2003 MINI COOPER Complaints

WHILE DRIVING MY 2003 MINI COOPER, I NOTICED A CRACK IN THE BOTTOM MIDDLE OF THE WINDSHIELD. THE CRACK BEGAN UNDER THE TRIM, MOVED UP, TURNED A FEW INCHES UP, AND THEN SPREAD TOWARD THE PASSENGER SIDE. TWO WEEKS LATER, I BROUGHT THE CAR IN FOR IT'S FIRST SCHEDULED OIL SERVICE, WHERE I ASKED THE SERVICE ADVISOR, PETER WARK OF MINI OF THE MAIN LINE IN BALA CYNWYD, PA, ABOUT THE WINDSHIELD. HE PROCEEDED TO TAKE THE POINT OF A SMALL SCREWDRIVER AND RUN IT ALONG THE CRACK. ABOUT A QUARTER OF AN INCH ABOVE THE TRIM, AND IN A PLACE WHERE IT WOULD BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR A ROCK TO HIT, THE SCREWDRIVER CAUGHT A SMALL NICK IN THE GLASS, ABOUT THE SIZE OF A GRAIN OF SAND. HE INFORMED ME THAT THAT NICK WAS CAUSED BY A ROCK, WHICH CAUSED THE CRACK, WHICH WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER THE WARRANTY. HE THEN TOLD ME ABOUT HOW THE PROCESS THEY USE OF GLUEING THE GLASS ON CAUSES THE ENTIRE BOTTOM FEW INCHES OF GLASS TO BECOME VERY WEAK, AND THAT ANYTHING HITTING THE GLASS IN THAT AREA, EVEN A TINY ROCK, WOULD CRACK THE GLASS. I FOUND THIS TO BE UNACCEPTABLE, SO I CALLED THE MINI CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE AT 1-866-ASK-MINI. I SPOKE TO A "MARTY" WHO MERELY REPEATED OVER AND OVER THAT HE WAS "SORRY THEY MADE THAT DETERMINATION, BUT A ROCK CHIP IS NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY." AFTER RECEIVING NO HELP FROM THE COMPANY, I HAD THE DEALER REPLACE THE GLASS. I FEEL THAT THE REPAIR SHOULD BE COVERED BECAUSE THE WAY THEY MANUFACTURE AND ATTACH THE GLASS CAUSES WEAKNESS, AND THAT COULD BE CONSIDERED A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT, WHICH IS THE PRIMARY REASON FOR SUPPLYING A CUSTOMER WITH A WARRANTY. I HAVE VIDEO AND PHOTOS OF THE CRACK AND NICK, AS WELL AS RECEIPTS FOR THE REPAIR. THE CRACK WAS FIRST NOTICED AND SPREAD AUGUST 12, 2004 AND MY SERVICE APPOINTMENT WAS AUGUST 24, 2004.*AK

SPONTANEOUS CRACK FORMING IN MINI COOPER WINDSHIELD. OVERNIGHT, A CRACK APPEARED IN MY WINDSHILED STARING AT THE BOTTEM CENTER OF THE WINDSHIELD, MOVING DIRECTLY UPWARD ABOUT 5 INCHES THEN ANGLING 90 DEGREES TOWARDS THE DRIVER'S SIDE OFR SEVERAL INCHES. THIS IS THE 2ND TIME IN 6 MONTHS THAT THE SAME FRACTURE HAS APPEARER OVERNIGHT. FIRST WINDSHIELD WAS REPLACED.*AK

WAS DRIVING DOWN A 2-LANE CURVY ROAD AT NIGHT, DRY WEATHER, 75 F AT 30 MPH WHEN CAR BEGAN TO WHINE WHENEVER STEERING WHEEL WAS TURNED. AS I DECELERATED TO 10-15 MPH TO MAKE A 90 DEGREE RIGHT TURN AROUND A CURVE, THE STEERING WHEEL BECAME SUDDENLY EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO TURN. ALMOST T-BONED A CAR TRAVELING IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AROUND SAME CURVE. WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR BACK IN MY LANE, AND GET IT HOME, BUT NOT WITHOUT A LOT OF EFFORT. CALLED BMW SERVICE, THEY ACKNOWLEDGED THEY'VE SERVICED A FEW MINIS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, AND WAS MOST LIKELY A POWER STEERING PUMP FAILURE. CAR WILL BE TOWED TODAY. *JB

WINDSHIELD CRACKED ON MY MINI COOPER FROM DEBRIS ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH MINI COOPERS. DOZENS AND DOZENS OF MINI OWNERS HAVE COMPLAINED ABOUT THIS ON THE MESSAGE BOARDS ON WWW.ROADFLY.ORG. THE WINDSHIELDS ON THESE CARS ARE PRONE TO CRACKING. I'VE ONLY HAD MY CAR FOR 1.5 YEARS AND ONLY HAVE 5000 MILES ON IT. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'VE HAD SOMETHING HIT MY WINDSHIELD. IF SO MANY OWNERS ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS, IT SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO WARRANT SOME SORT OF INVESTIGATION INTO THESE WINDSHIELDS AND WHY THEY ARE SO PRONE TO CRACKING. *AK

COMPUTER(S) FAILURE RESULTING IN A LOST OF ABILITY TO MOVE FORWARD OR REARWARD. THE ENGINE COMPUTER(S) HAVE BEEN REPLACED AS WELL AS THE TRANSMISSION.

I OWN A 2003 MINI COOPER S AND LIKE MANY OTHER OWNERS OF MINIS, MY WINDSHIELD IS CRACKED IN TWO DIFFERENT PLACES. I DO BELIEVE MINI SHOULD COME UP WITH A NEW DESIGN AND DO A RECALL. *AK

THE SLIGHTEST PEBBLE CAUSES STARS, CHIPS, AND CRACKS IN MY MINI COOPER WINDSHIELD. I'M ON MY THIRD ONE AND IT ALREADY HAS 2 STARS AND A CHIP. I'M TIRED OF REPLACING IT, BUT IT'S A STRUCTURAL SAFETY ITEM.

BMW MINI COOPERS HAVE DEFECTIVE WINDSHIELDS THAT CRACK REPEATEDLY WITHOUT ANY TYPE OF IMPACT. THE GLASS CRACKS DUE TO STRESS OR TEMP. CHANGES. NOT RELATED TO STONE IMPACTS. CHECK OUT THE WINDSHIELD CRACKING THREAD ON THE MINI2.COM WEB SITE. WE ARE ON OUR 2ND WINDSHIELD IN TWO WEEKS. BMW IS COVERING UP THE PROBLEM WHILE QUIETLY INTRODUCING STRONGER GLASS. *JB

LARGE WINDSHIELD CRACK SUDDENLY APPEARED WITHOUT EVIDENCE OF ANY IMPACT TO THE WINDSHIELD. *AK

THE MINIS WINDSHIEL BEING SOFT AND WEAK WHICH LEAVES IS MORE PRONE TO PITTING, CHIPPING AND TO CRACKING. *AK