I had the fright of my Cooper-owning life yesterday when I opened the door to get out at a store, and a powerful gust of wind grabbed the door out of my hand, and swung the door out past its extension point. There was a loud popping noise, and I though, "oh S***....!" Fortunately the hinges don't seem to be damaged, and the door opens and closes normally. Nevertheless I think had better take it to my dealer to get it checked. Two months ago I drove over a V-shaped piece of sheet metal on the highway, and there was not even a scratch on the underside of the car, so hopefully this will just end up being another example of how sturdy this little beast is!

 

MINI's are tough and you are lucky!

 

Lucky, lucky, lucky, hope the dealer confirms no damage.

 

I had a similar experience...once...shortly after bringing the MINI home. Mine was OK; hope yours is too!

 

Hopefully it was nothing too serious. If the door functions as it should thats a good sign... I would assume.

 

Yikes! Hope all is ok. What do you suppose the popping noise was? Just over extending the hinge, maybe???

A~

 

That happened to my better-half with her MINI. I expect that the popping was the steel "oilcanning" a bit. Didn't see any permanent damage, and the door functions normally with no noticeable changes to the gaps.

Hang on to those huge doors. There's a lot of area to catch the breeze.

 

I'm thinking of tying a rope with a loop to the door handle so's I can be prepared next time

I think the door is OK after all - maybe the fact that I hadn't yet lubed the hinges like I was going to may have saved the door since they have been quite stiff.

 

The Minis are tough little cars. I had that happen once at a gas station...the wind grabbed the door and flung it into one of the poles that protect the pump. I thought I'd find a huge dent and all it had was a little scratch.

Glad all is well with yours!

 

my week old mini (in May) experienced a 45 mph wind gust at a gas station stop...and yes, the door hit an unprotected metal pillar at the gas pump

I got a 10 inch slight (noticeable) crease and wanted to die
(getting it fixed soon)

packimocity

P.S. to add insult to injury, while paying for the gas inside, a fine upstanding gentleman went to throw his half-empty coffe cup in the trash but the wind took it first and coated my windshield with it....grrrrr