My 2008 Clubman has 25K miles on it, has only had minor problems, and has been a really fun car with few aggravations until this weekend when my back right-side door quit latching.

This happened while I was driving, and my dog nearly fell out of the back of the car into traffic before I could get off the road. Once home, I initially thought the latch needed to be greased, but that had no effect, and then suspected the actuator had broken.

The nearest dealer is an inconvenient 60 miles away, since the one that was supposed to be built in Asheville has yet to materialize 3-years later. So the dealer checked the car, diagnosed a bad actuator, and ordered a new part, however MINI says they didn't bother to stock any replacement parts in the USA. While I wait the potentially several weeks to make another trip to have it installed, the cargo area and back seats are unusable.

Apparently some GM accountant-turned BMW engineer designed the MINI back doors such that not only is there no way to latch it closed manually from the interior when the actuator fails, but the door light switch is encased within the door. This incredibly short-sighted design prevents anyone from simply tying the door mostly closed and taping the light switch down so the battery doesn't drain while waiting for repair.

In order to get the door to seal I had to lower the back seats, tie off a small cord from the right-side exterior latch to one of the interior cargo tie-downs, shim the door against the bumper with cardboard, and used two heavy-duty bungee cords strung so tightly from the flimsy cargo pocket to the front seat headrest uprights that I suspect the pocket will crack and slingshot into the back of my head while I'm driving.

I could not be more furious or more disappointed in the MINI product at the moment.

I would suggest that other R55 owners anticipate the failure of the barn door latch actuator, and carry rope and cords so that you can get home without leaving a trail of cargo on the road, or without being overcome by carbon monoxide fumes while the back door flaps in the breeze.

 

You're telling me that you have a mechanical failure with the physical barn door latch mechanism?
Versus the electrical shorting problem with the button release?

- Erik

 

Sorry to hear of your problem but let me tell you this. A very very common problem on the 08 clubman is that water gets into the wiring connectors for the door latch and causes it to open by itself. As I said this is a very very common problem. One way to check to see if that it the real problem is to take the inner door cover off and disconnect the door handle form the wiring harness and blow on it to get any possible water out of it. DO NOT reconnect it and shut the door if the door stays latched then the problem is a water problem. you can then open the door with the remote. Dry the connectors out and reconnect and tape them up with waterproofing tape. The dealers so this a lot to the 08 model year cars.


If you think 60 miles is inconvenient try living 300+ from you closest dealer as some of us here do.


If the part is not "stocked" in the USA then they have never needed one for a standard repair which means that if it is truely the mechanical mechanism it probably means you are the only one that has had this part fail.


Well this design is not only used on BMW/MINI it is also used on Mercedes, Toyota, Nissan, Ford, GM and a few others that i have worked on in the past 10 years.

well the bungee cord part is a very bad idea as the pannel just pull off and the whole panel will hit you in the head not just the pocket. In fact to get the whole cover off it is recommended to put on the pocket.

Now as for the back seats being unusable, that makes no sense. If you are tying around the head rest post on the front seat why not use the rear seat head rest post instead. Makes much more sense to me, that way the rear seats are still usable.

Sorry to hear you are so frustrated but in reality these are mechanical items and they WILL break at some point and that is a FACT of life. I had a Nissan that the rear hatch would not stay closed on so that is really no difference than what you are having problems with. And yes I was not happy but that would not make me feel that the brand SUCKS.

As for these comments, my personal thought is that it is not really needed as if it really was a problem then:

1. MINI would stock the repair parts in the USA
2. They would do a recall

Good luck with your repair.

 

My left barn door just quit opening! The door lock will not open. 2008 Clubman. Going to have to cut the latch off to replace the lock...as door is shut.

 

I'm having the same problem on my 2009

 

Nice response schatzy62!