Anyone had a problem with their Mini pulling hard to the right when braking? Happens every once in awhile when I'm stopping at an intersection. Steering wheel rotates completely around as well. Brake dust on the wheels perhaps? Thanks for your diagnosis. 2006 MC.

 

Greetings-

I'm not a mechanic, so please take these thoughts with a grain of salt and use your own common sense. It seems as though there might be several potential contributing factors. If the problem only happens occasionally but not always, I would be reluctant to suspect anything in your brake system (pads/rotors/master cylinder). Of course, you've already checked the fluid level in your brake reservoir, just to be sure. Right? Power steering working and fluid level okay? And checked the wheel lug bolts for proper torque (just in case some might be loose).

Are there any other factors, like a recent service appointment right before this problem began? Or are you overdue for a service? Perhaps you hit a bad pothole or were in an accident? Any strange vibrations or noises coming from the front suspension? Could something be loose or missing from your steering linkage?

A likely culprit is a phenomenon called (I think) tramlining, where tires in a depression tend to pull towards the uphill side. Some tires are much worse at this than others. This happens mostly where ruts or depressions are worn into the pavement, and the car feels like it's being pulled strongly to one side or the other. Another thing to check is your tire pressures, looking for low pressure in the right front.

Is there anything that tends to make the problem repeat in a predictable way, maybe braking on a specific stretch of roadway, like always at the same intersection that you mentioned? Maybe it only happens when the brakes are cold (or hot)? Finding the common factor in this situation will help you diagnose the problem. From what you've shared so far, I vote for tramlining caused by ruts in the pavement.

However, if the steering wheel rotates completely around (as you stated in your post) and you're holding it as tightly as you can, then there must be so much force being applied to the steering gear of the car that you can't resist it. If that's true, then you have a potentially dangerous situation and you need to have your car checked out by a competent mechanic ASAP.

Anybody else have ideas?

 

Only one other thought: pulling to the right could be caused by a failure on the left. If there was something stuck between your pad on rotor on the front left, I'd expect that kind of behavior. Anything else that would cause the front left to not compress could do it too.

 

Hypnohealer,

Thanks for giving me a few things to consider. I've gone ahead and answered some of your questions in hope it might help narrow down the problem. Some severe tramlining may very well be the culprit.

I'm not a mechanic, so please take these thoughts with a grain of salt and use your own common sense. It seems as though there might be several potential contributing factors. If the problem only happens occasionally but not always, I would be reluctant to suspect anything in your brake system (pads/rotors/master cylinder). Of course, you've already checked the fluid level in your brake reservoir, just to be sure. Right? Power steering working and fluid level okay? All OK And checked the wheel lug bolts for proper torque (just in case some might be loose). All OK

Are there any other factors, like a recent service appointment right before this problem began? No Or are you overdue for a service? No Perhaps you hit a bad pothole or were in an accident? No Any strange vibrations or noises coming from the front suspension? No Could something be loose or missing from your steering linkage? Will have it checked, but no other indications except for the braking

A likely culprit is a phenomenon called (I think) tramlining, where tires in a depression tend to pull towards the uphill side. Some tires are much worse at this than others. Has happen with two sets of tires This happens mostly where ruts or depressions are worn into the pavement, and the car feels like it's being pulled strongly to one side or the other. Another thing to check is your tire pressures, looking for low pressure in the right front. Tire pressure OK

Is there anything that tends to make the problem repeat in a predictable way, maybe braking on a specific stretch of roadway, like always at the same intersection that you mentioned? I don't think so but my right tire might be off the pavement and riding slightly lower in the gutter. I'll take note of this next time I'm at the intersection. My sense is that this should not be happening Maybe it only happens when the brakes are cold (or hot)? I'll take note of that next time it happens Finding the common factor in this situation will help you diagnose the problem. From what you've shared so far, I vote for tramlining caused by ruts in the pavement.

However, if the steering wheel rotates completely around (as you stated in your post) and you're holding it as tightly as you can, then there must be so much force being applied to the steering gear of the car that you can't resist it. I don't try to keep it from turning as I'm almost at at stop. The pulling only occurs occasionally when I'm coming to a stop. Normal braking otherwise and no steering pull If that's true, then you have a potentially dangerous situation and you need to have your car checked out by a competent mechanic ASAP.
Most definitely

 

It could be a brake bias issue which is not easy to diagnose, but is simple to fix with caliper replacement. Or, perhaps one pad is glazed.

I had this symptom and discovered transport shims still in place on one front strut. Put the front on stands and have a peek under the strut’s dust boot.

 

eastmtmini-

Sounds like you're well on your way towards a diagnosis, and have considered all of the likely culprits and eliminated most of them. Based on your feedback, I still vote for tramlining. The ruts don't have to be very deep or obvious for this to happen, and it will almost always be more noticeable when braking, as more force is exerted on the front tires. If you have access to another car, it might be interesting to try to duplicate the problem at the same intersection.

Both of the other posters had excellent suggestions, too. I'm thinking that the key to discovery is to find a consistent pattern, if there is one.

Anyway, drive safely until it's fixed, and good luck!

 

Check for crushed or kinked hydralic brake lines and hoses. They do run under car and can be crushed by junk on the road.

 

Sounds like a problem similar to the 04 MC manual transmission. I was test driving last week.

I would accelerate hard to 60 mph and then brake quickly to test the brakes out. I did this about 3 or 4 times. Each time I braked hard, instead of rolling to the right like the OPs car did, this car would roll a little bit to the left.

What is the culprit? The car doesn't roll to the left when I am accelerating. Uneven braking distribution?

 

My car does this at certain intersections and it varies by what lane I'm in. It seems much worse since installing the wider tires so I'm assuming it's due to the road surface. Still, I've also had a car do this (not too badly) when tire was low on air, I'd think the MINI tire warning light would come on but maybe it's not low enough to trigger that but still low enough to exacerbate the situation under certain conditions.