Hey all, had a bit of an incident the other night and wanted to get your thoughts on what might be potential problems.

I was driving down this small highway exchange with really confusing lanes and markings. At the last minute I saw that I had to turn left to get into the proper lane, so I did, and promptly ran over the curb that I didnt see. It's my fault but granted it wasn't marked in any way and poorly lit. Anyway, the right side of the car went up and over it, left side stayed on the ground. My friend was behind me and said there was a big spark shower as it went over (~45 mph). My DSC light was flashing like crazy, and in a minute or two it stayed on permanently as well as the tire pressure sensor light. I was pretty angry but I upon examination I saw no visible damage (at least what i could see without jacking the car up) , and the tire doesnt even look flat (runflats and I can't find my pressure gauge). Nothing leaking on the garage floor as of Friday morning.

So right now, my symptoms are

1) DSC and TPS lights on solid
2) the steering wheels is about 20 degrees turned to the left when the car is going strait. If i let go, the car continues to go perfectly strait (the wheel remains turned 20 degrees).

I'm trying to schedule a service appt but this was Thursday night and I had to leave town for work Friday morning so I drove the Jeep.

Any thoughts on potential problems? I just don't want to get a new tire and alignment and find out that a tie rod or something is bent.

 

how high was the curb?

 

standard curb height, probably 5-7 inches.

 

There could be damage to the power steering pump/motor. I just brought my mini in for service because the TPS and DSC lights were both illuminated, and they said the Power Steering Pump Motor was failing and needed to be replaced. Or you may have really messed up the alignment, which is confusing the DSC and that is why those lights are both on. One more question -- is the temp gauge needle pegged to the left (overheat)? That's another sign the Power Steering Pump Motor is malfunctioning. The combination of DSC/TPS and/or Temp Gauge pegged to overheat (even though there is no overheat condition) seems to point to failing power steering. Maybe the curb smashed into the power steering fan and broke it? You might want to check under the car to see what, if any, damage was done to any of the parts. Good luck!

-boognish

 

Bent/Broken tie rods, control arms, spindles....

 

You probably damaged the wheel sensor so thats what setting off lights. Sound like you also bent a tie rod or some other front end part. I would take it in right away and get it checked out... good luck!

 

OMG you just described my worst nightmare.........

 

I've been known to do exactly that ... in fact I got both tires on one side up and over the curb at fair speed (not a MINI).

Results:

1. two tires replaced. One outright flat, the other slow leak. If you got runflats, you could have a flat

2. One wheel (steel) totally hosed.

3. Nothing bent underneath but a new alignment was necessary.

4. A bit of scraped trim down low ... you got to look closely.

 

I wouldn't even bother trying to make an appointment to bring it in... Just call MINI roadside and have them tow it in...

Given what happened and what you're seeing, you can very easily make the case that you're not comfortable or sure that the car is currently safe to drive...

If the car is brought in by roadside you've probably got a 90%+ chance that the car will be worked on Monday as opposed to waiting for your appointment...

 

Well I won't be back in town until next Friday. It's in my garage right now, and i DID drive it 20 miles home that night...

 

Im pretty sure your going to need new control arms. For sure see the front wheel isnt warped.

 

Well i got back into town and called Roadside. They send out a flatbed and we hauled her in last weekend. Just got her back yesterday after a new front right control arm, some sort of ball joint that was busted, and a couple other misc parts that were broke. It sounded as if it sheared off some bolts and that I was lucky it wasn't any higher or it would've been worse. Wheels have a couple nicks but they said they inspected them thoroughly and found no warping or tire damage. Say what you will for relatively heavy oem web spokes but apparently they can take a beating.

Parts, labor, and alignment and cost a pinch over 700. Not a small amount but i was expecting worse.

 

I've noticed you can set off the DSC and FTM lights if one wheel suddenly skips a bit further than the other, ie hitting black ice or a pothole. It always does it if you put it on a dyno. I've had it happen to me twice on the road, you usually just have to turn the car off and on again.