On the club door - I thought this was a known problem with a known solution (re-routing the cable to the correct location). I had it. Have they not addressed this in the factory since 8-08 when mine was built???

 

I`d be pissed too if I had those problems out of the gate with my Clubman and can totally understand...even with the uneven sunroof. You paid a lot for that car, and it should be perfect but I`m also sure you understand that things can go wrong.
I own two Mini`s; a 2007 base Cooper that was a loaner for the dealership that I bought after it was a year old and a 2009 Clubman S bought out of the showroom.
Each car had issues when I got them. The Cooper had rattles (they replaced the rear bushings) and the sunroof rattled badly (they replaced that also). Even when I picked up the new Clubby, I noticed the clubdoor tinting was poorly done and looked like it had a "ragged" edging. A new window was ordered, and they replaced it. No other issues with the clubman even after a round trip drive to Key West from Northern NJ. Oh, I`m sorry, yes there was...on cold startups, it would idle loudly until warmed up..like a diesel engine. Took it into the dealer and they took care of it (I think it was the timing belt/tensioner they had to tighten up if I remember right).
But this kind of thing happened with EVERY car I have bought...a BMW 330 ci (needed a clutch replace after 800 miles), a 2003 Toyota Tundra bought new needed a new power steering assembly...and I`d just like to forget about the Durango and Grand Cherokee issues that I had...
I pretty much expect something to go wrong with something so complicated...if nothing does I consider myself lucky!
But Headland, my air conditioner doesn`t make any kind of noise and yours shouldn`t either. Also, that engine should turn over on the first crank every time. Maybe it is time for another dealer. I lucked out with mine (Morristown). Couldn`t be happier with those guys (and girls!).

 

Ran-o-matic,

I had my cable re-routed. It did not solve the problem. The best solution that I have found is to spray it with WD40 every couple of months.

 

If cable rerouting did not solve the problem then there is a new cable that should be installed. Talk to your dealer. This is a known issue.

Some cars had good cables but the cable was routed incorrectly others had bad cables the were routed correctly or incorrectly.

 

When they rerouted the cable, they installed the new cable. It just appears the fix is not reliable.

 

I hear you, MiniAndy. I guess my experience with past cars has been different from yours. Like I said, I've never had any issues at all with the other new cars that I've owned -- maybe I'm just lucky! So with that history, having a new car with all of these issues right off the bat -- some little, granted -- is really annoying. Thanks for understanding where I'm coming from.

 

Wow, the Toyota needed a new power steering system? How much does it cost to replace it? I keep hearing from people who always tell me "Buy a Toyota and nothing ever goes wrong." Wrongo!!! I would pay good money to see the repair history on their vehicles. I bet they're severely exaggerating how "reliable" or "perfect" their cars are. I find it interesting that, of all the Japanese and European makers, in the first half of 2008, Toyota recalled the most vehicles for defects and miscellaneous problems.
http://jalopnik.com/188137/toyota-in...massive-recall
418,000 vehicles!? Yikes, that's huge!

 

J.D. Power does independent, random samplings -- there's a reason why brands like Toyota and Honda are at the top and MINIs get middling reliability. We all know that MINIs, overall, are simply not as reliable as a Honda or Toyota, GENERALLY speaking. Period. Most of us bought our MINIs knowing that. It's fact, not exaggeration, otherwise it wouldn't be the same result from many different sources (Consumer Reports, J.D. Power, etc.).

Despite these recalls, Toyota has better overall reliability than MINI. Again, some here might have MINIs that have no problems -- that's par for the course.

 

Well, yeah, but now Toyota has stopped production on EIGHT different models, pending a fix for their most recent probelm.

That said, though, I owned a Camry some 15-odd years ago and that thing ran steady like a Kenmore appliance. And about as boring too, though. My
Accord has similarly been very reliable, thankfully with somewhat more soul ( because it's a coupe?).

I don't mind quirkiness in cars ( hell, look at old SAABs...), but I do mind doofus reliability problems.

 

This happened awhile ago with the Tundra, but from what I recall it was covered under warranty. Other than that, I still have the truck and have had zero other issues with it besides basic wear and tear. Not even any rattles! It`s a great truck. My only gripe with it is that I average between 12-14 mpg. Didn`t bother me when gas was around 1-1.50 per gallon I did take it in for the frame-rust recall that they had late last year, but my truck was fine.
My point in the post was that these cars are so complicated and so many things can go wrong that if something doesn`t, I would consider that lucky!

 

If you want a car that never breaks buy a Hyundai

 

Another Mini guy with a Hemi Charger

Our Clubman has been pretty problem free with almost 5000 miles. I find certain things annoying but those are more design issues

 

That sums it up perfectly, and is why I'm angry about all of these issues so early in the car's career. There's now a new loud rattle coming from the engine compartment. I've owned a Honda, a Subaru, and a Ford. Not a single problem with any of those, either in the fit and finish department or the reliability department; this does NOT mean that there aren't exceptions, of course! But this is the way it is for me, and I now have to deal with this crap, unfortunately.

Doesn't mean I still can't b*tch a little, though!

 

Any updates on how your car is doing, Headlands?

 

Next Monday is the day I'm bringing it in. I've been talking with MINI Customer Relations about a few things and they're (hopefully) making sure that I get taken care of properly.

 

Good to hear. Hope MINI gets your car done properly!

 

Good luck and here's to hoping things fall in line at last. The logial side of me says modern cars are assembled of parts often produced by third parties bla bla bla. The car lover side wants to say "Holy S*** Batman how in the world can this poor MINI be this snake bitten?"

You've spec'd a beautiful MINI and I hope the fun finally overtakes the PITA this has been for you.

I've been lucky with 7,000 dependable miles on my '09 MCS convertible and I hope you are soon enjoying this too.

 

Here's an update for anyone who's curious:

Some of the problems were not able to be reproduced at the dealer (which seems to be some kind of evil magic spell that most people have when they bring cars in!).

They replaced the compressor for the AC and that seems to be fine. Finally (after telling me before that it was normal to make a loud whiny noise).

They acknowledged that the sunroof is mounted unevenly, but then used some confusing wording to tell me that if I wanted them to correctly straighten the sunroof then it would not be within "factory spec" anymore.

EDIT: OK, I just spoke to the dealer again and we're going to work it out. There were some big miscommunications, it seems. All will be fine.

 

I get it... If the factory installs a defective part and they fix it, it's no longer like it was from the factory, so it's not to factory spec!

Clever!

 

Blainestang -- read my revised post above.

 

Nick Alexander is in Downtown LA?

 

HTClubman -- yes, on Alameda St.

 

FYI I saw your post re: sunroof -- the felt is 'normal' to stick out a bit; the felt is pretty thick to ensure that no matter how the glass slides, car flexes, etc it still seals.

Now, you can complain that MINI on this one isn't as millimetrically tight in their specs as you might prefer, but the dealers usually can only do work that MINI will authorize as "repairs" (warranty work you're trying to get done free right?) so they can't lie -- realize they would love to do any work anytime since they get paid then!

as others mentioned on the other thread, don't worry about it as long as it is not leaking or squeaking.

I'll tell you though, at some point I realized one of my interior trim bits wasn't flush -- I could see the clips, and almost put my pinky in there. I told them, they looked, agreed, and fixed. I am sure they would do the same for your sunroof, if it was out-of-spec...

 

The problem with my sunroof was that it was unevenly mounted from side-to-side (looking from the back of the car, the left side of the sunroof assembly was higher than the right). I hear what you're saying, though.

 

Let me give you a hint... for $32K you could have bought a decently optioned 2010 BMW 328i Sportswagon that has none of the build quality issues your car has. $30K+ for a MINI is simply insane.