MINI2

Redleg13 · Aug 25th, 2003, 12:17 PM

Though I cannot find the thread (maybe it's on MCO...), I want to thank the kind soul who said their dealer was replacing some front-end parts to resolve an issue with their Mini pulling to the left upon braking. I called my dealer -- who had previously told me that they could find nothing wrong with my car which pulled left -- and told him that I had heard there was a "fix" from Mini about this problem. My service manager called Mini and -- sure enough -- the front struts on some builds need replacing. So, I'll get this scheduled. The point for all of us though, is that Mini doesn't do a great job of being proactive on service/recall issues. My guess is that they would have never done anything unless I had pressed the matter.

mr.bill · Aug 25th, 2003, 12:41 PM

Since you live in the States, your car should not be affected by this. The bad suspension parts were installed on the first roughly 80,000 cars, but they were mostly RHD models sold in the UK and some LHD models sold in Europe. The production line received the new parts long before the cars were exported to the U.S. You can tell if your car has the improved struts by looking at the upper mounts. The improved struts are recessed. There were some photos in Apial's gallery, not sure they are still there. You can find a lot more info on this problem by searching for "left pull" in the archives.

Redleg13 · Aug 25th, 2003, 02:12 PM

nope the service technician (US) says there are "some US builds" that are involved. I'm scheduled for September 12th to take it in and they will see if my struts are affected. If you or anyone else knows an easy way to tell, I'd love to save driving 45 miles each way!!

CooperS4us · Aug 25th, 2003, 02:12 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by Redleg13

Though I cannot find the thread (maybe it's on MCO...), I want to thank the kind soul who said their dealer was replacing some front-end parts to resolve an issue with their Mini pulling to the left upon braking. I called my dealer -- who had previously told me that they could find nothing wrong with my car which pulled left -- and told him that I had heard there was a "fix" from Mini about this problem. My service manager called Mini and -- sure enough -- the front struts on some builds need replacing. So, I'll get this scheduled. The point for all of us though, is that Mini doesn't do a great job of being proactive on service/recall issues. My guess is that they would have never done anything unless I had pressed the matter.

It was me over at MCO last week. I am so glad that your problem has been solved to your satisfaction.

Enjoy!

CooperS4us · Aug 25th, 2003, 02:14 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by mr.bill

Since you live in the States, your car should not be affected by this. The bad suspension parts were installed on the first roughly 80,000 cars, but they were mostly RHD models sold in the UK and some LHD models sold in Europe. The production line received the new parts long before the cars were exported to the U.S. You can tell if your car has the improved struts by looking at the upper mounts. The improved struts are recessed. There were some photos in Apial's gallery, not sure they are still there. You can find a lot more info on this problem by searching for "left pull" in the archives.

Hey Billy, yes his car was affected. He has a very early build '02 MCS which he just bought used. A handful of MINIs made it state side with the left pull problem.

Redleg13 · Aug 25th, 2003, 02:32 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by CooperS4us

It was me over at MCO last week. I am so glad that your problem has been solved to your satisfaction.

Enjoy!

As I said, "Thanks!"

mr.bill · Aug 27th, 2003, 01:19 PM

If you recall, during the whole left-pull mess, I suggested that MINI might try to fob off the bad suspension on LHD cars figuring the road camber would cancel it. (Remember how they tried to claim it was only a problem in the UK because they drive on the left?) You know they didn't want to eat thousands of dollars worth of defective parts. But that doesn't change the fact that the factory began using the new suspension parts long before the first cars were scheduled for export to the US. There could be some "gray market" LHD cars here, ones that were exported from Europe before the "official" launch here. In any case, everyone who has experienced the problem owes Apial a huge debt of gratitude for taking the lead on it and getting MINI to admit to a problem and fix it.

Aug 25th, 2003, 12:17 PM	#1
Redleg13 MINI2 Regular Join Date: May 2003 Location: Washington, DC Local Time: 05:26 PM Posts: 170 Offline	Pulling Left -- Front Struts at Fault Though I cannot find the thread (maybe it's on MCO...), I want to thank the kind soul who said their dealer was replacing some front-end parts to resolve an issue with their Mini pulling to the left upon braking. I called my dealer -- who had previously told me that they could find nothing wrong with my car which pulled left -- and told him that I had heard there was a "fix" from Mini about this problem. My service manager called Mini and -- sure enough -- the front struts on some builds need replacing. So, I'll get this scheduled. The point for all of us though, is that Mini doesn't do a great job of being proactive on service/recall issues. My guess is that they would have never done anything unless I had pressed the matter. '02 EB/W MCS w/Sport pkg, Rogue intake, Helix 15% pulley, Magnecor wires, Bosch platinums, Magnaflow exhaust, Exel white wheels.

Aug 25th, 2003, 02:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
Redleg13 MINI2 Regular Join Date: May 2003 Location: Washington, DC Local Time: 05:26 PM Posts: 170 Offline	nope the service technician (US) says there are "some US builds" that are involved. I'm scheduled for September 12th to take it in and they will see if my struts are affected. If you or anyone else knows an easy way to tell, I'd love to save driving 45 miles each way!! '02 EB/W MCS w/Sport pkg, Rogue intake, Helix 15% pulley, Magnecor wires, Bosch platinums, Magnaflow exhaust, Exel white wheels.

Aug 25th, 2003, 02:32 PM	#6 (permalink)
Redleg13 MINI2 Regular Join Date: May 2003 Location: Washington, DC Local Time: 05:26 PM Posts: 170 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by CooperS4us It was me over at MCO last week. I am so glad that your problem has been solved to your satisfaction. Enjoy! As I said, "Thanks!" '02 EB/W MCS w/Sport pkg, Rogue intake, Helix 15% pulley, Magnecor wires, Bosch platinums, Magnaflow exhaust, Exel white wheels.

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Aug 25th, 2003, 12:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
mr.bill MINI2 Senior Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: USA Local Time: 09:26 PM Posts: 577 Offline	Since you live in the States, your car should not be affected by this. The bad suspension parts were installed on the first roughly 80,000 cars, but they were mostly RHD models sold in the UK and some LHD models sold in Europe. The production line received the new parts long before the cars were exported to the U.S. You can tell if your car has the improved struts by looking at the upper mounts. The improved struts are recessed. There were some photos in Apial's gallery, not sure they are still there. You can find a lot more info on this problem by searching for "left pull" in the archives.

Aug 25th, 2003, 02:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
CooperS4us MINI2 Master Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: South Florida Local Time: 05:26 PM Posts: 951 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by Redleg13 Though I cannot find the thread (maybe it's on MCO...), I want to thank the kind soul who said their dealer was replacing some front-end parts to resolve an issue with their Mini pulling to the left upon braking. I called my dealer -- who had previously told me that they could find nothing wrong with my car which pulled left -- and told him that I had heard there was a "fix" from Mini about this problem. My service manager called Mini and -- sure enough -- the front struts on some builds need replacing. So, I'll get this scheduled. The point for all of us though, is that Mini doesn't do a great job of being proactive on service/recall issues. My guess is that they would have never done anything unless I had pressed the matter. It was me over at MCO last week. I am so glad that your problem has been solved to your satisfaction. Enjoy!

Aug 25th, 2003, 02:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
CooperS4us MINI2 Master Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: South Florida Local Time: 05:26 PM Posts: 951 Offline	Quote: Originally Posted by mr.bill Since you live in the States, your car should not be affected by this. The bad suspension parts were installed on the first roughly 80,000 cars, but they were mostly RHD models sold in the UK and some LHD models sold in Europe. The production line received the new parts long before the cars were exported to the U.S. You can tell if your car has the improved struts by looking at the upper mounts. The improved struts are recessed. There were some photos in Apial's gallery, not sure they are still there. You can find a lot more info on this problem by searching for "left pull" in the archives. Hey Billy, yes his car was affected. He has a very early build '02 MCS which he just bought used. A handful of MINIs made it state side with the left pull problem.

Aug 27th, 2003, 01:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
mr.bill MINI2 Senior Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: USA Local Time: 09:26 PM Posts: 577 Offline	If you recall, during the whole left-pull mess, I suggested that MINI might try to fob off the bad suspension on LHD cars figuring the road camber would cancel it. (Remember how they tried to claim it was only a problem in the UK because they drive on the left?) You know they didn't want to eat thousands of dollars worth of defective parts. But that doesn't change the fact that the factory began using the new suspension parts long before the first cars were scheduled for export to the US. There could be some "gray market" LHD cars here, ones that were exported from Europe before the "official" launch here. In any case, everyone who has experienced the problem owes Apial a huge debt of gratitude for taking the lead on it and getting MINI to admit to a problem and fix it.

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