Foot catching on steering column

7050 Views 14 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Johnboy, Jan 2, 2002

Ruff

Discussion Starter · Nov 23, 2001

Dont know if anyone else has notice this or if its a fault.

On our car my left foot rubs against and some times catch's (not too badly) against the steering column I can feel it rotating.

Am I missing some trim?
Are my feet just too big?

I cant belive that something this vital to driving is left exposed so that things could jam in it!

1 - 15 of 15 Posts

blak-hak

· #2 · Nov 23, 2001

Feet catching on steering column

You're not the only one.

And I can also happily say that the MINI is not the only car I've had this occur on: the Peugeot 206 is the only one that sticks in my memory, but when it happened on that I don't recall thinking "I've not driven any other car like this".

It's not like I have particularly large feet either! Perhaps I just move my foot on and off the clutch too often!

Ruff

Discussion Starter · #3 · Nov 23, 2001

Just a little disconcerting.

well if its a standard "feature" to coin a Microsoft term I guess I will have to put up with it.

but strange very strange indeed

stusam

· #4 · Nov 23, 2001

Yes, this happens on mine too. It also happened on a small Renault I rented once a few years back. It has never happened on any other car I've ever driven.

After a few days I kinda got used to it, but if you get flustered or stressed in a tricky spot or traffic jam, you do tend to suddenly notice it again!

monsta

· #5 · Nov 23, 2001

Yep, me too!

I found this quite difficult to drive with at first, you just have to get used to it..

Dogger

· #6 · Nov 23, 2001

Mine did this for the 1st week until I noticed a small peice of trim had come adrift close to the steering column - after I clipped it back into place I haven't noticed it..

kshapiro

· #7 · Nov 23, 2001

Ruff said:
Dont know if anyone else has notice this or if its a fault.

On our car my left foot rubs against and some times catch's (not too badly) against the steering column I can feel it rotating.

Am I missing some trim?
Are my feet just too big?

I cant belive that something this vital to driving is left exposed so that things could jam in it!

It's because your steering wheel is on the wrong damn side!!!

Ruff

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 27, 2001

I will try and shift the steering wheel over to the other (dark?) side and let you know!!!!

Johnboy

· #9 · Dec 31, 2001

Just going thru history b4 posting something on my indicator relay -
Anyhow, just reminded me to check something out -
Was 100 yards off a roundabout at 70mph a few weeks ago, when my braking foot got stuck on some sort of a shim on the steering column.
Luckily I figured it out in time to slide my foot a little lower so I could actually apply pressure the brake pedal

Minty

· #10 · Dec 31, 2001

What sort of shoe sizes are we talking?
Mine are UK 8, and i have never had a problem.

Hey maybe we could start a poll on feet sizes??............

THAT WAS A JOKE

Too many polls can spoil a BB!

Mini Man

· #11 · Jan 1, 2002

Minty said:
What sort of shoe sizes are we talking?
Mine are UK 8, and i have never had a problem.

Mine are UK size 8.5 and I do get the problem, I don't think that extra 0.5 makes any difference, more likely the driving position you adopt. My left foot catches the column i.e. not my brake foot (as Johnboy posted).

It does feel a bit strange when it happens as my foot gets moved the opposite way I am steering. This is because my foot is touching the bottom of the column. After it happended a few times I got used to it it, but I can imagine it being a bit more worrying if your braking foot was moved out the way as you come up to a sharp bend.

zoooooom

· #12 · Jan 2, 2002

Re: Re: Foot catching on steering column

kshapiro said:
It's because your steering wheel is on the wrong damn side!!!

I tried swapping the steering to the other side during my time off but hit a MAJOR problem and had to swap it back again.
After the swap I found that,

A:The wipers are the wrong way round
B:The door lock is only on one door (the wrong one)
C:The passenger airbag was behind the rev counter
This was the icing on the cake that made me swop back.
D:I could not work the pedals,It was ok if i went out with a passenger cos they could work the pedals but i cold not go out on my own.

What a waste of time that was.

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Johnboy

· #13 · Jan 2, 2002

Actually, I feel it's time to reveal my full name:
Johnboy the Clown.

My shoes are size 22 and my inflatable red nose sometimes obscures the view through the windscreen too.

My feet are size 10. I'm just a bit more careful with where I stick my heel these days.

BigC

· #14 · Jan 2, 2002

That is a bit worrying - mine are size 15 (UK). I didn't notice a problem during test drives but I'll check more carefully when I finally get a chance to test an S...

Johnboy

· #15 · Jan 2, 2002

BigC said:
That is a bit worrying - mine are size 15 (UK). I didn't notice a problem during test drives but I'll check more carefully when I finally get a chance to test an S...

IMHO...I wouldn't worry about it unduly - just be aware of it.
I found it problematic if I put my heel too close to the pedal, therefore making my foot more upright.
I noticed I had to be quite careful in other small cars. We had a Ford Ka, and the pedals were so close together I had to be very careful not to catch my foot on the brake and accelerator at the same time!.... It was also difficult to find enough space to rest my clutch foot. I have broad feet.

Thankfully, the Mini is a nice wide car, and I have found the footwell to be comparatively roomy.

1 - 15 of 15 Posts

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