So my steering wheel has had this issue where it would make loud creaking sounds and vibrate as I would turn the wheel. I had the steering bit replaced twice under warranty. The last time it done was about four to five month ago? Anyways...today I am at 50,200 miles AND the steering wheel is doing the same ********...but with a new trick now: the steering wheel turns by itself. When I was stopped at a light today, the damn steering wheel started to turn left and right centimeters at a time!!! WTF?!? This actually happened 15 minutes ago. I **** you not.

So will the dealership fix this since this was a warranty repair that's been performed twice so far? It obviously not safe at all.

Or will the dealership try and screw me over?

I'm too pissed off to call anyone right now....

 

You have the Ouija Steering Wheel option!
Next time close your eyes and concentrate while driving, and see where you end up.


(forgive me, couldn't help myself on that one).

 

That is sketchy for sure. No one can say what your dealership will do except the dealership. Take it in, remain calm but be firm. Good luck, let us know how it works out!

 

well, if u had paid for the repair MINI would warrant the repair for 2 years so I'd agrue that a repair they made under warranty should have the same. Dunno how far that would go but worth a try . . .

 

its been 4 hrs since i've called them. looks like they aren't calling back... sigh. gonna call them again.

and for reference to you MINI owners, this is the East Bay MINI dealership in Pleasanton, California.

 

be nice, be patient - it's your best approach!

give them a chance to come to the same conclusion that you have -- if they're wise they will step up for you.

if they do not step up given what you have described, i would be appalled!

charlie

 

they called back yesterday and today. they will be fixing it under warranty-warranty.

 

dealership called today. they said its the steering rack, and that it would need to be replaced. they also said that since my car is a few hundred miles over warranty, they would have to fight BMW for me to get the part and labor serviced under "goodwill".

they also said that the previous two steering warranty work had nothing to do with the steering rack. the thing is that i've complained about the steering noise and vibrating jerkiness many times before (earliest logged on those service printouts on 02/02/09 @ 18k miles) before the dealership ran into the same issue i was complaining about (on 12/04/10 @ 46k miles). they "fixed" the problem by replacing the SZL on 12/10/10. then the problem came back, so they "fixed" the problem again on 12/18/10 by replacing the airbag.

the problem came back a couple weeks later, but i was just too busy with work to complain more about it.

out of curiosity, today i googled for "steering rack failures in mini coopers" and surprisingly i found A LOT for the 1st Gen and 2nd Gen MINIs:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/first-gen...ring-rack.html
http://www.mini2.com/forum/first-gen...ring-rack.html

all displaying the same crunching/vibrating issues that i was complaining about.

it seems like BMW/MINI SHOULD be fixing this free of charge since i complained about it thousands of miles ago before they did anything about it. and even then, the diagnosis was wrong and they didn't replace the right part to begin with.

am i right?

 

be sweet, be kind, bring them coffee - let them impress you with their mighty battle with BMW, and cross your fingers

and once they have done the work - shop for another place to get your maintenance done

i'm not convinced that they are jerking you around, although I certainly sympathize with your frustration

i'm not impressed with their diagnostic effectiveness either

just my 2 cents...