Anybody have a driver's seat that "clunks" into position randomly after you've driven for a half-hour or so? I can sit down, adjust the seat fore/aft, make sure the seat adjuster is in a detent, wiggle my butt around and the seat will feel like it is as solid as a rock. Then I'll drive for awhile and out of nowhere a half hour later, the seat will shift and clunk like it was between detents prior to the clunk.

- Mark

 

I do, drives me nuts too

 

My seat did it for a while after I was rear-ended years ago. It's fine now.

 

YES!!!! It never happened in my '05 but happens in my new '08 all the time. Depending on how long I drive it can do it quite often! I need to bring it to get it checked out sometime. I thought it was from stopping or turning too fast or from taking off, but like you said... it just happens!

I had an old piece of crap car that had the seat totally come loose from the floor while driving. It was surprising but actually kind of funny. I worried when I was driving the Blue Ridge Parkway and all the twisties in NC that it would do that.

 

I should add that this problem only happens once - the seat seems steady before the clunk and it steady after. It's not really an issue except for the surprise factor. I've not even been able to correlate the clunk to driving hard - I can drive like a maniac for ten minutes and nothing happens, then drive like an old lady for an hour and... clunk.

Just part of the "character" I guess.

- Mark

 

Mine seems to randomly clunk in both directions. Hit the brakes...seat clunks forward. Jump on the gas, seat clunks backwards.

Didn't do it the first year+, just the last few months.

Nabeshin...how did you stop yours from happening?

 

I had this happening for a while. I found if I pulled up on the height adjustment lever under the front of the seat just until I felt it "click", it seemed to settle the seat in and stopped the other issue.

 

My 06 Purple Haze Cooper had that problem BUT...the seat in my 09 Clubman has not had that problem...and feels much improved over my last 2 Coopers (03 and 06)

Dave

 

Try adjusting the seat rail position in the car. If the rails are not even relative to each other, you might be getting one side to seat but not the other, until the seat twists slightly and it slips into place.

After the clunk indicates that both sides are locked in, loosen both torx-head bolts that hold down one rail to allow it to shift a bit if it needs to, then tighten again.

 

Probably should get mine checked out then.

 

My seat is fine so far ... I am probably tempting fate by even answering the question.

Shortly after posting to a power steering pump thread my pump failed. Then my clutch started squealing when I jumped into one of those threads. And recently my coolant thermostat housing started leaking when I opened my big mouth.

I get the feeling if I hung around here less often I'd have more trouble-free miles.

 

Yes, the "engaging only on one side" theory makes sense. I'll give your suggested fix a try. Thanks,

- Mark

 

Any news on this? I thought mine was fixed but this little annoyance is back with a vengeance. Anyone had luck with the dealer on this issue, that's where I'm going.

 

Hey, just wondering if you have been able to get a dealer to work with you on this issue?

I'm still having problems with mine. Been to Orlando MINI twice and they "can't replicate" so they can't fix anything (because they said they won't get paid for it). I called MINI USA while I was there at the shop to see if there's some way that they can replace this on my word that this is happening... but everyone's "hands are tied". MINI USA wanted me to leave my car there with them and have them give me a loaner (it's 2 hr drive one way... spent at least 12 hours drive time so far... 3 trips there but only 2 service visits... no fix). Orlando MINI has a very strict policy that they only give loaners to people that bought from them... due to the fact that the "sales associates" pay for the loaners... and since I bought my car in Texas... well, I'm SOL. The Service Manager told MINI USA that his old MINI does it too. But he clarifies to me that his happens ONCE and then it is done... not like mine.

My driver's seat has done this since it was brand new and it's got about 5k on it now. However, I've driven the '05 since IT was new and it has about 54k on it... never had a problem.

So it usually happens after I've been driving for awhile. I get in and pull the seat forward to my driving slot and then push back with my feet, pull forward, jump side to side to make sure everything is locked. Then while driving maybe after 15 minutes, maybe an hour, maybe three hours it will do it. It does this clunking in place several times... sometimes as many as 15-20 times during driving and sometimes just 2 or 3. Although the other night it didn't happen until I had driven for over 3.5 hours. It doesn't seem to necessarily be related to taking corners or starting or stopping quickly (although it does happen then... it's not consistent enough that I can MAKE it happen when I need to). It seems to clunk on both sides of the driver's seat (not always just the left or just the right).

The things that bother me most about it are: the seat does it unexpectedly when I'm driving on a straight road going a steady speed (which jumps the crap out of me)... the seat does this when I am pushing the clutch in... when pushing the brake... when pushing the gas... when turning... ummm... basically it can happen at any time except for when I need it to.

And then I found out (when I went for my "drive with the service tech" )that even if I could make it happen ONCE with the Service Tech- I'd have to make it happen AGAIN and then they'd have to figure out why it was doing it before they could replace it. BTW- the drive with the service guy was a left out of the dealership, left onto a side road, right onto the main road and sit in traffic... crawl then stop... crawl then stop. Then we went right onto a residential neighborhood road... maybe got into 3rd gear and then we came back. Tried to take a couple of corners but nothing. The "funny" thing is... a clunk had just happened after about 2 hrs of driving to get there. I was probably less than a mile away and as I was practically stopped... then just rolling between 5-10mph on a merge lane and waiting to get into the traffic. I may have pushed the clutch in to keep from stalling... don't remember.

I was totally desperate and asked how much it would be if I had to pay for new seat rails. Well, with parts and labor it would be just under $500. I was told that I could just buy the seat rails from them though and put them in myself. I called the dealership in Jacksonville (4 hours one way) and was told that there was a TSB on this part for the R52 (mine) and that the parts were on back order. I was shown at the Orlando dealership how to remove the seat (and not set off the airbag sensor)... but basically I guess I am on my own.

Maybe since it is nice out I will go try to remove it now.

 

I'm pretty sure I figured out what was wrong with my seat today. It's been several hours and I'm still really ticked about it though. Maybe I will write another day after I figure out what the particular part that connects to the floor is called. All I can say is Orlando MINI did NOT have "hands tied"... more like "eyes closed" or "heads up..."... see, best for me not to write now.

I was concerned about taking out the seat and having an issue with warranty with MINI USA... but my hands were tied. At least now I know which part wasn't ATTACHED.

Right now, I know the seat is securely attached. I don't know if it will hold... may be a defective part that I will have a problem with later.

Maybe I missed my calling...

 

Don't keep us in suspense. What did you/they fix?

- Mark

 

So what was the part that wasn't attached? I'm having this same issue and I'm quickly running out of warranty. It happens randomly and I know if I take it in, the dealer will not be able to duplicate it.

 

Sorry, I was trying to explain this and it's not working out. I just deleted what I wrote because it didn't make sense. I'll try to post a pic or something later. So far though... seems that my seat doesn't move around like it used to. I can't say what the problem is in your car... but in mine... it was not a difficult fix. (I may request a new set of seat rails just because the part may be defective (too short?)... and since it is a riveted piece and not one that can be removed... well, at least I have figured out WHY it was doing it.) It's a riveted part where the bolt goes through in the front track/rail to the floor. This part is meant to hook over and then be bolted in place. When comparing our '05 seat to the problematic '08 seat we could then easily see why we could never get the "teeth" (yep- technical term) to align and lock properly. Due to the fact that my seat was bolted properly at only 3 corners and not 4 corners... it continually moved. The bolts appeared to be tight but after removing the seat, we could see this little riveted part bumps out and up just enough on that one side to allow the "teeth" to become misaligned. My seat was always crooked in the track! Had the dealership actually taken my seat out (like they claimed they did) they probably would have noticed it. I am just a novice. Again, sorry... I'll try to post something better.

 

Ok... I didn't take this video with the intention of sharing it on You Tube... but that's the only way I know how to get it on here for you to see. There are some issues with close ups... but I think you'll be able to figure out what I'm talking about. This video was meant as evidence for the dealership whenever I decided to take it back to show them how to fix it. I fixed it for now... used a small sledge hammer and wrench to smack it 'til it latched. Sorry for the dirty fingernails too... those rails are greasy! Yeah, I'm totally a girly girl! Hope the video helps someone.

 

Excellent! Now I know what to look for. I appreciate you taking the time to explain this. Thanks!

 

Mine used to clunk backwards after a while, but I complained and had the seat rails replaced under warranty. Haven't experienced it since but I'll keep everybody posted.

 

I am posting the other two mini movies of our progression with the seat issue. They were made on the same day.


This video is part of the progression of us trying to figure out the issue with our seat constantly clunking. I just have no idea how to put all the videos together. (Sorry) When we figured something out... we took another little movie for documentation for the dealership and ourselves. Too bad the techs couldn't have figured this out.

#2 - Shows which part we had to hit with the hammer to get it to latch. It also shows that when the seat rails in the '08 are pushed all the way to the front position (where I usually have my seat)... those riveted parts that are supposed to latch and hold actually pop out. (Yeah, I know they're supposed to be bolted in to keep them tight... but the '05 parts stay in place once latched.)






Again with the progression... we discovered that not only was the right front latch popping out... the LEFT front latch (which had looked kind of bent and twisted to begin with) actually popped out of place too! My thinking is that the left front latch part was twisted due to the fact that it had to handle most of the forces from cornering, braking, taking off and shifting (using the clutch). Since the right front wasn't holding properly... the left front probably acted like a pivot point. If you remove your seat, you will notice that the bolt holes in the floor in front are tight holes and offer the most stable contact points. The bolt holes in the floor in the back actually have the ability for a little movement... I assume for fine adjustment of the rails. However, if BOTH front contacts are not secure... I believe that this is what allows the seat to swish back and forth ever so slightly... just enough to keep the seat from staying totally locked in place.

**I am not advising anyone to remove seats. This is intended only to show what we did and what we were able to figure out. After 2 trips to the Orlando dealership... we were told that everything was fine and everything had been checked. The Service Manager even told us that his seat did the same thing just not as many times as ours would. We had no other choice but to figure it out on our own.

 

Thanks for goign to all the trouble to put these videos together. Mine happens very infrequently and only once during a drive or since I adjusted it last, so I'm inclined to live with it, but I may get ambitious, yank the seats, and see what is going on.

- Mark

 

Here's the illustration of the 2005 seat which is perfectly lined up. (NOT Nabeshin worthy! )





Here's a side by side comparison of the 2008 seat when they were supposedly lined up.


I don't know if others issues are of the same magnitude that ours was... but maybe this can help someone.
I had searched ALL over this forum to try and figure it out and the only thread I'd found was this one.

I'm not a tech... I'm just a girl.

 

Yeah, wasting time taking out seats and figuring out the mechanics of it isn't something I enjoy. Unfortunately ours was really bad and felt unsafe. And since I couldn't get the dealership or MINIUSA to help... well... a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do I guess.