Stock MCS exhaust burns leg - photo

[chows4us]

Originally Posted by ImagoX

What I'm saying is that, in my opinion, this placement is a bad decision, or at the least that anything that hot should be sheilded.

Your line of reasoning makes no sense. Read your manual. It clearly warns you not to touch it.

If I follow your reasoning, what do you do with hot stove tops? Not cook?

What if you have a wood burning stove? Go ahead and touch the top of one of those things and see if you dont get burnt.

However ... the manual will CLEARLY tell you NOT to touch the hot oven. You do .... then duh.

[ImagoX]

Originally Posted by chows4us

Your line of reasoning makes no sense. Read your manual. It clearly warns you not to touch it.

If I follow your reasoning, what do you do with hot stove tops? Not cook?

What if you have a wood burning stove? Go ahead and touch the top of one of those things and see if you dont get burnt.

However ... the manual will CLEARLY tell you NOT to touch the hot oven. You do .... then duh.

Um.... this isn't the same thing as voluntarily touching it and it has nothing to do with what is or is not in the manual... The exhaust is mounted right beneath the handle, and obviously people are accidentally brushing up against it when they lean into the car. Good design = avoids accidents (or it should at least strive to avoid them). I'd personally say that if multiple people are all getting burned in the same way, then that's an issue that should be identified as a desirable fix, and it would surprise me if Mini's not already working on a solution.

But... whatever man. Really. :impatient

Eventually one of two things will happen... someone at Mini will say "hey, I hear that people are accidentally hitting that hot pipe despite the warning in the manual - we should fix that in the next iteration" (likely), or someone will do something weird like a lady in a skirt will lean into the trunk, get burned, will finch away and slip on the ice, bang their head, miscarry, then will sue Mini for $16 million dollars (unlikely - but weirder things have happened, believe me) and THEN it will get fixed via mandatory recall, driving up everyone's cost.

[litabelle]

Originally Posted by chows4us

Your line of reasoning makes no sense. Read your manual. It clearly warns you not to touch it.

If I follow your reasoning, what do you do with hot stove tops? Not cook?

What if you have a wood burning stove? Go ahead and touch the top of one of those things and see if you dont get burnt.

However ... the manual will CLEARLY tell you NOT to touch the hot oven. You do .... then duh.

I don't understand your continued argument. Do you think people actually meant to touch the exhaust and get burned?

No.

Of course we know not to purposely touch a hot exhaust pipe. Of course we know not to purposely touch a hot stove. That's just common sense.

What the original message in this thread was trying to address was whether a modified design could prevent accidental contact. That's all. That's what I believe ImagoX is trying to get across.

There. Simple message since I don't thnk you're reading ImagoX's messages all the way through.

[chows4us]

Originally Posted by litabelle

I don't understand your continued argument. Do you think people actually meant to touch the exhaust and get burned?

No.

Of course we know not to purposely touch a hot exhaust pipe. Of course we know not to purposely touch a hot stove. That's just common sense.

What the original message in this thread was trying to address was whether a modified design could prevent accidental contact. That's all. That's what I believe ImagoX is trying to get across.
.

First, I dont think your assumption is true. The originator seemed shocked that his sons leg was burned. Wow ... 3 times its a safety issue ... this tells me they actually thought the exhaust would NOT be hot.

How can that be when the manual clearly states the exhuast is HOT???? I really do not think people read the manual. You have been warned ... clearly.

Can a modified design prevent contact? Maybe, maybe not. Do you really think the BMW engineers didn't think of this or just let it go??? Maybe they thought "Hey, how many ppl are going to burn their legs so we'll just forget about it?"

You really don't want any exhaust under the car where the fumes come come up into the cabin. There is a logical reason why tailpipes stick out ... so CO goes out the back and not knock you out while driving

Lets be a bit realistic here. READ your manual. Follow the directions and you won't get hurt. Since MINI clearly warned you of the consequences, trying to get them to do anything would be pointless since it would also then effect EVERY car maker ...

However, feel free to fight city hall. I can respect that.

[Android993]

What about slamming your finger in the door, or my favorite, which I still do is catch my head between the window and roof when some tool parks too close and I cant open the door all the way and you have to squeeze in?!!!

[Yucca Patrol]

Originally Posted by Android993

What about slamming your finger in the door, or my favorite, which I still do is catch my head between the window and roof when some tool parks too close and I cant open the door all the way and you have to squeeze in?!!!

Climb in through the boot!

[nolimit]

Originally Posted by Yucca Patrol

Climb in through the boot!

Still have to contend with the flaming hot exhaust tip.

[Yucca Patrol]

Originally Posted by nolimit

Still have to contend with the flaming hot exhaust tip.

Ok. . . climb in through the boot very carefully

[Motor On]

Originally Posted by ImagoX

This is NOT a motorcycle and, for better or worse, constant safety upgrades to vehicles have left us with the expectation that we do not need to watch out for things like red-hot pipes sticking back from our cars.

Please don't tell me you'll be hitting people if you drive an 07, because MINI had to make the hood so a pedestrian is less likely to get hurt if you hit them. Saying a car is engineered to be safe so one need not pay attention is scary reasoning. I have airbags but I never plan to make use of them. BTW redlights don't stop cars.

Exhaust = hot
Fire = hot
Heat burns.
Don't touch hot things.
Be aware of what is around you.

I haven't seen a recall on the tops of grills (the cooking not automotive type) and they look the same hot or cold and are easy to lean against.

I've been burned by the tips and it will only happen once. The MINI had been off for 1/2 hour to an hour (enough time to cool the tip with past cars) I was cleaning it and decided I didn't like the deposits that were on the tips ssssss not happening again.

One thing you may want to try is take an allan wrench and remove the chrome tips, then the actual tips won't stick out as far (and I prefer the look of the black tips on my black MINI but thats another story)

Yucca I think they'll need to make the wings logo into the tips before the exhaust branding craze takes off.

[IanF]

Originally Posted by motor on

Exhaust = hot
Fire = hot
Heat burns.
Don't touch hot things.
Be aware of what is around you.

Ditto. I've spent a lot of time working on MINIs yet I've managed to not get burned by the exhaust. We'Ve loaded and unloaded the car many times w/o getting burned by the stock pipes... I've doNE short-shift kit installs on cars parked for less than an hour. Lemme tell you that cat stay HOT for awhile... and I'm still unscarred from the experience.

I'm sorry, but if someone gets burned on the exhaust, they're not paying attention and it is in no way the car's fault. The only people who would suggest otherwise are liability suit lawyers...

[skidmike]

I burned the inside of my calf when I was a kid. The old VW beetles had these chromed exhausts that stuck out pretty far; I was reaching up to clean the back window and pressed the inside of my calf against one. Left a pretty good burn and taught me to look for hot parts before getting too close to a car. I have never burned myself on the MINI, but that's because of the lesson I learnt as a kid.

- mike

[foomanchu]

Originally Posted by ImagoX

I'm not even going to get into a discussion of the hot coffe thing (which was valid, BTW, seeing as how lots of places back then kept coffee FAR HOTTER than any human mouth could stand it to be, simply to be able to use it longer in the pot before replacing it - now they cool it down to merely "hot" instead of "volcanic")

Great, just what we need another Lawyer on the forum.

Boo

[Wookie]

Originally Posted by foomanchu

Great, just what we need another Lawyer on the forum.

Boo

That's the thing that scares me.. if layers get a hold of this new potential to cash in.

[agranger]

How about this warning sticker?

I don't mean to be flip about this... It could be designed differently and I'm sorry for the pain that your son is feeling right now.

[Gromit801]

Originally Posted by findude

This is the third time since Thanksgiving this has happened to someone, so this strikes me as a safety-related design deficiency.

Thoughts?

I'm sorry, but if after the FIRST time people don't remember that the pipes are there, it's their own fault for getting burned.

[ImagoX]

They could easily design a heat shield or something else that would make it safer, is all I'm saying. Of course "hot things will burn you" but that's not the point. Products are recalled ALL THE TIME because it is discovered that, when used properly, there is still a danger of people getting hurt. Are you going to tell someone who's toddler was just strangled by a collapsing playpen that "well, bars of metal compressing the throat will kill you don't let your child play with the release latch - DUH!" or "well, if you slide down in your seat (because there's no restraining bar in the center) then OF COURSE your head will become trapped, cutting off your oxygen - just don't let your kids slide down... DUH!" No, of course not - you'd expect that the manufacturer would fix the problem before more people get hurt.

Is this a huge deal? Probably not. Common sense is a wonderful thing. But I know for a fact that if it happened to me, i'd be complaining. If enough people do, then they'll fix the issue, probably with a voluntary recall and a replacement pipe end with a heat shield. Unfortunately, "business as usual" generally means that no such change happens until someone sues.

[chows4us]

Originally Posted by ImagoX

They could easily design a heat shield or something else that would make it safer, is all I'm saying. .

I don't understand what you are all complaining about. At least my manual clearly states ...

When driving, standing at idle, and parking the vehicle, take care to avoid contact between the hot exhaust system and flammable materials, e.g. hay, grass, leaves, etc. Such contact could lead to a fire resulting in serious personal injury and property damage.

Does anyone read their manual?

How can it be more clear than that?????

[DragonSlayer]

Originally Posted by chows4us

I don't understand what you are all complaining about. At least my manual clearly states ...

When driving, standing at idle, and parking the vehicle, take care to avoid contact between the hot exhaust system and flammable materials, e.g. hay, grass, leaves, etc. Such contact could lead to a fire resulting in serious personal injury and property damage.

Does anyone read their manual?

How can it be more clear than that?????

Manuals? We don't need any Stink'n manuals.

Only Metrosexuals and Chicks read the stink'n manuals.

[chows4us]

Originally Posted by DragonSlayer

Manuals? We don't need any Stink'n manuals.

Only Metrosexuals and Chicks read the stink'n manuals.

Lets not forget the gays, the clowns, and the people who keep asking whether an MCS requires premium gas

[MSFITOY]

Originally Posted by ImagoX

They could easily design a heat shield or something else that would make it safer...

Safer for my Mini...

Naaaa....hang them waaaay out and make sure it's flat black...then stand back and watch the action Seriously, "don't touch the car" is what tell my kid and no ones' been hurt yet...

[UberFisch]

Originally Posted by MSFITOY

Safer for my Mini...

Naaaa....hang them waaaay out and make sure it's flat black...then stand back and watch the action Seriously, "don't touch the car" is what tell my kid and no ones' been hurt yet...

F***ING A, man! Thats just awesome... This thread makes me laugh, yet I feel sorry for the burn victims. Long live the center-pipes!!!

[OmToast]

I think that an exhaust pipe (which has never, in my understanding of automotive history, been anything but hot) is a far cry from malfunctioning latches on children's swingsets. That's just silly.

If the majority of people have managed to remain unscathed by a non-abberation, it is also silly to change the whole set up for the few people who had to learn the hard way that exhaust gasses, and the metal pipes through which they pass, are hot.

If you get burned, slap on some antibiotic ointment of your choice and consider yourself recently educated and unlikely to repeat the incident.

[Gromit801]

I read a definition of insanity once that went like this: Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.

[DoubleNick]

Originally Posted by Gromit801

I read a definition of insanity once that went like this: Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results.

If you look closely at her post--she related it is the third time "someone" has been burned. I took that to mean it has happened to others--not just her son. If this has happened to the son 3x then I agree with your quote. A suggestion for him could be to take up playing the flute--no need to put it in the "trunk" it would be small enough to carry up front.

[Yucca Patrol]

Could this be the newest trend combining the automobile culture with the body modification culture?