I've put about 2,500 miles on my new Countryman over the course of the past three weeks. So far, he's awesome, except for one problem: steering over bumps. I've driven cars that have experienced slight pulls when going over bumps, but it's been down right dangerous in my Countryman. has anyone else had problems? it's most noticeable when i'm on highway on/off ramps, which are often curved with expansion joints. But really, if i hit any bump with the steering wheel turned more than, maybe, 5 degrees off center, the wheel is jerked out of my hands in the direction of the steer. once it was while passing a mac truck. Needless to say, it was rather terrifying. The dealer is looking at the car, but so far says it's nothing out of the ordinary. Anyone else have better advice for me??

 

I have the All4 and 6,000 miles. I don't have the problem you are stating. I have driven over lots of bumps, rough road and potholes. Unless it is prevalent in the FWD versions your steering may be off.

Bill

 

Thanks Bill. The dealer says it's just how the suspension/steering is designed and no one else has complained. I'm not sure they grasped the scope of my concern. Naturally the dealer is more than an hour away, so i don't know the roads well enough to just take them to a particular bump and show them. My quest continues....

 

What car are you coming from? The CM grips the road very well, especially if you have 18's. When I first got an Infinity FX I thought the same thing, but came to find out it just had an extremely fine tuned and sensitive suspension. Like you, I mostly noticed it when going over bumps. The CM also has the run flats which due to their rigidity makes bumpy roads even more of a challenge. Then again, just because the service department took a quick look at it does not mean there is not a problem somewhere in your steering or suspension systems. Lots of parts that could fail and cause problems. Any steering wheel shimmy at higher speeds?

 

I don't feel this problem. 3000 kms on mine already.

I do have the sport suspension, AWD and the 18" rims as well. What I do notice is a slight unsettling mid-corner of the rear-end, if I go over a bump, say, a manhole cover, but the car settles back nicely on acceleration, and only when driving aggressive.

 

My '05 MCS would always pull when accelerating and going over a seam or uneven patch in the road.. The one thing I have noticed with my CM is that it seems like it might want to do that but I can tell it is somehow auto-correcting itself... at least that's the impression i'm getting. I have an automatic transmission and maybe that is part of it....

 

I found this article and thought of you, kghess11.

Of particular interest was this...

Growing pains


The Countryman's added height and weight conspire to work against the go-kart handling that the brand is famous for. The Countryman is still maneuverable, just less so. My car had 18-inch run-flat tires which were extremely loud on the freeway and gave precious little cushioning on the bumps.

Worse, the entire car lurches whenever it encounters a bump mid-corner, wrenching the steering wheel the opposite way. All problems that could potentially be fixed with a different tire choice.

The mega Mini does mean trading in a few Mini-like characteristics. But for many customers, the extra space inside is worth the car's growing pains.



Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...#ixzz1PM8zn5Sw

 

Thanks everyone for the replies. My previous car was an '04 Cooper. In pretty much any car i've driven, i've noticed a small degree of bump steer in various instances, but it's never been this dramatic. Except for this issue, the Countryman (base model, manual transmission) has no steering issues for me. This doesn't seem to be related to acceleration, just degree of turn and speed when hitting the bump. She definitely hugs the curves well, except when there's a bump and then i'm momentarily out of control. I'm curious if the run flats may be exacerbating the problem, but the dealer didn't think changing the tires would make a difference.

 

Ooooh. Thanks! That's the closest thing I've seen out there indicating someone else has bump steer problem too.

 

No problem. Just obsessing while I wait....

 

Mine has encouraged me to change lanes a bit quicker than I initially anticipated when hitting sections of rough road in a few occasions.

Reminds me to keep my hands on the wheel and pay attention

 

An update for those who are curious, I took my CM to my local mechanic and he is convince the run-flats are majorly contributing to the problem. He says the tires on my car are designed for a heavier vehicle and thus do not give over the bumps like tires ordinarily would. Mini and I are now in the painful process of trying to resolve this so we're both happy.

 

which tires do you have?

 

I have runflats. continentals, i believe.

 

The continental runflats are pretty much OEM-only equipment for Mini and the BMW 3 series. They arent truck tires. Might want to just take it to the dealer or find a different mechanic. To me at least, the truck tire explanation doesnt make any sense, FWIW.

 

I have a 2006 base mini cooper and I think the power steering is shot. It gets extremely stiff when turning to a full lock at either to the left or to the right. Anyone else experienced his before?

 

RUNFLATS ARE THE DEVIL. ditch em. you're drive will be much smoother.

 

Has anyone changed from their runflats and gotten better handling??? I too have this problem and am getting nervous to drive on the highway!

 

Has anyone changed from their runflats and gotten better handling??? I too have this problem and am getting nervous to drive on the highway!

 

i have 300 miles on my CMS4, and boy the first thing i notices turning with a bump will shift your hand position from 12 oclock to 3pm to 12 again. one day i have a feeling i am going to add screams

 

I'm on 17" non-runflat's right now for winter tires. WORLD of difference. I'm not looking forward putting back my 18" RFT's in April.

 

My wifes Countryman has the exact same problem. When driving into off ramps with transitions the car has terrible bump steer. You are not alone.

I'm not sure that it is by design as it is kind of dangerous for such a short wheelbase platform. Typically this bump steer is adjusted out with proper design of steering and front suspension linkages. The length of the front tie rod end links can also contribute to this problem if they are set too short or long.
As a long time racer I am familiar with adjusting for this and recently modified my 09 Challenger after I dropped her 1 1/2 inches with coil-overs. I had to add a similar amount to the tie bar end links. Before that the car had a serious mid corner push due to the Ackerman steering angle being too far off from design.

The tire explanation is likely not the real culprit here.

 

Do you have run flat tires?
Mine did the same thing......I almost wrecked into a minivan on the highway due to this!! I changed to regular tires and the problem was solved. No more pulling :0). Hope this helps!

 

I think they are run flats.
I know they are less forgiving to the road surface. If the compression of the tire is used as compromise for a problem in the suspension it does not fix the problem but rather masks it with a less responsive feel in the steering. What will happen when it gets really hot out and the tire pressure goes up (one pound per 10 degrees F)?
I know I check my tire inflation regularly but many don't. As soon as those tires are pushing 40 psi they'll react just like that run flat used to. And then that pesky bump steer will haunt you again.

The reason why the car is trying to turn abruptly when in a corner and hitting a bump is because the steering angle changes as the front wheel is raised in the suspension. It's a shame you had to buy new stickers to fix an issue that shouldn't be present from the factory

 

I must say that I haven't noticed this at all on my 2012 CM in the first 1800 miles, with 17" OEM Conti runflats and sport suspension. Just ran an autocross on a lot with a bumpy surface and it handled well with no signs of bump steer. I do know about bump steer in general after 12 years of road racing and 30 years autocrossing experience.