Took delivery on my new Mini-Cooper a week ago Friday. So far I am delighted. The handling, acceleration, --in short everything about the performance-- has been even better than I anticipated.

I was aware prior to purchase that many reviews of the Mini indicate that the instrumentation, --especially the controls and switches-- are a little quirky on a Mini, but I dismissed that as part of the charm of a British sports car.

One thing, however, that I have found extremely irrating is the center arm rest. I am wondering if anyone else is having this problem. It is factory installed and looks nice new. Not sure how nice it will look once the plastic is nicked-up, but overall the appearance is satisfactory.

My complaint has to do with the sliding cover on the armrest. Just the smallest movement of my arm on the cover of the armrest makes the cover come open. I can not have my arm on the armrest while shifting gears without the armrest cover slowly opening up an inch or two.

I have considered using super glue to glue the thing shut, --I would lose the ability to store stuff inside it but since there is such limited room in there anyway I am thinking that might be a resonable trade off in order to get an armrest that doesn't move all around under my arm.

Anyone else have this problem? How did you resolve it? Inspecting the armrest assembly reveals that it is really a design problem, the latch on the thing is not nearly substantial enought to keep the lid latched shut under normal arm movement.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

well, i can't be totally helpful because I haven't got my Mini yet, but i ordered the armrest because I always find that i'm resting my arm while driving. that may change with the shifting, we'll see.

i did notice when sitting a car in the showroom that the cover does slide a bit.

instead of super glue, what about a piece of velcro on the inside? I don't quite remember what it looks like inside, but maybe that would work?

 

Yup, have the same problem BUT I have to admit, after a month I've learned how much pressure it can handle. Mostly I have problems when getting in and out, if I put any pressure on it to gain leverage.... a little pressure and whoops, it's open. I find that I'm not having as much problem as I was the first couple of weeks just because I'm getting used to it and know how to put my elbow on it without opening it.

As to other solutions. I have none.