I am a new owner of a 2005 MINI Cooper S and I absolutely love it. We also bought a 2008 Clubman S for my wife, so we are a MINI Family. I've had my MCS for 3 months and have had nothing but fun driving. But when I took the car into Discount Tire to have a potential flat tire looked at, I was made aware that the front driver side tire was loose. The technician could physically move the tire about 0.5" on either side.

Not wanting to risk further damage, they aired up the tire and I took it in to the local MINI Service Center. They told me the hub had been damaged and would need replacement. Supposedly the damage was due to a bad pot hole or hitting a curb, but I can honestly say I have not experienced either. I also had never felt any vibrations through the steering wheel ever since getting the car and I have driven the car at various speeds, including some higher than posted speeds! I also had a wheel alignment done and nothing was noted as to the wheel being loose.

In summary, I love the car but want to understand how this could have happened. Has anyone experienced a damaged wheel hub and if so how did it happen? I could check as to whether the car may have been in an accident, which could explain the damaged hub but other than that I want to make sure the MINI Service department is being honest with me. I haven't had much luck with car service departments in the past and so my trust level is not there. Hopefully they are being straight with me.

Thank you in advance for listening and for any help or suggestions. I look forward to continuing the driving experience that can only be had by a MINI Cooper S and learning from fellow drivers and maybe helping others in this forum. Cheers to All!

 

I don't have experience with this issue, but I wish you luck in getting it fixed.

Always love to hear from a multi MINI family!

 

I can't think how the hub would be damaged without damage to wheel & tire.
The hub is basically a bearing for the wheel to attach to and spin. Since it is a bearing it is more likely to just have a bad hub. Very easy to fix. Only held on by 4 bolts. You can get a cheap junk hub mfg. in China for $40.00 or get a quality hub by SKF for about $180.00. You get what you pay for!

 

Sounds to me like the front hub bearing failed - it happens. Replace them both if you do anything, and don't buy Chinese bearings unless you want to do it again shortly...

I'm not anti-Chinese, but I am anti-Chinese bearings. I've had too many fail in industrial applications. Buy US, German, English, Japanese etc, no problems with them...

 

The real question is: is your MINI service center telling you the truth, or trying to sell you something you don't need. Just because it has the MINI name on it, doesn't mean they are above reproach. Maybe an independent 2nd opinion?

 

First of all thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I asked the person who was helping me as to why the wheel rim or the tire for that matter had not been damaged and yet the wheel hub was and his response was it could have been the angle of the impact that damaged the hub but not the rim. I just can't come to seeing how this happened and I agree a second opinion would be justified, but I really want my car back and didn't want to go around spending more time without it. I know this sounds like a kid talking, but who can't say the kid in all of us comes out when driving their MINIs!

In any case they are fixing the car and it should be ready by tomorrow after some unwanted delays, due to the incredibly cold weather we're having here in Texas. The replacement parts should be quality parts coming from the MINI Service Center, but then again there's not many items that aren't made in China! I'm also not against the Chinese and the world is getting smaller and smaller....

As I mentioned I am new to the world of MINIs and after reading through several postings and the DYI's, I'm learning there's a price to pay for all the fun I get out of my MCS. Preventive maintenance is a must and the more I can do myself, the better I can sleep at night knowing the job was done to my expectations and at costs I can live with.

I will ask one last thing. Is there a DYI out for wheel hub replacement? I've looked around but didn't find anything.

Well, Thanks again to all. The kid in me will be out in full force tomorrow!!!

 

Whether or not the service dept. is being honest, you have to replace it or risk an accident, and make sure the new hub is oem.

 

Well I got my MCS back and it was joy! Since I've had the MINI, I got used to the feel and the noises the car has, so I didn't know any better. But now that I've had the Hub replaced...what a difference. Other than the better "feel" when driving, some of the noises that I had come to know as being part of the car, were gone. So there definitely was a need for a new Hub. I have to believe the Dealer was being honest with me.

Nevertheless,for the price I paid for the repairs I'm definitely going to try to replace the Hub myself next time or at least take it to a different repair shop where they may offer a better deal.

Well this case is closed now and once again Thanks to all for your comments, suggestions and support. Cheers!