I was in for 30,000 mile service last week, SA informed me of the recall, noticed I had an aftermarket exhaust, and gave me the tips in case I put the stock system back on. By the way, 1st car I ever owned that had a brake fluid change after 30,000 miles.........

 

can someone post before/after pictures?

 

There are after pics on motoring file... If you click on the pic on motoring file, you can see a close up of what the shortened tail pipes look like. I'll go ahead and post the link again so you don't have to backtrack.

http://www.motoringfile.com/2009/02/...ory/#more-8436

Before pics can easily be found in this thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-r56-here.html

Hope that helps!

 

I agree 100%..let the owner make the decision...How about bumper hitches!!!ever run into one of those? Maybe a new law will say no more bumper hitches...they are dangerous OH, and don't look into the direct sun light either........I heard it could bling you.

 

It's okay.

There's no need to panic or do anything rash.

Just put down the bedazzler and I'm sure we can work something out.

 

Just think of it as circumcising your pipes. Just keeps things from getting infected.

 

Wow, that might have been stepping over the line a wee bit.

 

Before.....Attachment 40272



After.....Attachment 40273




Seriously, though,
I have 2 of these marks, one on each leg!

My 1969 MGB left a wicked burn mark on my left leg - several times - over the many years I've owned it.

08 MINI Cooper (non-S) left a matching one on my right leg last summer.

I don't think I'm an idiot (others may disagree...), it is very easy to do if you are not thinking for a moment or two.

Is it worth a lawsuit? No! After the initial shock and pain, I thought it was hilarious. Both British cars - - both have "branded" me as their own. Kind of a strange bonding experience, if you get my drift. Like Angelina Joli and Billybob Thornton swapping viles of blood, but not nearly so creepy.

But... if I look at it from BMW's perspective, I would definitely have those tips changed, too. What if my burn became infected and caused me some real medical problems? Someone (a lawyer, for example) could say that BMW were responsible since they designed the exhaust in such a way as to allow my injury to happen with no fault/action on my part. ("Seriously, your honour - I just leaned in to take something out of the trunk, and ZAP!! - searing pain in my leg!"). Changing those tips shows they're being proactive about a perceived problem, making a lawsuit less likely.

Anyway, the new ones look the same as the old, to my eyes at least.

 

Moxie,

I didn't look at the photos, but I can tell you in my case I ended up with the burn mark on the back of my leg on my calf muscle. I was standing by the back of my Mini with my side to the car - a 90 degree angle if you will. I turned so I roughly had my back to the Mini to say something to my kids at the end of the driveway. Between the twisting action in my leg and shifting weight, I ended up getting burned. Not real sure whether shifting one's weight or twisting a leg counts as carelessness. Or maybe it was the standing next to a car that was carelessness considering they so often have hot parts sticking out from them.

 

wow...just wow...my wife told me about this while I was on deployment...all I have to do is sit back and laugh...

 

Kevlar/asbestos leggings? Can wear them to be safe, or don't, and live on the edge!!!!

 

Just had my first oil change and told my SA twice NOT to change them out, but they did it anyway and didn't tell me. Didn't notice until the next day when I thought my tips sure looked much cleaner than usual. (I tried to keep up on cleaning the first set)

At first I was pissed as I told them specifically not to change them out as I liked the look and the sound my R56S. Now I know I might be just a bit **** here, but I can swear my MINI lost a little of its "growl" with the new tips. Oh well, they don't look THAT much different now, but I miss the "growl"

I really hate people that don't take responsibilty for their own actions. A very embarassing American trait. I don't see a single complaint from MINI owners anywhere is the world, just from stupid Americans. Yea, I said it, so sue me. Its what you do, right? Wish BMW/MINI would give the Cold Start Clatter B.S. the attention it needs. Its much more serious than a bunch a tail pipe tips. There, my 2 cents. Cheers.

 

yup, just got my letter saying it's mandatory, and that i "MUST" do this procedure.

Personally I don't want it done and will tell them that when I bring it in for service next time.

 

I received the letter about this matter today. BIG WHIP. It mentioned that BMW had notified me back in October about this. I guess I just overlook these IMPORTANT RECALLS hah hah. This is so much noise about nothing. QUOTE ME from the letter where it says the replacement is mandatory/voids your warranty. I'm waiting.
IF you're at the dealership for some other reason, tell them your stock tips are fine by you. I'd bet they'll then just GIVE you the replacements (put them in your hands...got it?) and POSSIBLY have you sign a waiver.
IF I'm at the dealership for an oil change (I do my own, but IF I was there for some reason, let's say, hypothetically) I'd tell them to leave it well enough alone unless they want to put the originals back on before I leave. Hell, I'll tape a piece of paper on the back bumper telling them to leave it alone, tell the service manager about it too as soon as I walk in. IT'S MY CAR. I'm an adult.
I can't count the burns I've received in my life from motorcycles and cars. This matter is just another example of people not taking responsibility for their own actions. It's an exhaust system, not an all day sucker! KEEP AWAY FROM IT. Really, look at the car. How hard is that to avoid? If those tips are dangerous, I'm lucky to be alive, given the other hot pipes I've worked around. Not to mention when I used to burn my fingers with those damn roaches. Who can I sue about THAT? Was there a recall I missed?
I walked out to the garage and stuff two inches of my tape measure up against the stock original tip on the car. I don't want my exhaust RECESSED under the car. It's just fine the way it is.
Now, anybody for milk and cookies??

 

Surfblue, you remind me of my friend Cameron. And, yes, that's a good thing.

 

I spoke to my dealership in Sterling Va. They told me that once it is madatory, they HAVE to change it out. No longer can they do a waiver. They said I would have to call MINI USA to try to work it out. Or I can get service at a non dealership.

Since it is now NHSTA, it is out of their hands..

Maybe they will be cool like some other folks and give you the parts and mark it in the system as done.

Not sure how that will work if you take it back to your next service though.

 

I got the letter in the mail as well. If this is mandatory, I'm thinking about skipping any work at the dealership. It's crazy!! It's an exhaust tip for goodness sake, of course it's hot. Moving it back 2" won't stop people from burning themselves.

 

I just had a thought (crazy, right?). If you take the tips off BEFORE you go in for service, they'd probably just go ahead and put the new ones on. And then you have the "safe" tips, and the "limited edition" tips.

I mean, they can't take the tips if you don't have them, right?

 

I had mine in for service last month and they said they didn't change mine because I had the JCW tips on. So I will ignore this recall again.

 

Do you have a full JCW exhaust? Or just the tips?

 

And moving it 2" back isn't gonna make it look any different.

Seriously, is it asking that much just to go "Hey, I got new tips. Shiny!"?

What's the deal? Do your old tips hold sentimental value?

 

Here's my problem with the whole burning situation.

I've stood at the back of my MINI and tried to get my legs close to the exhaust. It's difficult to do.

Method 1: Stepping up to the MINI's boot and having a foot planted almost under the exhaust. Standing in this position will allow you to touch the exhaust; however bending over to reach for items will throw you off balance, or move your leg out of the way.

Method 2: Walking perpendicular to MINI, and brushing the exhaust at a 90 degree angle. This seems to be the way most people get burned, but again, you have to be right up against the MINI.



This really does seem like overkill. I'm sorry folks got burned on the tailpipes, but it's like someone complaining that the airbag broke their thumb when it deployed. You know it's there and you know its purpose. It didn't just jump out at you at the last second. (Ok, well maybe the airbag did, but the tailpipe doesn't!)

Situational awareness. It can be quite helpful, and not just around your tailpipe of DOOM.

 

I'm calling BS on the "must do" part of the recall too. As stated before, it's your car and no one can force you to modify it. You will probably need to state that to the dealer when doing other services, maybe a waiver, take the parts etc, but they can't hold your car hostage until you agree to change the exhaust tips. I had an original 2000 year model FWD Audi TT that came with very neutral handling and no rear spoiler. After the car had been out a few months, it was noticed that the car had fairly high lift in the rear (still within acceptable engineering standards) but that with the combination of neutral handling had caused several high-speed fatalities in Europe, basically drivers over-reacted without the usual designed-in safety net of understeer. The "mandatory" recall of cars worldwide added a rear spoiler and new control arms that built in some understeer. Many enthusiasts felt like that was the best handling version of the car, lighter and more precise than even the quattro's that followed. There became a black market of sorts for the control arms because Audi quit selling the old ones and confiscated your original ones when they did the recall. To make a long story longer, I never did the recall, as did scores of other owners. After all these years, it's probably hard to find one that's still untouched, unless it's still got the original owner.

 

i had the same argument with the MINI SA. She said when it is mandatory, they cannot perform any service until the mandatory item is done. Otherwise they cant get paid for the reg service.

Prior to mandatory, they had a form I could sign and waive it. That is now not possible. She agreed that it is my car, but they had to follow the rules, and suggested I take it up with MINI usa 1-800 number.

1) It is MY car, and I dont want anyone telling me what to do with MY car if i choose to not go along with a change to the vehicle.

2) Aesthetics is important to me. Recessed pipe, to me, is the difference of it looking like an "cool" shiny "exhaust" tip, and it looking like a "butthole". lol


I purposely change out to shiny tips so they can be seen on all my vehicles. I even buy special wax for it.

 

Just the tips.