Power steering pump. Good thing they updated this with the R56.

 

what was MINI thinking?

........for not fixing the above [pwr str system] sooner.

And for letting weak strut mounts/towers continue year after year after year...........

 

The idiotic Cruise Control design:
- you have to turn it on every time you start the car,
- the light does not tell you whether it is engaged, only whether you turned it on
- you never know exactly what will happen when you touch the CC buttons - sometimes nothing at all
Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb

 

+ ... if you take the volume that the number 1 takes up on your screen (for the third dimension just use like a micron or so) and fill up our universe with those, however many 1's it takes is the amount that I agree with you.

(im an engineer, sorry!)

 

ok who thought it a good plan to have to either remove the wheel well or the front bumper to change the foglight bulbs on the cooper?

 

Instrument panel illumination adjustment. Why not a use a rheostat like everyone else? Tapping the control to dim the lights either does nothing or returns the IP to full brightness if you happen to hold the button down too long. An answer to a question no one asked.

 

, my Dad wondered the same thing the first time he rode with me and was playing around with all the buttons.

 

why is there no key hole to manually open the boot if the battery dies?

 

Isn't there a release under the seat? Probably inconvenient but better than a crowbar.

Haven't had my MINI long enough to come up with anything else constructive....
SteveB

 

word. +1

 

ummm cup holders under the toggles anyone?

 

maybe they have shorter cups in england...

 

Non spin-on oil filter?!?!

 

Yes, but that's one they've been bone-heading on most German cars for 30+ years. Certainly not unique to Mini at all.

- Mark

 

Double pull interior door handles to open locked door . I have to stop passengers from pulling handle off the door.(in fact I try to hit unlock toggle before the passenger reaches the handle)

 

How about the plastic thermostat housing that reliably develops a leak every 25K miles?

 

+lots

I got them programmed with auto unlock, as well as no autolock to avoid that problem.

 

They were thinking,
"Gee, our design will be illegal soon....we'd best do something".....then

"while we're at it, let's soften the suspension a bit so the americans will stop bi*ching about it all the time."........then

"ooooo....they don't like change, maybe if we give them some more toggles and leg room they'll be happy."........then

Deitrich has been reading the tealeaves again....gas prices are going up, lets increase mpg, okay??.........finally

Oh, the poor R53 owners, they'll be so sad. I know....lets tamper with the steering so they will always know they have the best handling MINI ever!!!"

 

I'll just contribute with the not-semi-official thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nge+about+mini

 

Why make a cool car sound like a Chevy when you tap the horn?
Why locate the horns so you have to remove the bumper cover to get at them?
Ditto foglight bulbs (mentioned above).
Why design a rear hatch that captures water, then drips on our leg when you open it?

Funny commentary on R53... agree with it all. Love mine.

Thinking "why get oil all over when you can change the oil without having to wear rubber gloves up to the elbow?" I *love* that feature. Twist to release vacuum, wait 5 minutes while you get the other oil, open it, put the plug back in the oil pan, then carefully spin off, remove old oil filter, clean housing replace, tighten.

 

There is actually a setting where you can make the door handle unlock with only 1 pull, it's somewhere in the manual.

 

Why do the MINIs (not sure on the R56) w/o the rain sensing wipers have just a fixed interval intermittent wipe setting?? I've had econobox Toyotas and the like that came standard with variable intermittent wipers. With the money we spend on these cars, a variable intermittent setting should be standard, like most any other car.

And why do they have such stupid door check straps? I've never had to be so careful when trying to exit a vehicle with my hands full. Kind of annoying when you don't get it right and the door closes on your legs as you're trying to get out...

 

Is this really the case with R50/53s? I've had two dealers tell me that it wasn't possible to program the door pulls to unlock with one pull. Are you sure you don't mean the single or double tap on the toggle or remote?

 

why did they put chrome on the shifter, burns my hand on a hot day like today

 

lol....maybe