Has anyone else wiith an 05 have this problem? A weird sappy and sticky goo has appeared right above my MINI badge on the boot door, directly under the rear wiper shaft. I was able to get it off the clear coat carefully using bug and tar remover, but the goo stained the chrome trim. Looks like an interaction between the washer fluid and the rubber next to the chrome, but I can't be sure. I though I saw a post somewhere here or on M2 that addressed this problem, but cant find it now. Any help or theories appreciated. Jimbo

 

yup, you are right its coming from the windshield wiper fluid nozzle. Same thing happening to mine......

 

what's super weird here is that I've not used the rear wiper or washer in about a week. Also didnt notice this goo when it was lightly dirty last week. Is this a dealer-addressable problem?

 

I've got it too, it's not easy to get off. This may be capable of serious damage to the paint/chrome over the long term.

I'm going to investigate ways of stopping it this weekend, will let you know.

 

I had posted this observation about strange excretions emanating from the boot window washer last month. Mine has slowed--must be running out of excrement. Good idea to monitor/clean it daily till you get to the dealer. By now--maybe they have figured out the problem. Interesting that it appears to only happen to 05's. Nick

 

Well they did change the 05's rear wiper sprayer. Also I have it also.

 

I noticed last week that my '03 had a peculiar transparent dried funk all along the bottom back window trim. I scrubbed most of it off, but can still feel it in places. Same stuff, I wonder?

 

Well U guys'll love this one: according to the service manager at Schomp MINI in Denver, the boot goo is a remnant of the transoceanic shipping process, specifically, Cosmaline (sp)?, the paraffin wax coating all european BMW products are coated with before they're shipped, to prevent salt damage. The entire car, minus interior, is covered with this stuff (yes the engine too!) The VDC is supposed to get of it through agressive power washes but sometimes not all of it is eradicated (look under the bonnet, say on the strut towers next to the engine and you'll might see the same dried-on stuff)

Well, the weird boot goo is leftover Cosmaline that VDC missed that's trapped inbetween the rubber trim and the glass--and the rear wiper blade assembly as well--that's worked it's way out, with weather, heat, boot usage, etc. According to the SM, once it's all out, it should not return. Nope it's not anything to do with defective rear wipers or spray jets, thank goodness I love solving a good mystery :smile: Jimbo

 

Thanks for the detective work!

Now, what's the best way to get rid of the stains under the wiper?

 

dunno about the stains under the wiper tho. try Windex wipes, they worked OK on mine. My concern is stuff that dripped onto my paint above the badge left a noticable wake mark, looks like I'll have to claybar it.

must say tho I am seeing less of it now than last week. Jimbo

 

Thanks. Sounds almost logical. Mine seems to have stopped. Took delivery on 8/23/04.

 

I think overnight moisture accelerates the oozing process, because I cleaned off what little cosmagoo I had on my boot last nite, and this (humid) AM (I park outside) I noticed more was there. Man this stuff is a pain in the ***. Jimbo

 

It IS very mysterious, I'll just keep waxing over it until I figure a way to get rid of the stains. There's no use going to any trouble to remove the stains if they're just going to reappear!

If anyone finds a fix for this, please post it. Thanks for the info, everyone.

 

I figured I'd bring this thread back instead of posting again. I did a search and this was the thread with the most info.

I'm having this problem also. I took delivery of my car almost a month ago and it's still "oozing goop". Anyone have a fix or does it go away after awhile?

It looks horrible on a Pepper White car and I'm starting to worry about permanent stains.

 

Yep, me too! DON'T LET IT GO FOR LONG!!!! Was at the dealer this week for mysterious air bag light off/on's...and had them look at goo around the rear badge. They claybarred at the dealer...no help...have waxed it off in the past...recently though it has just really built up with our Wisconsin desertlike summer. It's going back in next week and they're going to wet sand the area that has been affected and put a new badge on. Glad I found this thread!! So, yes, this may be an issue for us newbies with '05's...oh, yeah...looks really bad on the P. White

 

I never saw this problem on my '02 and the postings about this only mention the '05s. Since the rear washer was resigned it seems this has something to do it.

The goo that's seen when the car is new may be cosmoline, but if it were residual from under the seal around the rear window, as the service manager at Schomp MINI in Denver says (according to sequence, above) why does it appear in the same place on all cars. i.e. right under the spray nozzle?

While washing the car I ran just about all the original fluid in the reservoir out the rear washer to flush the line. Replaced with normal blue-stuff-in-a-bottle washer fluid. I still notice a few dried drops under the nozzle, but these are easily removed. While this may be the effect of extra Cosmoliine, it's looking more like the rear nozzle may leak a bit.

 

Its not cosmaline at all. According to many posts on other forums, its the stock winshield washer fluid supllied with the car from the factory. The stuff they use is apperatnly very potent and stains the paint. Its recommended that you siphon the remaining fluid from the reservoir and re-fill with the blue stuff... either that or syphon some and mix the remainder with water. I am emptying mine tonight and putting in the blue stuff.

 

It seems to me if it were cosmoline that all cars regardless of the year would all have the same problem. I think that Pamlico and Turmoil are onto something here.

My '02 MCS never had anything like this. Whatever the cause, it seems to have arrived with the newly designed rear washer. I just can't figure out for the life of me why MINI decided to change the rear washer.

The original worked great, applying a film of water ahead of the wiper blade so that you were never dragging the dry blade, and it's load of grit, across the rear screen to scratch the glass. The new washer will not do this, it will only wet the center of the rear screen. I can see this leading to severe scratching of the glass during the first 45 - 70 degrees of it's sweep.

I wonder if MINI will cover scratched glass under their warranty? Afterall, they changed the design not us. It shouldn't be charged against our insurance or our checkbook.

 

Actually, got home and I am wrong. It is Cosmoline. The reason the newer ones have this problem is becaue the wiper/nozzle was redesigned and cosmoline gets caught up in there... so naturally when they clean it off, they never get in there and clean that little part...

 

Sorry, I'm bringing this thread back to life. I've had my MINI for just over a month now and it has just started oozing on the boot. I asked the dealership when I picked it up to install the part the supposedly stops the back washer dribble, and they said it was already installed. I don't now if it is factory washer fluid or cosmoline that is oozing on my boot. It's kind of thick and looks like it has a little bit of color to it (my car is red so hard to tell) and I haven't examined it too closely. I've been meaning to drain the washer fluid anyways (haven't been using it specifically for that purpose). Maybe I can get to it this weekend.

 

Mine finally ended up doing it too, but it took it awhile. After I used the washers a few times it stopped so I think it was just cosmoline that got backed up in the fluid tract. For awhile it also stained my PW boot but it sort of magically disappeared over a few good washes/QDs.

Use rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball to get the gunk/crust off your paint and around the emblem, put a couple of good coats of wax on the area, and then drain the fluid and refill. *Should* take care of it. Some people also had the stains on their bonnet from the front washers but I never did, but keep an eye on those too!

 

Thanks for the advice. I drained and refilled the fluid today and gave it a bath. The goo came off really easily and I can't see any stains. I'll have to keep an eye on it as I am still not sure what is the cause. Hopefully it is just the cosmoline oozing out and will stop shortly.

 

i've had mine for about 4 weeks and just started to get a stain there today. i used the back washer last night, so that seems to have aggrevated it. i washed my car with a high-pressure hose at one of those car wash bays, and when i came home, it was still there, so i soaked it in Quik Detailer and wiped off with a monster fluffy MF towel. Had to scrub at it a little. I'll try the alcohol next.

stupid question... how do you drain the original fluid? just run the jets and wash at the same time?

 

I just ran the jets til the fluid was gone, and then hosed off the car really fast. It'll drain the fluid plus force whatever's in the lines out. Some people have also then refilled the tank with water, and run that through, just to be sure.

 

I just ran the fluid until it ran out. I thought about filling the tank with water and running it through again but didn't know if water from the tap was ok to use (probably is, just being cautious). So I just filled it up with some more washer fluid that I bought at Wal-mart. Once I ran the fluid out, I sprayed down my car with the hose to get most of the fluid before it dried (the entire thing since my one jet washed my sunroof more than my winshield) and then gave it a complete bath. Just a warning...don't have your vents on when you run your fluid through. I was getting intoxicated in my car.