So I've got less than 400 miles on my 2013 r56 base cooper and I've noticed a few things that I'm hoping with either go away/get better, or perhaps other know of an easy fix. They're not major issues, just wondering if anyone else has experienced similar behavior.

1: upon light braking, the brakes seem to ease in softly, but the stoping force increases dramatically within a second or two, with no change to the pressure on the pedal. Is this just part of wearing in the brand new brake lines, pads, rotors and calipers? Or is this something that will become less dramatic once the car learns my driving style?

2: the turn signal stalk is very hard to full engage. The detents seem to be very firm and it requires significant force to engage the left turn signal. The right signal is a little better, but overall, it seems to be a very stiff feeling lever. Is this something that might also wear in with time, or do I need to have the signal stalk replaced under warranty?

3: the passenger seatbelt often rattles and flaps in the wind when my passenger window is all the way down and no one is in the passenger seat to break up airflow. I've tried leaving the buckle at various heights, but it seems odd that the design would even allow so much wind force to affect the seatbelt, since driving with the windows down is an extremely common practice, regardless of how many passengers there are.

So has anyone else experienced any of these?

edit: one more thing related to number 1
4: when letting off the gas pedal, the car feels like it begins to apply the brakes, even if my foot is still hovering over the gas. is this some for of adaptive braking, or is it just another quirk of an unlearned mini computer?

 

On my 2008 MCS, the wind will grab the passenger belt unless I have the buckle and the seat in the right place. Took some trial and error to figure out where that was.

 

No. But my wife initially had a small problem with her Countryman in that she didn't want to apply the right amount of pressure to make the blinker switch go past the detent.

 

I noticed #1 somewhat when my MCS was new, but it went away after a few hundred miles of use.

My turn signal stalk takes a little more pressure to go past the lane-change feature, but I'm sure that's normal.

My rear seatbelt buckles rattle frequently, no matter what I do. Since I don't use the rear seats, I've thought about wrapping the buckles in black foam.

 

It's difficult to explain but the seat belt buckle on my '13 base hardtop fits securly in a retainer right where it comes out of the door pillar. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out. If you can't, ask anyone at the dealership to show you. I don't know but it might be illustrated in the owners manual.

 

Is this the clip?

From iPad / 2013 MCS Hardtop

 

my assumption is that the metal bracket is meant to allow the rear seats to lock into a tighter angle to give you a very small amount of extra room in the boot. but, i suppose it could also be used in the way you show. the best position i have found for the front seat belt so far is to tuck it as far into the B-pillar opening as it will go, so the heavy buckle part isn't subjected to so much wind. however, it still leaves the full length of the nylon belt to flap in the wind, if the breeze is strong enough. Gen 1 Minis had an adjustable B-pillar, which is probably why I don't remember this being an issue with my first Mini.

The turn signal stalk feels to me MUCH too resistant to "clicking" into the full turn position. It makes me feel as though when it finally makes it past the detent, i will accidentally break the thing right off because of the release of tension. I'm hoping that it is a plastic notch detent that just needs to be worked in a little more, in order to allow an easier click.

 

That's what my SA told me when I was picking up my car. She also demonstrated it; you unhook the seat and flip it forward a bit, fold out the metal bracket, and then push the seat back again until the bracket clips into the latch for the seat-back.

 

No. Right where the belt comes out of the door post the opening is designed in such a manner that the buckle will slide right into that opening and it will hold the buckle still so it doesn't rattle.

 

Most automatics go into free wheeling when you take your foot off the gas. That is the same as pushing in and holding the clutch down on a manual transmission car. Our automatic is different. When you take your foot off the gas the engine brakes just like it would in a manual transmission when taking your foot off the gas.

 

Do you have auto tranny? Do you drive with sport mode on? Maybe the deceleration you are feeling is the transmission downshifting?

 

its auto yes, but I've noticed the braking in both sport and regular mode i think. but perhaps its more pronounced in sport?

 

yes, since sport holds lower gear longer before upshifting the engine braking will be more noticeable.

 

True that. And in my wife's Countryman S (AT), when braking, it down changes faster under braking - which although seems to be fairly well calibrated, it means the car lurches suddenly when slowing down. If I was a heavy, jerky braker, it would work well, but I'm not a heavy braker (unless need be), and I'm quite smooth with it. FWIW.

What you are feeling is engine braking.

 

The OEM brake pads are very grabby to aid the abs, stability control and ELSD function.

That's an advantage of after market brake pads no grabbiness and along with less brake dust. However they will affect the other areas that the braking system is designed to perform but if you like spinning tyres this is another advantage(in a just a I'm not sure of this)

Eventually you will adapt your braking style to reduce the grabbing effect.

 

OEM pads are high torque with minimal modulation, period. No justification required.
Too high of an initial torque for this light of a car.

In my case, I found that to be highly annoying. I could not guide the car to a gentle stop, jerking passenger necks at each stop light. I ended up replacing them with StopTech street pads and love them, but there are plenty of other aftermarket alternatives out there, and just as many opinions on which one is the best
http://www.tirerack.com/brakes/brake...odClar=Hardtop

The above statement suggests that aftermaket pads come with a downside, which is usually not the case. There is nothing magical about OEM brake pads. Nothing in the MINI is optimized for any particular brake pad, or friction torque level.

However, there are far too many aftermarket brake pad choices to provide generalized feedback about their properties. If you know what you want - go and get it. If not, ask around someone you trust - a reputable vendor, friend with the same car, internet feedback from many owners, etc.

Hope this helps,
a

'08 MCS with 3 sets of of wheels and ....
... StopTech Street performance pads for the street/winter
... Hawk HP Plus pads for autoX/summer
... Carbontech XP10 pads for DE/track

 

For the rear seat belts, you can also fasten them like someone would if they are using it.

 

I've never had #1 or #2.

#3 is normal, its been that way in all our R56 MINIs. It was disconcerting on the track until I worked out what the problem was, now I just fasten the belt even if there's no one there. As mentioned, you can also fit the buckle backwards into its hole and its more secure and less flappy.

You seem to have worked out #4, engine braking.

 

the funny thing was, I didn't notice the seat belt rattle until after I had removed and replaced all of the interior panels to install new speakers. So I was driving around thinking my speakers were either not getting enough power from the low power head unit and thus clipping, or that they were too close to the panels and rattling against the plastic. I was glad to discover it was just the seat belts, but now it seems so strange that the car was not designed to accommodate an empty passenger seat with the windows rolled all the way down.

 

Either your base '13 R56 was designed differently than my '13 R56. Assuming they're the same you should read post #9 again.

 

On the auto trans issue...I have a 2011 MCS with manual 6 speed. She went into MINI of Escondido for warrany work, and they gave me a FREE loaner car for the week she was down...a 2013 MCS with the auto and only 5k on the clock. I REALLY did not like the auto! Seemed herky-jerky, and clunky, especially in Sport mode. One upside? No turbo downspool upon shifting! It actually felt quicker than my manual, but I don't thrash my tranny with speed-shifing etc. Well, mostly. LOL. I also noticed that my manual gets slightly better MPG. Not a surprise, really. I would LOVE to have an auto trans like the F1 and Rally guys have, with just about zero shift time. But I am sure that would be quite pricey, and bring many more problems...and would be EXTRA clunky, as those are not meant for everyday driving. Happy with my 6MT for now. Hoping I can get 120k miles or more out of my clutch. We shall see!

 

The MINI is not the first car to have "issues" with seatbelts and the window down, nor will it be the last.

Try adjusting where the latch sits, raising or lowering it on the belt often solves the issue.

Or do what I do, reach over and wrap the belt around the side bolster on the seat.

Takes 5 seconds when the wind is just right to make the belt flap.

 

yes, i understand post number 9 but thats not why they designed it that way. post number 9 is a workaround. the hole is designed that way to allow a range of motion to the belt so it isn't fixed at a complete 90 degree angle.

 

I'm curious to know how you know they didn't design it that way.

 

About the seat belt noise -- My 2012 R56 does the same thing. In addition to the front belt noise, there is often a rattle from the back seat when the latch knocks against the side panels. My resolution is similar. I just slide the belt around the head rests. Then I don't have to remember the proper adjustment for the latch or unlatch it when I have a passenger. Looks funky but at least the noise is gone!