I remember that MINI's have some sort of rust protection? Can someone confirm with me how many miles/years this is covered. And where is the rust covered? I bought my 04 MCS used last Nov. (1 year old) and it's at 61K miles right now. When I open the hood, on the front left and right corners where the front bumpers are, there are 2 nuts that are rusted. Also my door's latch's (looks like a metal U) screws are rusted as well. I wonder if MINI covers this or should I wash it down with coke?

 

In 2004, the MINI corrosion warranty was 6 years/unlimited miles. But, the car's only warranted against rust-through - surface rust isn't covered.

Basically, unless you have a rust hole in a panel, MINI's not going to do anything for you.

 

I see. Thank you for the quick information. Does anyone have suggestions upon removing rust? Only way I know is coke or CLR. But I'm not sure how safe it is for the MINI.

 

For those parts, I would use "Naval Jelly" (you can get it at any hardware store). It removes rust much better than either Coke or CLR. It's basically phosphoric acid in the form of a thick gel, so it's easier to apply to vertical surfaces than liquid treatments. The phosphoric acid combines with the iron in the rust to form iron phosphate, which will act as a protective coating to help prevent further rust. (repainting the rusted parts afterward is still preferable to give the best protection, but may not be suitable for parts like the door striker, where the paint would just wear off).

You can also look into "POR-15". It's a rust-preventative paint that you can apply directly onto rusted surfaces. It will kill the existing rust by converting it to a neutral substance, and prevent further rust. It also dries hard - *really* hard - , so you don't have to worry about it chipping or flaking off.

 

The two parts I'm mainly concerned about is a nut and bolt area and the door striker. As they both would be functional, I would probably go with the Naval Jelly. Thanks for the help!

 

.
I was just updating the ALTA light bar tutorial on our
website. when all of the sudden I noticed this:



HOW DO WE STOP THIS? Is there anything we can do to
prevent? These are factory holes! Not even my fault (this time)!
I'm sure every car gets it sooner or later.

Note to BMW/MINI::
BMW, I distinctly remember some commercial talking about
how you take extra measures to prevent rust from starting on your cars.
Well, what about the MINNAY!? This is an '06 MINI and we're only in '08!
And we live in California not some snowy state where roads are covered
in car-dissolving chemical rock salt (sodium chloride).

Can anybody help this MINI before it dissolves away?



WAIT... you just did. I'll try that jelly stuff and then thrown on some primer. It's under the hood where nobody cares if it looks pretty or not.

 

i'd squirt some lithium white grease on them.. and all the hinges..

wd 40 even.