I was wondering if anyone has had this problem. The plastic shell on the back of the passenger seat has popped off. I am able to get my fingers in to feel how it attaches and have put it back on several times, but it keeps popping off. My dealer is a three hour drive away, so since it is a minor thing, I figured I'd wait until I had to go in for maintenance rather than make a special trip. I do have a BMW dealer and at last check they don't service the minis. I thought this might be something they could do even if they don't service minis (are all BMW seatbacks attached the same way?) Just wondering if anyone might have some suggestions or if you've ever encountered this problem. I was wondering if this will be a chronic problem meaning when I do take it in is it going to happen again or is there something to replace that is not working right or broken. Think I'll email my dealer to see if this is common.
Kirk

 

Mine did the same thing and I just slammed it back into place. It hasnt come off since.

 

I havr removed mine to install seat covers. They are attached by friction clips- as I'm sure you've guessed. You need to push them back on with a good deal of pressure and they will be very secure. Of course ensure the clips align with the holes they need to go into.

 

Ditto.

 

woah, first I've heard of this - my whole interior (well, minus that damn passenger door h/k speaker) is 22k miles strong.

 

Ha! - dealers will never acknowledge even well known problems let alone something like this!

It's probably a friction fit and they will end up replacing the plastic shell. I doubt they stock this kind of part so you'll need to make sure (as in calling several times and having different people check for you) that they've ordered this part and have it on hand before you head out for your service appointment.

fwiw, I haven't had any problems with mine in approximately a year and 13K miles.

 

This happened to my ’04 as well. I didn’t notice it until after I drove 600 miles home from the dealer. I just popped mine back in and it looked ok. However after a few weeks I noticed that it isn’t in all the way. It looks like it is not as loose as before but it still isn’t tight. I was going to bring up with the dealer when I go in for my 10k service.

 

My interior is perfect at 13K+ miles. '04 MCS.

 

Mine pops out all the time, pop it back in and a couple days it pops back out. I think it happens the most when I get in the car and it is really really hot. The plastic seems a bit softer then and with the pressure from me getting in just pops it out. I'm really getting tired of it but havn't figured out a solution to get it straightend out. Btw mine is a 04 april build.

 

Btw mine is a 04 april build.[/QUOTE]
Huh, mine is a march 04 build. Wonder what the others with problems were? I will try to pop mine back "hard" today. I did mail my sales rep to see what she says. Thanks for all the info. Always nice to know when it has happened to others, too.
Kirk

 

So is this one of those rare times when a 02 build came out better? No probs with mine.

 

05 (July/04) build. Same problem with passenger seat. Noted second day of ownership. Haven't been back to dealer (200 miles) but have noted other 05's with the same problem. Nick

 

I took mine off for the seat covers; if I recall correctly, there's a metal clip that fits over a plastic tab, providing extra "grab". Could be that's missing or deformed and needs to be replaced.
-Cor.