A few months ago, the rear hatch on my MINI suddenly lost its ability to stay open. When I open it, I have to hold it up or it will fall and slam shut. (Fortunately, it has not fallen and slammed shut because I've been careful.)

What broke? Can I fix it myself?

 

Sounds like the gas pressurized struts (pn 41626801258) are shot.

 

 

I have replaced these on two of my Mini Coopers! You should always replace both!

 

Why? They rarely fail at the same time

Nik

 

I did both...not sure...but cheap... easy ...like a 5 minute job, and $20 or so if you look around.
Maybe the logic is one went...the other is old, so it's gonna go or the weak with age...so it's easier on the hinges if the lifting pressure is the same on both sides?

 

I guess you figure one starts to go, you keep using it then the other holds extra weight, stars to put on extra wear on it. Fix both and be done with it. They are cheap on rock auto.

 

Cool, just thought I was missing something.

 

I done both. The thing is one fails ( you dont really know unless you look very close at the trunk lid when up) and then the other side takes all the weight and is really slow to open.

We have them here: 41626801258

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/SiteSearch/41626801258/

 

Thank you all for the advice and links!

 

I see four struts here: https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2006-...h/41626801258/

Could you give me the rundown on the differences between them?

 

The weaker one will put a higher load on the new one and kill it sooner than later.

 

The same reason why I always replace headlight bulbs, tires, shocks, struts and brake components in pairs. If one has already failed, you can bet the other isn't far behind.

 

Yes, replace them in pairs. I just did this very thing yesterday. Ordered these from Amazon for $24:Maxpow 2pcs Hatchback Gas Charged Lift Support Fits 2002-2014 Mini Cooper 4360

Perfect fit, five minutes to pop the old ones off and pop these on. The hatch lifts on its own now, with no help from me. Harder to close too, but they'll soften up a bit in time.

 

ARISE, THREAD LONG-DEAD, AND BREATHE YOUR NEXT!

I've tried to install 4360-marked hatch lift supports from NAPA and from Autozone this week, and none of them have fit my 2005 R50. Maybe I should be hammering them on, but they look like the sockets on the struts are visibly far too small to fit over the ball mounts. All the online aftermarket sources I could find said those 4360 parts should fit from 2002-2014, but if you look at what ECS Tuning recommended above, that part (#41626801258) is listed as an OEM MINI part that only fits from 2002-2006. I'm hoping that makes the difference, because my next step was ordering the part from my nearest MINI dealer two hours away.

So I just ordered the part from ECS Tuning, and I'm hoping that solves the problem. If it does, I'm going to recommend that people with 2002-06 MINIs stick with the OEM part.

 

A plethora of parts on Amazon also. I put these ones on in 2019 and they have worked fabulously. Installed in 5 minutes, and they have a lot of gusto!

 

My guess is the aftermarket ones amazon and those have listed are wrong, got to watch those places as its the wild west of cars parts,. I see fitments wrong all the time on amazon.

 

delete

 

When I went to replace mine, I removed the left one at the top. Whatever dumb move I did next resulted in the hatch slamming down onto the cylinder/lift and the window instantly turned into 1,000,000 small pieces of glass. My $20 job was $420!

 

Ouch!