hell I would even take $1,000 cash or anything.

Good luck with your MINI and keep us posted.

 

Where does this thinking come from?

"Something happened to my car so someone owes me something?"

Another car, lifetime free service, $1000 cash......

The only legal responsibility the dealer has is to put you back where you were before the problem.

I'm just wondering how you all get these ideas? What takes you to this line of reasoning?

The world doesn't owe you anything. You bought a car, you got a car. Your car broke, they have to fix it back to as good as it was before it broke - that's it.

 

TTB, terrible experience. The first indicators of clunking was probably the lug holes turning oval from round.

Really surprised to hear road side assistance advised to march on to the dealer ? Was that MINI Road Side Assistance ? As that was a terrible advice....

Glad you were not hurt. And no I would not ask for a Meeeeeellion dollars in compensation......The dealer will treat you right and correct the err of their ways

 

Well, bad luck it happened, but on the bright side, great luck it happened somewhere other than on the interstate at high speed. With alloy rims, most reputably tire/wheel shops will tell you to return or re-torque your lug nuts/bolts after 50 miles or so. I have personally never found a loose one....but I guess this proves it might happen. I've never heard of a dealer tell folks to return to re-torque the lug bolts....I'm sure they will fix everything back to 100% and call it the cost of doing business!! Since the car is so new, hopefully they will go above and beyond in the quest to make sure it is fixed perfectly....If anything else, look at this a a great story to tell years from now!!
Good Luck, and welcome to NAM, I just wish you has a better reason for your first postings!! It is sad so many people start coming to to find info when things break....but many they stay for the fun!! I hope we hear from you, and of your motoring adventures.....beyond the broken stuff hopefully!!

 

This is an example where we as end users need to take pro-active action.

Reguardless of whom left the lugs un tightened, you knew something was wrong. Wrong enough to stop 3 seperate times.

I am glad the dealer is fixing it for you!

 

I Agree With THis Guy ^^^ How Many People Actually Do A Walk Around Of Your Car Before You Hop In ?!?! How Many Times Do You Check Tire Pressure ?!?!? Fluids ?!?!?! A Mini ( Or Any Car ) Will Take Care Of You If You Take Care Of It

 

So having the wheel fall off a brand new car less than 10? miles down the road is covered under warranty.

 

Seems to me that at the very least they owe him for his time and inconvenience.

 

Thanks again for all of the feedback. Presently I'm just patiently waiting to hear from the engineer who will review the car at the end of the week...and rolling around in my rental!

To address one of the above posters, yes it was MINI's Roadside Assistance that suggested I motor on over to the dealership. The person I spoke with on the phone suggested it was an alignment issue. They actually suggested that I head to the dealership in my destination city and I countered with the nearest dealership (which was about 1/2 way to my destination city). After being disconnected from Roadside Assistance (cell phone coverage was iffy) I decided I was not comfortable driving even to the closer yet still two hours away dealership. When the wheel fell off, I was negotiating through the parking lot headed for the road that leads to the interstate. My intent was to wait for the tow at a rest area I had just passed as I felt that to be a safer location to wait. (These things never happen on bright sunny days in the best areas of town, do they???)

I did check the tires multiple times and everything looked and felt fine. I was told that the lug nuts were still present as they were being held in place by the hubcap. It never even occurred to me that it was possible for the wheel to fall off in standard driving situations...particularly on a week old car!

Oh, and, have no fear, I've actually been perusing this forum for quite some time as a lurker. It's one of the many reasons I decided to go with a MINI!

 

Yup, happened to me too. Only I wasn't going 5mph, I was going 70mph...

 

Well, look at it this way....you get to put some miles on a loaner(I really hope they gave you a MINI)...and learn how to drive it hard....like a MINI before you get your car back!! That way you don't have to worry about putting wear and tear on your new car!!
And just remember, when Crap happens....and then you have to compost it and make fertilizer!!!

 

Well, about two years ago I got new wheels put on and they used the wrong lug bolt length. Needless to say I was heading down the road with my kids in the car going about 25 and my front drivers wheel fell off and ended up hitting another car. I know how you feel. It sucks. Honestly, doing a walk around of the car wouldn't have done anything. The only way I would've known is if every time I go out to my car, I check the lugs. The wheels had been on the car for about a week, and I had tightened them after the initial 50 miles. Sometimes it's just a freak thing. I still to this day worry about some of the sounds from the car at speed due to the freak wheel accident. My hood, front fender, side skirt, and entire brake setup was replaced. I'm just grateful that my family was alright. I'm glad you are alright and that you weren't going fast. I started thinking the night before I was on the freeway, what if? Hmmm

 

To my embarrassment the same thing happened to me last year. When I think back I feel really stupid for assuming it was an out of balance tire from possible wheel weights falling off. After checking many times as you did I merged back onto the highway and it happened just as you describe. However the rotor is not what hit the ground it was the lower bolt on the control arm. It was a real site to see. My wife in the passenger seat looked over towards me and with a look of absolute astonishment points over and yells out "Your wheel just fell off" as it goes by us bouncing down the highway, crossing the median and just missing on coming traffic. I was so fortunate it did not hit those poor on coming cars and we were able to pull over safely.

In my case discount tire had just put new tires/wheels on the car and after much discussion with them and the mechanic who fixed the car they paid for my repairs after I signed an agreement not to take further action.

Watch your wheel bearing on that side. 6 months later my wheel bearing went out from what I assume was the massive vibration of the wheel just before it came off.

 

Look on the bright side. You could have been the recipient of a wayward tire while driving down the interstate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTsheH3AQF8

 

It happens to the best of us. I (now) use a torque wrench on EVERY lug nut I work on. NO MATTER WHAT! That dealer needs to do the same.

 

Yeah, most people call them just to chitchat!

 

Oh yeah... they either NEVER heard of it or "outside influence" is the classic excuse.