Anybody else have this happen yet?

About 2 weeks ago I noticed small bubbles on the top edge of my steering wheel. I have the multi-function wheel, so it is supposedly the leather that has bubbled. Yesterday, the area that has bubbled began to rub off as I was driving home. Just by lightly rubbing the bubbles, the "leather" came off in between my fingers.

The area that rubbed off is about 2 inches long. I kept the pieces and am planning on contacting the dealership where I purchased the car. If it is in fact leather, it is the cheapest, thinnest leather I have ever felt. It feels more like vinyl.

The car has been great until this happened. I have been very pleased with it. Anybody have any suggestions?

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2003 Cooper IB/W CVT, MFSW, 16" runflats, combos 1&2

 

FLmini man...as i live in cali, i encountered some very hot days this summer. however if my car is outside, i always use a sunshade.

so i have not seen the flaking in my car as of yet, and have not heard about it.

please do take it to your dealer, and keep us updated as to what happens.

and as far as the stellar quality leather on the mcs, do read this thread, as it has some great insights

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...c=16291&16

good luck, and happy motoring :smile:

 

Forgot to mention on my above post...

My car is always garaged when at home, and when parked for any length of time, (say an hour or more) the sunshade is used on the windshield.

 

Sounds like your problem should be covered under warranty. However, the quality of the leather in the Mini is not that great.

 

No problems whatsoever with the steering's wheel leather cover. I live in Florida and my car is parked out all day long under the blistering sun. I don't use a windshield cover at all either.

I, for one, find the quality of the leather covering of the steering wheel to be of excellent quality. No peeling, drying, scratching after one year of use. I do however, clean the steering wheel with Leather protection every couple of weeks or so.


I had a car with terrible quality factory leather...it was a 1997 Acura 2.5TL made in Japan. The steering wheel leather cover was falling apart after just 10K miles (Like the seats)...peeling, cracking...ugh! horrible. The dealer dyed the steering wheel leather twice And twice it returned to its aweful state. very dissapointing in a Japanese $30K new vehicle.


Your dealer should replace your steering wheel leather cover at no charge under warranty. Do you wear any hand skin lubricant or sun screen lotion...just asking.


Good luck and stick to your guns.

 

it has already happened to me as well...



The wheel was replaced. Not just the cover, but the whole steering wheel. It's a special order item that takes 2-3 weeks to arrive. The new one is already starting to wear, and it's only been about 3 weeks! I'm going to put a cover on it and start wearing gloves or something

 

I know this is going to sound bad. But to you sweat (your hands atleast). My wife took my 4 year old Audio A4. The wheel was great until she got to it. Here hands sweat in traffic :smile:

They should still replace it though.

 

I too am experiencing "blistering" problems at 12:00 on the steering wheel. They have started out as pin holes and now (2 weeks later) are matchstick sized. There are 5 or 6 all in the same 3 inch area. My question: Did Mini cover (no pun intended) the repair under warranty? If not how much was a new wheel. I have same multi function sport wheel. Thanks

 

the same thing happened to me as well. I'm sure it will be coveres under warranty and i plan on addressing this at my next service. Hopefully, i get the newer wheel with the thumb grips!

 

ok all...

Here's my follow-up to my original post on this thread. I took my car to the service department on 10/2. The service advisor said that the blistering wheel WAS covered under warranty, but that a replacement would need to be ordered and would take about 8 weeks to get in. He said he had heard of this problem, but had never seen it first hand.

I then drove to the dealership (a few blocks away from service) and showed a MA the wheel. He had neither seen or heard of this problem before. He did say that the MFSW which is marketed and sold as "leather wrapped" is really leatherette!! All I can say is that it is the cheapest feeling "leather" I have ever felt. The pieces that have come off are paper thin! It makes me glad that I DON'T have leather seats as well, given the other threads on leather seat problems.

I plan on wrapping my new wheel in a high-quality thick leather cover once it is installed. By the way, the only area that the wheel has blistered and rubbed off is at the 12:00 position (top center), about 2 inches in length.

Let's Go Marlins !!!
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IB/W Cooper, packs 1&2, chrome, CVT, 5-star white wheels, motoring around South Florida since 1/21/03...still love this car

 

Interesting. I have no blistering problems the MFSW of our '02 Cooper CVT with 15K miles. In fact the leather cover still looks brand new. I do condition the leather in the steering wheel once or twice a month. I use Meguiar's Leather conditioning wipes that deep clean the covering and protect it fron UV rays, peeling or cracking. Perhaps you should try doing some maintenance once you get your new steering wheel, even if you put a "high quality" leather cover. If you don't maintain the new cover will blister as well eventually, trust me.

I will post some pics later on so you can see how my MFSW looks like.

I have noticed that the Leather covering on the MFSW of my new 2004 MCS is thicker. I have the new Sport Steering wheel. Unlike the old steering wheel, the leather on the new sport wheel is perforated as well, so this should help in preventing any damage caused by sweaty hand palms.

Finally, your MA is full of bunk. Leatherette does not peel, crack or blister. I have leatherette seats in both of my MINIs and one thing that Leatherette has over real cowhide is that it almost requires ZERO maintenance. Leatherette (Vinyl) does not peel or crack in the same fashion as Leather does. You steering wheel is leather and requires extra care, that's all.

 

Have it fixed under warranty, then buy yourself some good driving gloves and use them. I think it is due to the minerals that come from sweating hands, rather than heat related.

 

this started to happen to my MCS about 2 weeks ago, but I have been too busy to check the boards regarding this matter. I am driving back to texas (from cali) in about 2 weeks and will take it to the dealership to get replaced when I get back. Glad to hear that the service guys aren't being difficult. I'll keep posted.

Blake