ok so im about to drive the damn car off an icy cliff

it is snowy outside, and temps are in the teens so i go to unlock my mini after work, well no matter how hard i pull, how many times i unlock, lock, and push on the drivers door it wont budge

after this i go and get in the passenger side, which opens right up

i go ahead and drive home and low and behold when i get home, NEITHER dood will open, so im essentially trapped in my Fin mini. i ended up crawling out the window, tearing my work pants, and nearly falling into a foot of snow

so inf anyone can tell me what the hell is going on it would be much appreciated

 

I've heard this happen to another MINI also. I think it's because of the cold weather. It should be under warranty.

 

Could the car have gotten wet during the course of the day, like maybe it was sleeting earlier before it turned to snow?

I "locked" myself into my old Prelude once when I got the bright idea to wash my car in sub-freezing weather. I took it to one of those coin-op places, washed it, and drove home. When I got home, the water in the doorjambs had frozen and the doors wouldn't open.

 

Sorry to hear about the issue.

Had it happen on the driver door, but not both.
Not sure how to resolve the issue, but in the future it might be easier to go out the hatch - there is a manual release underneath your rear seat.

 

So was the door frozen shut or the mechanism to open the door not working? I.. like you... live in the tundra... should be easy to tell if the mechanism to open the door froze or not. If so, then maybe it's a warranty issue as pointed out earlier. Otherwise it could just be snow melting and freezing and you just need a bigger boot to the door to unfreeze it.

 

ok well the car has seen some sun so hopefully the it will open up now

 

I would suggest that the weatherstipping was frozen to the frame. The best thing to do is to get some rubber treatment, like Armor-all or better yet Aerospace 303 protectant, and treat the weatherstripping so it won't stick when frozen.

 

To get it open again from the outside, get a bucket of hot water and slowly pour it around the door seals till it opens, the problem with this method is sometimes it refreezes. Just don't kick the door or pull on the handle too hard in frustration, you'll just cause yourself more grief. Some Armor-all or silicone spray on the door seals will help this problem. I have had this happen on every car I own, living here in Kansas, land of freezing rain. The only real cure is to park in a heated garage.............

 

well i just went out and it opened right up. the only problem is where that the damn things must have frozen shut while i was driving home, so i essentially go frozen into my mini

 

The MINI is a fair weather car. Frameless windows ensure that the windows will not drop when you pull the door handles because the glass will freeze to the weather stripping on the doors. The door unlatch mechanism will freeze to the point of making the release on the inside of the handle completely nonfunctional. Also, the interior handle simply will not actuate the release mechanism when the mechanism freezes. Worse, the unlatch handle on the inside is connected to its mechanism by a steel cable which can snap in very cold weather.

I have experienced these problems and continue to experience most every winter.

 

My doors won't unlock, summer or winter, if the window is more than halfway down.
Kind of a pain during the summer but now, who cares? Still, need to have them looked at.

 

i had the same problem!! im goin to mini tomorrow!

 

The solution is to keep the car out of the elements when parked. My broken parts have been replaced with identical parts which are destined to break as well.

 

Door seals freezing is a common problem in many cars, not just MINIs. Silicone grease on the seals helps quite a bit. Parked during the day, a small solar powered heater might help. My work co-horts in MINIsota have engine haeter outlets in the parking area. A remote starting system with the heater left in the on position might be a viable solution.

Cold weather SUCKS, and it sucks even more the older you get!

 

Believe it or not, just before a freeze if you lightly coat your door seals with Pam, they will not stick. Just spray it on a paper towel and wipe.

Easy as pie!

 

But then in the morning you find deer with their tongues frozen to your MINI.

 

That's what I was thinking. I used to come outside to start up my Prelude before work whenever I first moved up here to Northwest Arkansas and my doors would be frozen completely shut. Pain in the *** it was. I'm gonna be using a car cover on my mini this winter

 

Or bears.

A car that is designed by Germans and built in Britain. One would think they would have allowed for cold weather. Perhaps they wanted to maintain the heritage of mid-century British sports cars that had characteristics like distributors which shorted out in the rain, and jacks that wouldn't fit under the car when the tire was flat.

 

Actually, it rarely gets below freezing in England. I visited there many times and it pretty much stays between 40 degrees and 70 degrees, year 'round.

Odd, given how far north that country is. Something to do with the ocean and the winds, I'm sure. :impatient

Now GERMANY... that place can get pretty darn cold. Seven winters there, I should know. I remember a stretch, I believe it was in 1997, where the temps did not get above freezing for 33 straight days. Day or night, not one minute above 32 degrees. That's cold.

 

Sorry have not had that problem. My mini is an 04 and I'm in the snowbelt of Cleveland. I park my car outside all day while at work, temps get down to under 10 degrees. Get in and out no big deal, never a frozen lock (67,000 miles now). The only problem I have is the plow guy piling up the snow in front of car. I think he does that on purpose.

 

Darn plow guy !

Reminds me of the time I was stationed in northern Japan. We had a 14-inch snowfall and I spent about an hour and a half shoveling out my parking space in front of my base housing complex. I go run an errand and when I get back, one of my not-so-friendly neighbors parked there.

So... I did the only logical thing. I shoveled the spot next to mine, too. But where do you think I put all that snow ? Yep, in my original parking spot. In other words, on top of my neighbor's car. Pretty much buried it.

 

I think that there was some problems with the door handle seals on early MINIs ('04 and earlier, I think) that the dealership knows about. I think that they will replace a rubber bit in the handle for free.

The official Porsche recommendation to stop door seals from sticking is to treat them with a non-silicone dressing / moistuirizer and then wipe on baby powder. The dressing keeps the seals supple and the talc stops the seal from sticking to paint or glass.

 

my favorite product for seals: Enszett 1Z Rubber Protection Stick (Gummipflege): They used to carry it at Autopia (http://www.autopia-carcare.com/1z-914805.html) but they discontinued it. You might be able to get it at BMW dealers. $7 for a 100mL stick.

or here

http://www.drivewerks.com/catalog/sh...szt-detail.htm

 

I wonder if this would work.



At least it would keep the door pits smelling fresh.

 

I'm still laughing about the deer and bears knowing that could actually happen. Then the speed stick! If that'll make the MINI attract babes, then I'll try it!