I have cosmoline dripping from the bonnet onto the front bumper and from the side scuttles onto the black plastic wheel arch. This stuff is pretty nasty and hard to clean up.

Anyone else?

 

the only 2 good uses for WD40 are removing road tar from your car and removing cosmolene from parts, in the aviation industry, we still get parts coated in cosmolene

the wd40 will not hurt the paint, but it will remove the wax, so a rewax will be in order

whatever your choice of soap will remove the wd40 residue

wd40 is basically kerosene + a propellant

wd40 was develped for the military to displace water from electrical wiring and moving parts, it is not considered a lubricant

wd = water displaceing, 40 = the 40th formulation tried

scott

 

I just had my first incident with it yesterday...my car is a year old (I've owned it for 2 months) and just saw some dripping from the corner of the bonnet, right near the side scuttles, and onto the wheel arches.

Obviously my car is not a CM, but it's strange that we both have cars that aren't brand new that have this issue all of the sudden.

 

Hot weather. It melts.

I was warned.

I went after mine with Goof-Off, which worked, but then I noticed why it was there: the hood bolts coated with it were body painted, but with chipped paint from assembly. So: they're trying to stop rust. I cleaned up the excess, and I'll do the rest once I get some touch up paint for the bolts.

 

Yup, I've got it too, running down the front bumper next to the headlights. :/

 

Even though I don't have a Countryman, I thought that I might chime in. Back when my car was new in '09 a lot of people had the black plastic pieces replaced because of the cosmoline. I never did and, frankly, I can't even tell that it ever dripped down onto the plastic and it leaked out for two summers. Someone else might have a different opinion but I'd personally hold off and see if it fades over time before doing anything drastic. It really did continue to leak out for two summers straight in Texas so for those of y'all that have slightly older cars that are just now doing it or are doing it again, it could be because last summer wasn't hot enough and your car is out in the sun more and/or getting hotter this year than before. It's annoying but it does eventually go away.

 

yup, i have it at the corner next to the scuttles too.

 

After 15 years of BMW's, I've had the stuff under the hood of several cars but I've never had it leak on the outer bodywork.

Thanks for the WD 40 tip BMWR606. I owe the CM a good detail over the next week or so, hopefully the stuff will come off. If not I'll let the dealer figure out how to get the stuff off during the first MINI subsidized oil change.

 

The cosmoline came off the bumper with a little polish and wax. This was not a full detail, I just cleaned the inside of the car really well and tried to remove the sticky stuff from the outside. I have vinyl cleaner in the other garage. I'll try that on the wheel arches when I get back there and do the full detail.

 

just washed the countryman today and noticed some streaks going down the front too

 

Same here, wheel well area

 

Is it greenish goo?

 

Mine is yellow goo. And yes, after a year of being OK mine is dripping again down the driver's side black fender flair. I caught it in time to remove this time, but I'm now away for 2 weeks with the car parked outside. I stuffed the holes where it is leaking from under the hood with paper towels while I'm gone...we'll see how that works. Had the same fender flair replaced under warranty last summer after if was marred. I'll have it (them) replaced again if I need to. This is ridiculous for any modern car.

 

I had the same problem with my 09 JCW (back when it was new) and had to have the wheel arches replaced. But haven't seen it return with my 11 CMS or my Roadster. As hot as it's been, I'm sure it would have appeared by now.

MsBrit

 

YUP, same here and what a mess, in the texas heat no wonder! I use acresolve type cleaner and I had already put a good wax on it first, but I do rewax the area where I use it again. I hope it stops soon, its almost a daily cleanup for me, 2 months so far!

 

did you just have it replaced because it was marred where you cleaned it? I just use a back to black conditioner on all the plastic and you cant tell at all. I also used clear silicone to plug areas around the grill to try to prevent more leaking......I do anything to avoid the dealer.....

 

I used a bit of brake cleaner to get it off the hood and fenders...then I followed up with Aerospace 303 protectant on the fenders....that stuff lasts for weeks on there and looks great.

 

Yes, the cosmoline "bit" into the plastic and then the cleaner the dealer used further marred the plastic. I could disguise it with a variety of products, but am unwilling to do that for a car that was brand new that I paid cash for.

 

Your dealer can submit the replacement of the wheel arches as a warranty issue. Once the cosmoline drips onto the arches it will leave a mark. Wait until the end of the hot weather and have them replaced.

 

Yes, it was covered under warranty. What a hassle to bring this car to the dealer to get the same things fixed over and over and over again. For me this refers to 1) cosmoline, 2) clutch squeaking/clicking, 3) driver's side window noise on autodown, 4) lower grill trim that won't stay in place. I'm now on at least my 3rd trip to the dealer to get each of these fixed and never once during my ownership have I received a survey from MINI regarding my service satisfaction.

 

Ha! ive been to the dealer maybe 5-6 times...I always get those survey things in my cup holder....and there's free gum @ the sales office. free i say!

 

So that is what that is oozing out. I have it coming out of the bonnet near the side scuttles. Just noticed it today.

Mike

 

Noticed it yesterday while detailing my Coupe. I did go at it with a good-quality carnauba-based wax, and, with some effort, it came off. I called my local dealer today and got the cosmoline story - too much splodged (technical term) between bonnet parts... Kind of like a Jammie Dodger, but only different. He mentioned that Mini-BMW will to a one-time replacement of any damaged parts... so I'll wait and try to make it acceptable looking until the heat of summer passes. If I can get it acceptably clean, I'll skip the replacement parts... Too many "fixes" (on other cars I've had) have resulted in other issues. Besides this, the car has been fantastic; only issue is that it's the daily driver for my wife.

 

when I take my CM through a car wash, the plastic molding that is over each of the wheel wells has spots on it afterwards, is this the same thing? This happened on my 06 Mini as well, but I never got around to figuring out what was causing these "wax spots" to appear on the plastic wheel well moldings after taking it through a car wash.

 

So it was 104-105 here in Texas last week and just noticed, what I know now, is cosmoline running down from the front on each side of the grill from the headlight.

What is the best way to clean this up? I tried wax, goo gone, nothing.