I'm pretty appalled right now to be honest. This is my third day with an 02 Mini I just purchased and it's already falling apart. This A pillar literally flew off on I-95 earlier today.

The car is also missing the little rounded molding at the top of the passenger side, and the same piece fell off on the driver's side today. Unfortunately I have to buy the entire molding that goes around the whole side of the car to get those little pieces.

Does anyone know how hard it is to install the A-pillar? Does it clip on, or do I need to use some type of silicon?

So, in total, three pieces are missing from the car already. The previous owner had the windshield replaced, so whoever put it back together must have done a TERRIBLE job.

 

That sounds like the key to your problem. Maybe a MINI dealer can sort things out properly.

I'd be disappointed too ...anyone would. Hopefully it will be a quick fix and you can get on with enjoying your new wheels.

Is your MINI dark silver? I'm partial to that color myself.

Dean.

 

i am shocked . .did u buy from dealership? if so, go back to them to have it fixed..

 

How did you upload that photo? I can't seem to get mine to work.

 

It is Dark Silver I really like the color and LOVE the car otherwise. This was just really disappointing. I'm hoping it clips on easily. I found the part for a fair price at mini mania.

I bought it from a private dealer. I don't believe he has a lot/store front but he is a licensed dealer in New York. He agreed to replace the small trim piece that was already missing, but didn't know he had to buy the whole side trim and he has not ordered it yet. Today the other one fell off along with the A-pillar, so we'll see what happens. I think I'm going to order all the parts and send him the bill. I can't wait around for him to find the parts used at a junk yard, and I don't want to put used parts on the car anyway.

I used my own server and linked it from there.

 

Have the dealer pay for it dude, I mean didn't he at least offer you a 30 day warranty or anything like that?

I would go new on those pieces not used

 

Sorry to see what happened to you.

 

I have to tell you, I love my '02 still, but we're on the cutting edge of most everything that will go wrong or bad on the new MINI. I've not lost any parts while driving but I've replaced many miscellaneous parts. The most common occurance is when a seal goes bad letting water into hidden places such as side marker lights, license plate lamps, 3rd brake light, etc.

Best luck getting those trim pieces replaced properly.

Still the best motoring going.

 

Unfortunately, this is not uncommon when the windshield has been replaced by someone not very familiar with the Mini.

 

Thanks guys, I'm going to order the parts now and pretty much send him the bill. We'll see how that goes. I don't want to drive the car like this though.

 

sorry to hijack thread..

are replace parts expensive? is it normal to replace parts after 5 years? when does yr seal becmoes bad and water start seeping...

.

 

If the windshield was replaced without replacing the clips for the side molding (reusing the old ones is a baaad idea), there is a good chance that those puppies will blow off on the freeway. With new clips and new side pieces, you'll be good to go.

 

Had my windshield replaced earlier this year and was forewarned that the A Pillar's are rather uncooperative.

Had to make sure it was a quality job - which meant bringing the car up to a design speed to simulate proper speed conditions....

Needless to say, safelite bought me a new A pillar cover. FYI, many of the windshield replacements are for the life of the vehicle if the replacing owner can be found....

 

Similar thing happened on my LR3. To be fair, it was really unusually windy on the freeway, and wham, the A Pillar broke right off...

 

+1 on replacing those clips. That is well documented here and has happened to quite a few people who did not have the clips replaced. Sorry for your trouble.

 

Hey guys, I ordered the A-pillar cover an underlying piece. Is there anything else I need? I noticed there's a black plastic piece between the pillar and door window that's cracked.

 

Actually, I find the parts to be reasonable on average assuming you can do minor repairs yourself. I do find it odd that various seals are starting to fail so soon, but then I wash the darned thing way too much. I also drive the MINI year-round through rain, sleet, hail, snow, salt, etc. It's so hard keeping it clean during certain seasons.

When I noticed a license plate lamp wasn't lit on one side, I carefully removed the lens only to find the contact tabs corroded away. The replacement is the whole boot grip assembly, complete with bulbs, lenses, gasket, etc. Only took a few minutes to replace but I chose chrome because I didn't want to spend the time painting the primed version to match the MINI. In the end, that was a $100.50 bulb replacement.

In the last year, I've replaced both Xenon headlamp bulbs. You don't want to know what those cost.

Still, I love the MINI. I just start by investigating aftermarket parts when repairs are needed.

Back to the movie - I'd love a new windshield since I have a few good sized chips. I'm afraid to replace it as I'm sure something bad will happen the next day.

 

my neighbors had the same year and color combo car and just sold it. I replaced that piece for them just before they traded it in on a Hyundai. It's not a hard install and the part was less than $100 in total. I think it was actually less than $50.

 

Got the part and installed it. Easy install!

The only thing is there's a slightly larger gap between the windshield and plastic piece, because the underlying piece is there. The other side is not like that. I'm wondering whether I did it wrong, or if the people who did the windshield did the other side wrong. It doesn't seem like there was any other way to fit it though, it fit perfectly and I'd be VERY surprised if the wind blew it off, because it's on there very tight.

 

Hi same here but before i reintal i have use a few spot of silicone..it never
came off again...

MC 2

 

First off to those that said go to the dealer and have them replace it. it is very unlikely that they will.
The car is an 02 that they took on trade. they can't be held liable.
if you look you will see that there are four round clips still on the car. I am guessing that the pass side of the car had some collission damage, or the windshield was replaced by a non mini repair facility and didn't clip the piece back on.
check the lower drivers side of the windshield. is the mini logo there?
I would just buy the new part, and install it myself.
just pull the clips out, transfer them to the new one, remove the double stick tape, install new, and viola!

 

The upper round trim is attached the entire length of the roof. I had to replace mine the very first day. The old owner took it through a car wash and it was ripped off.

I do believe that the cost was $52.00 plus local tax and another $40.00 for the install. I was given a lifetime warrenty on this part. However, I must not go through a car wash. I've been doing a hand wash every few days.

Really sorry to hear about your A pillar cover coming off. I hope you get it repaired very soon and enjoy your car!

 

Hi the new one come whit some new clips and if u instal them whit sylicone 3drops then u foget about them ....PS it 80$ at the dealer in montreal.
MC 2

 

that's very ugly

the w/s on my 02 has been replaced twice - both times by SAFELITE

I've never lost a piece of trim

someone did a really really poor job on your w/s replacement

 

you're appalled because a 6 year old car's pillar part flew off on the freeway?