Sorry to hear all you folks having window and door problems.My MC has seen -51F,well my temp guage showed -47C,and it started,the windows did the jump thing,and as I said in an earlier post about cleaning the snow/ice out of the outside handles,the doors never freeze up,even in freezing rain.You do have to make sure the windows are ALL the way up for the jump/bounce thing to work.If they look shut,but not all the way up,it will not work.I hold the toggle in the up position for a few seconds whenever I roll up the windows.You will feel a click in the toggle,this must be the resetting that Greatbear speaks of.
Just going to throw this out,but maybe the cars shipped up here are better prepped for the cold.

 

It seems that I ahve not had the problem as of yet out here in CO.
I garage ( gracie ) that is the best way to go go go go.

 

OK. The reason I asked is because I saw a post on another forum that had a picture of a broken window that was caused by closing the door with the window fully up because it was frozen in the up position. Here's the post and pic. (if this links works)



http://forums1.roadfly.org/mini/foru...6041870-1.html

 

Hijack (sorry!) - Turn OFF DSC in the snow? I leave it on for traction control, and it works very well! Now, when I'm in an empty parking lot tooling around, I turn it off to have a little more fun...

 

Yes, this can happen, and has been reported a number of times in the past here on NAM and elsewhere.

It's unlikely that you'll break the glass the first time this happens, but odds are that continuing to force your non-dipping window past the plastic gutter - as some here seem to be suggesting - will considerably increase your chances of breaking something. Clear the ice, reset the window, try to park inside on nights of ice/snow storms. But geeze, just forcing it makes about as much sense as...well, as turning off traction control and slamming on the gas as a way of safely making forward progress in the snow. It may not be fun, but slow and gentle is the way to go in bad conditions (on public roads at least )

 

It's really too bad that my first post here has to be a complaint, but I'm looking for some reassurance and advice.

Last month, my drivers side door handle was stuck also - it would open properly from the outside, but the inside latch was flapping around loose. I got tired of opening the window to open the door, so I got the handle replaced. Not a week later and the exact same thing has happened . Is this common? The passenger side works perfectly.

And now, this morning, my '04 Mini Classic won't start! Granted, it's -27C, but there's no block heater. If it's having this much problem in the cold now, I'm not looking forward to a few years down the road!

 

Are you talking about the alarm offered by MINI? The one with the flashing LED on the end of the wiper stalk? I've got that installed on my '03 MCS, and the only time it beeps is when a window or door is left open! Otherwise the only indication it's been armed is flashing front/rear lights and the LED on the wiper stalk.

 

If you look back at my post, you'll see, I had it and while the dealer repaired mine (new cable) two others showed up.

 

If you take the long view - and as someone who's been on NAM for over 2 years and is the owner of a 2002 MCS, I can do that - it appears that MINIs have a bit of a problem with penetrating moisture. This frozen door release cable (which results in broken door parts and doors that won't open) is akin to the frozen shift linkage thing (where water gets into the linkage due to faulty grommets and can result in a broken cable/linkage). And both are similar to the leaking door seals thing (which, btw, is also how doors get frozen shut on some cars). It basically seems that these are bugs that need to get worked out of the manfacturing process and/or call for improved parts. I'd have thought that MINI (BMW) would have solved many of these over the past 3 years, but apparently there's still some room for improvement.

As I've noted before, things like frameless doors are nice looking, but are not entirely the most practical things in the land of snow and ice. Style over substance? Your call...

 

So it looks like a rather common problem. Was yours the driver side or passenger side door latch? Thing is, my door would close properly and I could open it fine from the outside, but the inside latch was toast.

Yeah, the dealer repaired mine as well the first time this happened. It took a week to book an appointment, and since their garage isn't open on the weekend I had to book a day off work to drive the 2 1/2 hours (one way) to get it fixed. When I got there, they had ordered the wrong part (!), but fortunately for me they were able to pull a new part off another vehicle in the lot :smile: . Unfortunately, I have to book another appointment!

Like jsun says, "there's still some room for improvement.".

 

That guy probably slammed his door since it didnt do the quick roll down to close....lol...

My window actually only froze after it snowed.

 

I had this EXACT problem this evening after an ice/snow event blew through here today. It worked like a champ!!! Thanks, lot!!! NAM to the rescue....again!!

 

There is a fix for the outside door latch problem,the dealer will install stronger springs that push the outside lever into its closed position,to over come any snow/ice build up.Had this done last winter,but after I knew to clean the handle out.Have not had a problem since.But if it does happen again,I'm going to get some clear tubing that will fit over the handle,probably 3/4" to 1",cut a slit in it so it goes over the handle,and that should work like a boot to keep the snow out.
The dealer was very embarassed when I pulled up,and had to get one of them to pop the hatch so I could get out.Both doors would not open,and the beamer owners were standing around all had worried looks on there faces as I climbed out the boot.

 

Last year, my car got towed back to the dealer because of the door handle problem. The interior lights stayed on all night. The car tried to shut them off but because the handle was intermittent, the inside light would keep going on. They replaced the door handle the same day. I still occasionally get the inside lever stuck, like someone mentioned. I'll try the clearing the outside handle trick. Never would have thought of that. Thanks.

To Pat_Cooper, Is your brother crazy? Driving on those tires in the snow. Sorry to hear he mashed one of the wheels. If he has not bought the wheel yet, he should check out the classified section of VWVortex. There are lots of Aristos for sale. Here is one for example.
http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1713054
300 plus shipping, maybe another 25 bucks. Dealer prices are outrageous.

 

It's funny how my cheepo Civic of mine that Im leasing has no issues in
the -15F windchills of Chicago... parked outside all the time.

 

There is a reset on the window thing, I know you can do a search here for it, but it seemed like you held the toggle up for a certain number of seconds. Poor baby sitting outside in this weather, mine has a nice heated garage, and it doesn't go out when the weather is ugly. Although it does fine in just cold, like we have today in Missouri.

jc

 

sorry to hear you had to wait so long BigBamboo. I got the last at my dealership, so I lucked out and only lost 1 hour of work. I had this problem last year and they just lubbed the snot our of the latch. I learned normally after washing or a hard snow/rain to drive with heat completely cranked and park in my garage. it helped and I was only locked in my car 3 times. The new cable certainly was an improvement. It actually pulls easier. Either they improved it, or I damaged mine trying to get it to work last winter.

 

i have the mini alarm you're talking about on my 04 and it beeps whenever i lock / unlock the car...
also, i've had no big winter problems so far (knock on wood) despite the freezing weather, the only thing is that my e break will pop up a bit occasionally, not enough to do damage or stop me, but enough so the break light comes on. i have to weigh it down until the car warms up a bit.

 

I’m with MINI USA. I’m sorry to read about your problems with your windows and alarm. If you want our assistance, please phone us at (866) ASK MINI and mention Reference # 200436400049 so that we can help you more efficiently.

 

Thanks MINIDivision. I am scheduled to bring it back to the dealership tomorrow to check out the problem. I'll keep you posted.

 

Don't bother. MINIDivision only shows up once in each thread to parrot the same response that they give every single time. And don't expect that reference number to mean jack to anyone when you call, either.

I drove to work holding my driver's side door closed by the armrest last week, because it wouldn't close. I tried to pick out any snow and ice that I saw, but no go.

Oh, and last winter I drove in -5F to +5F for a weekend, and my 5 speed transmission popped a seal, dumped all the fluid, and had to be replaced, at 15,000 miles. It doesn't exactly make me look forward to keeping this car past the warranty period. I think all those cold weather MINI testing photos are just staged for the magazines.

 

Well it sure does not handle like an average car, but MINI has some serious cold weather issues. In my case cracked sunroof drains, window and door problems, etc. Not to mention a bunch things that went wrong in warm weather.

It is very reliable and the heated seats are nice, but I am starting to wonder if my 03MCS is a toy or a real transporation device. Calling the dealer again tomorow to fix the window, but no problem, the number is on speed dial.

regards,
Red

 

so yesterday i opened and closed the boot, like normal, and now my open trunk / hood light wont' turn off. i tried cleaning all the snow from around the trunk as well as opened and closed both the trunk and hood repeatedly, to no avail. and as it's not registering that the trunk's closed, my alarm's not bleeping, although i think it's still activating as the light on the stalk still flashes when locked... i dont' see this to be a big problem (and i'm about 400 miles from the nearest dealer till march!). but if anyone has any ideas it would be much appreciated. that light's kind of annoying.

thanks.

 

When it is really cold,like -30F the hatch did not close unless I slamed it,which last winter cracked the high brake lens,new latches and strickers seem to have fixed this problem,
but you can always put a piece of tape over the light

 

i went out yesterday, the weather up from 9 degrees to a balmy 18, and the trunk light went off! yay! oh wait, but the windows didn't jump down.
hmmm. i think the trick with this car is to be careful with the windows and ignore the little things, otherwise i'll just go nuts.
on another note, i'm up in bar harbor, maine, where people still give me weird looks driving around (there's only one other mini on the island, and it seems to be put away for the winter). it's kind of cool, coming from new york where everyone and their mother has one. oh so anyway i decided to drive over to the local subaru dealer to test drive an outback... (i was having a moment of boring practicalness). i asked how much they'd give me for sam (my mini), and the guy had no clue. he looked it up on kelly bb but couldn't find a price (?). he said this: "in all mly 35 years here i've never taken in a new mini." now if they'd been out the past 35 years i might have been surprised? he estimated 16 and i told him no way (sam's a n 04 brg/ w mcs with all three packages). i test drove an 02 outback and let me tell you it made me love sam all the more. horrid handling and a super mushy gearbox. he told me to go to the nearest parking lot and check out the "awesome snow handling." ok... i almost broadsided a tree. i guess he didn't suspect little old me (and a female!) to actually "test" the handling. haha. i took it back to the dealer and left in a hurry. on the way home i took sam to the same parking lot and let me tell you she handled just as well. when pavement is absolutely covered in snow that all wheel drive just doesn't make a difference! i felt very smug and all desire to do something practical has left me. ha.
whoah long post. well it'll give you something to read while trying to shirk work!
peace, and don't take your mini for granted!
christina.