Mini Cooper losing its 'poise'... feeling unsteady

[ALX]

Hi,

Had a mini one for a year, got a mini cooper in October 03. GREAT CAR. Well worth the extra money over the One - I haven't been able to fault it (until now ).

The car seems to lose its poise on the road when cornering. This has happened suddenly. I drove home from work and had no problems, but then when I went out later in the evening, I went around a right bend (on a roundabout) and the car started to feel like it was sliding. I wasn't going quickly enough for there to be any problem ; I just backed off a tiny bit and compensated steering, but it threw me a bit, as this is one car that's normally impossible (if you drive sanely and the weather is OK) to unseat.

I've checked tyres ; visually they all seem OK (plus no pressure warning on the dash).

Anyone got any ideas?

A.

[Hat]

could be tyre pressure - the sensor will only detect if one tyre is lower than the others. if they're all low then it won't know. other than that it could be balancing or tracking that's wandered out a bit

[MarkW19]

ALX, I posted a thread about this a couple of weeks ago too, as I was having the same problem. We came to the conclusion that it was possibly the temperature of the tyres, road, and/or road and weather conditions.

Bottomline, it's not the best time of year for driving

But, do check tyre pressures though.

[NEMINI]

You should be checking tyre pressures once a week regardless Always check the pressures when the tires are 'cold' ie: before you go off driving.

Also keep in mind while your tyres may still be acceptable they are more worn then this time last year. When you look at the thread don't only compare thread to thread also look at overall tread depth. The shallower it is the less 'debris' (ie: snow, slush, sand, grit, dirt etc.) the tyre can displace before losing grip.

[ALX]

Hmm thanks for responses.. Interesting.. Phoned my dealer who said if there was any loss of tyre pressure it'd show it on the pressure monitor light.. I can vouch for this as with my last mini it gave me a very early warning; so early in fact that I checked the tyres and reset it believing it to be incorrect Then it actually did go flat ..

I'm going to take it into my dealer tomorrow to see if they can determine any fault. Their engineers are happy to sit in the passenger seat while you demonstrate what is happening, which is probably quite a handy way to show it up.

I wondered whether a "bump stop" in the suspension had broken or something. I think it lifts a wheel under sharp cornering.. I wonder if this could cause the body to roll more than it should be (and therefore make the car unsteady)..

Nonetheless this 'wheel lift' thing only revealed itself when I did a really sharp corner quite fast (and I never drive like that normally). I gave the car to someone else to drive who did some tests and reckoned it was basically OK.. But ... phhh. I'm sure it's different!

There we go.. Have to see what the dealer says tomorrow ...

A.

[ALX]

I was lead to believe by my dealer that one shouldn't be checking the tyres with a gauge unless the warning light comes in; as if you let any air out the monitoring system will register it?

The tyres are virtually brand new; I only got the car toward the end of October! So I've had it all of ... 3 and a bit months I did have a Mini one before this one though...

At the moment the weather is quite warm (7 degrees C ish, or warmer) and there is no sludge on the road... It's all rather puzzling.

[Olly.]

The tyre pressure indicator on mine only flashes on when the pressure drops considerbly

I had the same problem when I ratther foolishly didn't check the tyre pressure when i put new wheels on. As soon as they had the correct pressures, straight back to go kart handling

[ALX]

hmm. I will probably check them with a gauge tonight then... If I can avoid a dealer visit that'd be preferable. Mind you, if it turns out they *have* lost pressure I want my dealer to explain how this happened without it warning me!

A.

[NEMINI]

Your dealer is wrong, read the manual, the TDI (tire defect indicator) ca not tell small differences in tyre pressures. Should you have to add air (ps- all tyres leak air slowly over time) you do need to reset the TDI every time.

[ALX]

It wouldn't be the first time. They're quite a good dealer generally but, some quotes :

"run it on the cheapest fuel - "Super" Fuels won't make any difference"
- wrong - it's like a different car on Shell Optimax (seriously)

"yes, it will have a power outlet in the boot"
- wrong - although all the literature said it would have, they phased it out!

... sigh ... Tis still a damn fine little car though..

A.

[V8bruiser]

ALX - You say this happened on a roundabout - These are notorious for diesel spillages. If it hasn't happened before or since maybe your handling glitch was diesel slide (We bikers are all too aware of them!)

V8

[ALX]

Re the diesel spill I did think of that.. But it seems to be doing it in various corners..

Seeing dealer tomorrow see if they have any ideas. I reckon they will say it's tyre pressure (that being the most simple; and therefore most likely) answer...

A.

[KenL]

I would think it is just some slippy stuff on the roads, a lot of it about at this time of year. Good fun in a MINI really as they handle so well, yes even a ONE

[graham D]

I had a puncture in my left front (runflat) last week and the first thing I noticed was a slide going right around a roundabout. This was well before the warning light came on (in fact that only happened on the way to the dealer to get a new tyre.... I'd already figured out the problem by that time!)

If it's not a puncture, it's definitely worth checking the pressures anyway. Do you notice any strange noises when turning right?

Graham

[ALX]

Hi folks,

Thanks for all your replies. I took the car to the dealers on Friday. They had an engineer come along for a test drive. I didn't make it 'get lost' in a corner so he drove it too. Again, didn't reckon there was anything amiss; did some corners quite fast with no hassle.

I can't believe I was imagining it; I just don't imagine things with cars; or, leastways, every time in the past where I've started to think I could be imagining some problem it's turned out to be real --- anyone remember the 'black roof denting' syndrome!! Nearly drove me mad.

Anyway. The tech from my dealer reckonned the car drove nicely and in a balanced and sane way, also checked the air pressure in all four tyres and said they were fine, but to come back if I noticed it doiing anything more. That's all I can really ask. I've been driving fairly normally and it hasn't started to slide again; perhaps it was just a drop of diesel on the surface.

Perhaps we just won't know....

Thanks again for all your comments.

A.