Did you suggest that simply because you don't know about the issues they don't exist?

Look at strut tower mushrooming for example....they made the strut tower metal too thin and upon daily driving, the harsh bumps and potholes will deform your strut tower leading to an undesirable alignment. That design flaw exists.....even if you haven't heard of it. It has been documented in a HUGE number of cars....it exists. Definite design flaw.

I'm sorry it just seems like from your comments, you don't really know enough about the mechanical situations to make the statement that they aren't design flaws or that they don't exist.

 

I doubt that any one will disagree with this, RUN FLATS. The absolute worst design feature of this series of cars.

 

How about the lack of real sports seats with real bolsters that actually keep you in place while you have fun in corners. Recaros are available as an option every where else in the world. Mini, design the bloody things with the air bag in them, I'll pay a premium for them.

 

I'd say this has a lot to do with your chosen seat material. Cloth seats hold me in place very well. Leather and leatherette not as well, but then I added CG Locks, and problem solved.

Actually when I bought my first MINI and didn't know a whole lot about them, I thought the technology behind them was really cool...along with things like DSC, etc.. The technology found in the MINI was really cool. Although I ditched the runflats after 19,000 miles--I don't think it's a flaw. Think of it this way--your car doesn't have a spare--don't you think that the typical consumer would say----so what do I do if I get a flat?? Runflats are a perfect solution. For those of us that prefer driving performance over the peace of mind--we are willing to swap them out..but not all consumers feel that way.

 

The new recaros in the R55/56's HAVE an airbag in/on them......the ONLY thing they don't have is the silly passenger sensor to sense whether there is someone sitting there All because of that sensor, we don't get AWESOME racing seats WITH airbags.

Recaro does sell the seat in the US with the airbag installed....

 

No.. I said I didn't have the knowledge - so I couldn't comment, but on the other things you mentioned and I commented on.. there was only one real one (the hood scoop). You guys are nit picking, and just because YOU would like features or something changed, doesn't make it a design flaw - but more a WISH LIST. People who come here looking for real information in order to make an educated guess find post like these and red flags go up saying that the MINI is full of design flaws and issues.

 

Or they read that the OP was talking specifically about R56 design flaws...mushrooming seem to not be a problem like it was in the first gen cars, therefore an R56 owner could have little knowledge of it.

The OP also asked that this thread be moved to the proper forum (R56), but it wasn't. This perhaps explains some of the confusion...and why it's good that we do have different forums.

 

Could be because the title of the thread is Mini Design Flaws, and not R56 Design Flaws.

It was opened up to all Minis from the start.

Mushrooming, and the design of the rear view mirror are flat out design flaws.

 

The cartridge oil filter design is brilliant - easiest and least messy oil change I've ever done, just have to break vacuum and wait 5 minutes. Oh - and clean the canister. Not the worst thing in the world, and certainly beats smelly oil down my arm.

Some of the others are more "compromises" than actual design "flaws". Runflats, downtubes, center exhaust, seats (I too would like Recaros), small raingutter (it's there, just small). The Temp Idiot Light Gauge ("TILG") can even be argued as a compromise, but stinks all the same.

Mushrooming? Yeah, don't want to experience that.
Bad '05-06 engine mount? Yeah, flawed - but corrected under warranty.
Mirror: Arguable since it's a design issue, but it's too large and intrusive. Nice dash mount, Rally - but don't you also need a defroster?!
PAINT - prone to chipping - perhaps because of the bonnet shape. Needs a look as a "flaw", and Mini won't help out with this.
Power steering pump/fan issues - yeah, that.

All I've got...

 

How about the windshield angle and its propensity to get rock chips? Some people are on their third and fourth windshield and much of this can be attributed to the upright angle of the windshield compared to the more sloped windshield of the average car.

Not something I would want changed....but it's definitely a negative consequence of a design decision (both the MK1 and MK2 MINI generations). I got a chip with 300 miles on my odometer in my R55

 

The only thing I don't like is two radio controls. How about just one - serving on/off and volume. Push the buttons, or use the MFSW for pre-set changes. Ditch the 2nd button - it's not inherent and causes confusion.

Now, of course, this confusion is overcomeable, but why create it in the first place?

 

Ok, so now I'm confused. As someone who's about to order, the only thing in this list I'm concerned about is the mushrooming. Is that something that just applies to the Gen 1's? That appears to be a major structural flaw.

 

The mirror issue could be partially solved with just a smaller mirror housing, and mount it closer to the headliner.

I've had M7 SRP's on my strut towers since the car was about two weeks old, and no mushrooming yet. I did my research on here!

 

As of now, no one has reported problems with mushrooming on the R56's. MINIUSA knew about the problem BEFORE the R56 was being designed so one would hope that they made the simple change to cure the problem. I would say that it's probably fixed by now.

 

It has to be that stupid vibration buzz in the dashboard. I have read about several MINIs having this problem...

What happens is, when you take the car up over 60 miles per hour on roads that are not perfectly smooth, you get this weird little buzz that sounds like there's a bee trapped inside your dashboard. What it is, is that the dash is injection molded and it's a scrap piece of plastic that didn't get trimmed off during the build. It eventually goes away on its own because the plastic piece eventually erodes... in the mean time, you are stuck with this weird little quirk.

 

tinker,
Not agreeing or disagreeing (wink wink). Am trying to be an objective facilitator, though I will say that I define flaw as something that does not work as advertised and compromises function.

BREAK

Rally@StanceDesign,
Where can I get one of those rearview mirrors? Design flaw or not, I like that mirror--so long as it will give clear field of view past the seats.

R

 

Folks, I plead guilty to sloppy placement and title writing. Mea culpa.

 

It's an OEM mirror fiberglassed into the center vent

 

Day One:
-Mushrooming
-MCS air scoop melting
-Tail pipe position leading to burned legs
-Dinner plate speedo doesn't lend itself to mods
-Cartridge oil filter
-Weak door hold-open mechanism
-Rearview mirror placement that blocks distant vision
- 1-touch window control
-Lack of center vent shutoff
-Limited key fob control/functions wrt sunroof and windows
-Lack of rain gutter over doors/windows
-R53 center stack down tubes
-Chrono temp gauge is really an idiot light with a needle.

Day Two adds:
-Run flat tires
-Poor sport seat bolster design
-'05, '06 engine mount
-Brittle paint prone to chipping
-Upright windshield prone to chipping
-Power steering pump whine
- Two-button (one high, other low on console) radio control is confusing
-Dashboard buzz at speed.

I still love my Mini.

 

You know, I have NEVER heard the infamous "rattles and buzzes" in either my '04 nor my '07.... (Maybe I just play my music too loud...?)

 

TINKER 06:

Quote: Tail pipe position leading to burned legs Does Not Apply to me. I do NOT find this a design flaw

There is a thread called Hot exhaust pipes-Mini branding. It contains several pictures of burns caused by the exhaust pipes. I know mine was visible for over a month and really hurt for some time. All I can say is, if people are getting hurt by the placement of the exhaust pipe it is a design flaw.

 

It doesn't happen on every car. Just on some of them.

 

I love my car, but. Gen. 1 cars have an infamous proclivity for ingesting water while driving through relatively shallow standing water, end result is hydro lock of the engine. Second problem: Who on earth placed the PS cooling fan so close to the ground? Even with the plastic fan guard the fan ingests all matter of stuff, end result the fan overheats with subsequent PS pump overheating and failure.

 

So far there have been no reports that I have heard about of mushrooming of the front shock towers on the R56. It also seems that there is only one afermarket company marketing strut tower reinforcement plates for the R56 too.

 

I disagree. I love my runflats!

But for design flaws... rearview mirror/low windshield.
lack of "neutral" spot on the for the side mirror control thing.