Can anyone tell me the purpose of using felt around the wheel wells other than as a sound reducer? It seems to me that after a couple of years of driving in all kinds of weather, that the felt would have to be really dirty. Not to mention the extra weight if wet. Has anyone ever replaced this felt? Or has anyone decided to remove it permanently?

 

It's there more than likely to prevent or at least reduce any noise from the 2 panels rubbing up against each other. A lot of new cars come with this kind of stuff, especially trucks. It's common to see it underneath a bedliner in a truck or behind an edge underneath a headliner or door panel. That's really all it's there for. It's comfort really. Nothing else I could think of or heard of.

 

Thanks Hemi...but what 2 panels rub against each other?

 

It's probably going to be the fender liners from rubbing say, the outer fender shell, maybe the front facia. Something like that. If you can, get underneath the car and anywhere that liner meets another panel, there's probably a strip there.

 

I was thinking the same thing as you NJP, but we had our 07 with the felt since June and it seems to be holding up surprisingly well. I make sure to hose it off really well during washes and it still looks great.

 

I just took delivery of an 09 MCSa and I swear there's freaking felt in many places there used to be plastic-- boot, interior, wheel wells, even my buddy who's now a Honda sales manager (and who sold me my first MINI) even commented on the wheel well felt. "wow, they're doing that now?"

Sooooo, does all this new felt equate quieting, or is it just cheaper to produce in bulk than plastic? After all, austerity is the Oxford motto.

I tell ya tho the build quality on this car is much superior to my 05 R53 At least the boot doesn't howl....

 

Am I supposed to blast it with soap when using a pressure sprayer? Or should I just rinse it with plain water?

 

on my first post-sale wash and detail yesterday I just rinsed it off with water, no soap (I hand-wash my cars) and it looked great.

 

I felt around my Mini's wheel wells and the antenna grew longer... wth?

 

I have a big issue with the felt - it's NOT mouse-proof!
I've already had one uninvited "guest" chew through the wiring to my rear wipers after getting behind the felt - repair is NOT covered by warranty and they said it would require replacement of wiring harness to the tune of $700-900 !
I can't help but believe if it had been a hard substance, I wouldn't have had this problem. My Service guy said they've gotten quite a few reports of critters eating into the wheel wells.