I'm thinking it's possible Thule got wind of this thread.

It's a pity they probably didn't keep track of the folks they had notified about the ill-fated kit...

 

While at MTTS2008 Boston i spoke with a Technical Rep from Mini USA. There indication was not that the rack parts had changed but that the slot bracket under the skin of the roof was that cause of the problem and that early production cars were the ones that would have the problem.

Now i may have miss understood him. I will find him again tomorrow and speak with him again about the matter and find out which story is the correct one.

1. Rack end points

2. Mounting bracket under skin of roof.

 

Update:

I purchased the roof racks from my dealer yesterday and sat in their parking lot and put them on myself. It took me about 40 minutes to do it this first time but now that I know how they go on and off i can do it in about 15 minutes.

On the leak issue. I washed the car this morning and found NO leak. I then experimented with the hose and found that I could get it to leak with high pressure spray right on the gasket. So i dried up the car and took the racks off. I then repeated the experiment with high pressure spray and guess what the windows still leaked. I again dried up the car and sprayed it form about 10 feet with the high pressure spray from my garden hose and there was not leaking. Put the racks back on and did the same experiment and there was again no leak.

There is a point at which all gaskets will leak and ifi am eve in a tornado or hurricane then i will probably expect it.

I am going back to MTTS2008 Boston and will seek out the person i was speaking to yesterday and see if i can get more info as stated in my post above.

 

Yes please.

Can you also see if he will tell you what is meant by Early models? Is there a certain manufacturing date?

My take on reading all the various posts is that the angle that is created by the new Clubman roof relative to the mounting does not let the cross bar sit level...that to get the rack installed you literally have to almost bend the bars to install the entire assembly. Some members have been able to gently force the install by taking the mounting towers apart, but the geometry of the current rack vs. the roof profile is not a good fit. In some cases mounting the rack makes it still want to bebound to an "unbent" position and this puts stress on the clubman door forcing it outward and opening up its weatherseal.

Please see what he says....I really want to get a rack on my Clubman.

 

Interesting...

So; the reports of leaks may be exaggerated?

 

Schatzy thanks for the post and update I live out in Whitinsiville and ordered my Clubie from the RI dealer. I ordered the rack based on our comments and experiments it sounds like the rack will work.
I plan on taking it camping with a roof box soon after I get it end of July. This will be a good test for me to see if the rack will hold up as well to see if I can go camping for a long weekend with 2 kids and my wife.

 

In my opinion any leak is a bad leak and has the potential to cause deterioration - be it rust, mold, mildew or whatever.

MINI needs to get their act together and make a roof rack that will work for everyone without any leaks. I'm remaining hopeful, though annoyed.

JGS, the anecdotal reports on the roof rack problems are within this long thread, as well as over on MINI2, however the fact that MINI sent out that bulletin to all dealers everywhere stating not to sell the rack for the Clubman means they have their own concerns and don't want to be liable. Until there is a bona fide update, from MINI itself - it's really up to individuals to make their own choices...but I remain surprised that dealerships are still selling this to Clubman owners when they've been specifically told not to.

Meanwhile, some of us will wait. Others who've already gone to rack route either are fine with them or have had problems. Remember, the percentage of owners don't post on the Internet - only some of the seriously obsessed do.

for an updated view on MINI2:http://www.mini2.com/forum/mini-club...ml#post3475447 from holdenontoit/Jock.

 

To all interested in the OEM Roof Rack for the Clubman.

While at MTTS2008 Boston I spoke with an accessories genius. The problem with the OEM rack is with the mounting plates under the skin of the roof. There was a period of time that the bracket that holds the rack in place was not sized correctly. This causes the rack uprights to bend closer to the roof and make it push out on the rubber rain gutter/gasket. So the reports of the uprights not fitting to the cross bars correctly it very true.

Then we got into the exact nature of the problem. I was told it is the way the bracket was manufactured and bent. A miss alignment of the bracket is caused. This difference is less than .032 inches but can cause a much larger alignment problem when extended out through the rack upright.

From what he was explaining to me they will need to remove the rain gutter/gasket form the car and remove the brackets that are in the car and replace them.

From what i was told they have a possible fix coming but as we all know some fixes come faster that others. When i asked would it be a few eeks or was it going to be months he was very vague and said it could be next week or eight months.

Of course Mini (or he would not say) what the build weeks of the cars were that have this problem. I suspect that they do not know, and that it may be that each vehicle will have to be checked individually for the problem.

As for other rack solutions there seem to be none now as Thule has removed theirs from their web site. Also I have verified that there is know way for it to work.

The good news for me (but not everyone) is that my rack has been through a severe thunder storm today while driving with winds gusting to over 50 MPH and i do not have a leak.

 

Thanks for the info....it's good to hear it from someone on the inside.

Since you're not having any problems.....what build date is your clubman?

 

I have taken some pictures of the rack mounting and noticed tha tsome other people have taken pictures as well.

The last picture in this post over on mini2 looks to me as if the mounting has not been done correctly.
http://www.mini2.com/forum/3355380-post48.html

Looking at the last picture i noticed that the mounting plate of the rack upright has not been inserted into the roof properly. This can be compared to the pictures i am posting here.

It is very hard to explain how this rack mounts but once mounted properly there is no way this is coming off the roof. But i will give it my best shot to explain how it goes on in words. am also going to attach a couple of hand drawings showing how the rack mounting uprights look before and after mounting in the vehicle.

1. the rack mounting bracket that fits into the roof is two (2) pieces.

2. They rotate so that the pins on the edges are closer together. see picture of hand drawing.

2a. When the pins are rotated in for install they will fit through the slot in the roof.

2b. when the pins are rotated out for final lock they expand out so that the pins can not be pulled out of the roof.

I hope everyone can understand this, as i stated it is hard to put in words what actually happens when installing the rack brackets.

 

I spoke to a Clubman owner who had his rack installed by the dealer on Saturday. He was told the same thing, but his didn't need any retrofitting. He said that his was built in week 19.

 

Great pictures on your road trip Schatzy, when you get a chance post some w/the rack please.

 

But, does this all mean that the factory rack availability is still on hold?

I'd prefer to be able to fit my existing Thule to the car, as I have the fairing, bike trays, etc., but it's going to be a bugger if I can't travel with bicycles on top from time to time.

schatzy62-thanks for doing the "legwork" for us!

 

The factory rack is on hold, but some are still able to buy it. I spoke to my SA last week and he had talked to MINIUSA about the rack issue and the he was told that the retrofit kit was going to be available in July.

 

Anyone looking for the rack, call you parts department, see if they will sell you the rack.

As i stated in a post above my MA, SA, Parts Department, and I spent some time this past Saturday going thru all the bulletins and have not been able to find anything stating that the rack can not be sold or installed. In some threads there has been a date of April 17 2008 as the date of the Bulletin but again no one at my dealership can find it it the bulletin listings.

I was hoping to get some more pictures of how the rack mounts but the weather here has been uncooperative. Maybe later this week.

But again this morning Sever thunderstorm, including hail, and no leak. And no damage from the hail either, thankfully.

If anyone is going to MOT2008 I will be there and can assist in getting a rack installed or adjusted if needed just PM me and we can out the details together.

 

hoonu

It looks like from your signature you still have some time before yours comes in and from what i have been told you probably will not have a problem with the OEM Rack mounting.

As for your Thule Feet and bars they will not work. The bike trays and fairing may be another story though, it all depends on how they mount to the cross bars. The OEM rack has a slot type mount for all the accessories and most Thule accessories mount around the around the bar, but i have seen many ingenius people make the two type of systems work together.

 

See you this weekend!

 

i think we need to have people take pictures of the brackets to see how they fit, i have not seen any with the entire pins fully inside the roof.

1. first a frontal picture with the rack cover open (showing the bracket teeth)

2. then one from the side showing how far into the roof the teeth grab.

3. if dealer installed or other.

4. any leaks? pushing down on the gutter?

and post them here. i think we will see how the attachments will vary and give some people an idea if they are better or worse.

 

I'm the one who typed word for word the print out dated 4/17 that I watched my Service Advisor take off his computer and print for me. Believe me, I am not, nor was MINI of Fairfield County the only ones to see this thing...it was not actually called a "bulletin", but I can't remember what the term was. As I said, what I typed is what was written:https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...4&postcount=40

Good luck with all of this - in both this thread, and in the MINI2 thread there are many detailed photos...of the installations, some with "play by play" photos...some installed by dealers, as I believe serge's was, and some done by individuals. Here is an interesting observation by someone who installed their own rack and, thus far, has had no problems: http://www.mini2.com/forum/3410607-post101.html, here are photos of his installation: http://www.mini2.com/forum/3414002-post115.html If you take your time and read through that MINI2 thread completely, you'll find that there is quite a lot of information there...including updates from holdenontoit who had his dealer installed rack inspected by MINI USA...and more...... It's a long read, but you'll find others who corroborate the April announcement from MINI about the rack issues, etc.

Just got off the phone with my Service Advisor at MINI of Fairfield County in Stamford, CT who says that the Aftersales Development notice from 4/17 stands and that they are still awaiting the updated rack fix/retrofit, whatever it will be, from MINI.

 

Take a look at post #260 of this thread and and you will se one picture of how the bracket is fully inserted into my roof and there is a link to another thread that show one that is not fully inserted. I will admit this is only one picture but as Otra said there are many more and it seems to me that many of them have been installed incorrectly. When the weather gets better around here and i am not at work i do plan to take more pictures of the situation. I will admit the first time it was not an easy install, but i have been able to get it off and back on n less than 30 minutes now.

Otra, Is there any way you can get an actual copy of this report/bulletin/white paper (using generic word bulletin to cover all data sent to dealers) because my dealership would like to see it as they have looked thru all of their service and parts bulletins and not been able to find it.

 

What I posted - which I just updated and gave a link to is the advisory they received. Just send your pal the link: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...4&postcount=40 or have him call George Evancho at MINI of Fairfield County: 203-348-0075.

 

My observations so far on the Parts Departments personnel is that they know something about BMW parts, but not much about MINI parts.

I am not surprised that the announcement is not widely known or seen.

 

schatzy62 you could also have them call Devon at Ralph Schomp Mini in Denver CO his is my SA. 2 weeks ago I went in to buy the rack knowing of the problems and he told me about the bulletin and talked me out of buying it.

 

schatzy62, it doesn't appear to be just a fit issue either. From feedback from my SA (who received word from MINI USA) and from postings from others, there also appears to be an issue with the brass screws that you tighten down failing. It has happened to one poster over on MINI2 and it sounds like others have reported it to MINIUSA. Anyway you can confirm this with your source? I'd hate to get the retro kit with brass bolts if they were known to be breaking.....

 

The kit is supplied with a torque wrench and let me tell you i was very surprised at the low torque required. The installation book states to tighten to 6 Nm (Newton Meters) which converts to 53.1 Inch Pounds or 4.424 Foot Pounds. Now compare that to what a cylinder head or wheel bolt is torqued to there is a big difference. It is barely hand tight. So those who broke the bolt were probably putting way to much torque on the bolt.

Using an allen wrench and a torque wrench to test what i considered hand tight and it came out to about 14-15 foot pounds or more than 3 time the torque that the bolt is to be torqued to.

The bolt on mine is steel and the nut that tightens down on the bolt looks to be brass. My hunch is that it is probably brass as a safety feature so that it breaks before to much pressure is put on the rotating plates.

I will be seeing a couple of people about this issue this coming weekend at MOT2008 and with their help hopefully come up with some meaningful information on how to get the rack installed properly as many of the pictures i have seen people post show that the rack was not installed properly.


We are car number 211 on the Concourse. Anyone else that is going to MOT 2008 please stop by.