And I would not use any type of sharp knife or utility knife. The rubber/vinyl is soft and gummy enough that a simple screwdriver or putty knife will cut it without cutting the fabric.

^^That looks pretty good. I like the blackout. We just landed some more of these OEM parts and actively trying to find someone else that can produce these for us to lower the price. Mine are cracked out again and i have treated them, it seems that the treatment prolonged the life with the VRP CG stuff.
It would be cool if we can get them produced with our trims in factory blackline.

Saw Whine not Walnuts' fix in person at MOTD and it looked great. We're hopefully going to do this on my father's R52, as his trim is completely rotted.

Were you ever able to find someone else that could produce this? I know of several local R52s and R57s that are in desperate need

Hello,

We have not found anyone yet that can produce these for a lower cost at this time, if we find one I will post up.

Right now we have these and have dropped the price, again they come with free shipping. : https://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Sit...51137123438KT/

I have read numerous entries by people from everywhere about this exact same problem! There seems to be a pattern here with a few items which cause problems for mini owners. Through research of my own in attempt to find solutions I am having with my own Mimi Cooper S a pattern of same issues and corporate responses began to come to light very clearly. If a corporation is intentionally using a design and materials with the knowledge they are substandard refusing to replace or repair these ongoing habitual issues yet market their product as superior by pricing it as a premium quality than their response to these issues are not only ethically wrong but also criminal in nature. Perhaps a class action law suit may right the wrong with this company to force their hands to be more responsible. The issue will be to get everyone onboard to participate to for this company to right their wrong doings. What r your thoughts about this approach?

Genius!
 

Thank u for thinking outside the box! I still feel this corporation needs to right their wrongdoing.

Unfortunately that things are normal practice. If we have problem after end of warranty it won't pay attention from plant. It's not safety problem

Unfortunately that things are normal practice. If we have problem after end of warranty it won't pay attention from plant. It's not safety problem

Using Z shape rubber trim
 

I did everything Whine not Walnuts did ( https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml ) but I used Z-Shaped Rubber trim on the upper and lower sides of the two OEM Plastic Rear trim pieces. NOTE: I only used 3m trim tape (1st photo) where the adhesive on the rubber trim seperated. If this happens, I just cut away the seperated adhesive and replaced it. Search eBay for Z-shape rubber trim. It's a Z shape that is approx 2.0 to 2.3 cm wide, 0.2 cm high, and you will need it to be no less than 4 meters long. When applied, 2.3 cm ends up a little proud of the OEM height. I found it at 5 meters long for $10. Plenty long for this project.
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...9327f23cf2.png
Z-shape trim with 3M tape



https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...183fe4fdcd.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...e31a7ccbac.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...844457b4e6.jpg

This is interesting, but I'm not quite sure I understand what you did. You basically replaced both the top and bottom rubber part from the trim. What is the 3m trim tape for? The ebay listing you linked seems to have the 3m tape already included. What am I missing. I am assuming you have to remove (unscrew) the two trim pieces from the convertible top to add the rubber?

I only used the 3m trim tape where the adhesive on the rubber trim seperated from the rubber. Then I just cut away the seperated adhesive and replaced it.

Thanks for your reply. Do you have to remove the molding in order to do this repair?

any chance you can repost the link to the ebay purchase? the link isn't working.

re-read my post above, I edited it to tell you what to search for. Good luck

sweet. thank you.

This looks like a great fix to the rotting moulding issue...can you please take closer shots of how the replacement is applied to the trim? In your pictures I can't tell of the adhesive is on the cloth cover or if the adhesive is on the top or side of the beltline plastic piece. Thanks much. Looking forward to attempting this myself.

I saw a company on Facebook that is selling new rubber to swap out cracked rubber.

Yes. It's the identical rubber moulding, but on FB he sells a kit. Im interested in a close-up and explanation of where the adhesive part is stuck to.

Would you mind sharing that Facebook link.

https://Mmotorworx.com/
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...f81c908a5a.jpg

thanks for sharing!
 

Awesome, ordered! Thank you for sharing. I've been searching for replacement trim that is less than $200 per side and had started watching the junk yards. A DIY kit at $100 sounds fantastic.

We have a fix it kit now. https://www.ecstuning.com/b-assemble...37123437kt1kt/

Also the original kits also if you like OEM. https://www.ecstuning.com/b-assemble...37123437kt1kt/

Cool, thanks for doing that! Do you have any pictures yet you can share? I did the simple fix a while ago, but for what this costs I might have a go at replicating the OEM look.

Yep welcome,. :)

Not yet. We found the same parts used as above. Mine are really cracked and maybe past the point of the fix kit as its cracked near the chrome.trim more I used the VRP chemical guys stuff which bought me some time. Mine were replaced back in 2007ish and they are really bad now.