This stuff will come off of the underside of the hood (painted metal) with a bit of rubbing and hot soap & water. If it's under the seams and braces (mine is) I don't know what to do about that....just let it continue to ooze out, I guess.

The black plastic trim is another matter and the key is to catch the dripping goo early...before it has a chance to discolor the trim. And, it doesn't take long...my car only has 1500 miles on it and there are permanent, light colored streaks (as if it has "bleached" the black plastic a bit) on each front fender trim pieces.

 

Mine is at the dealer right now getting all of the excess Cosmoline removed from all the nooks and crannies. My black fender molding was stained by it. When I showed it to the service advisor and told him it was done by the cosmoline, he asked me how did I know about cosmoline. I told him I learned about it on NAM. He said cool and that he reads this board all the time too. He said when customers report this they bring the car in for a full detail to remove all traces of the stuff. He said that if they couldn't get my fender molding cleaned up after doing the full detail that they will replace it. Meanwhile, I'm driving a brand new BMW 3 series sedan as a loaner. Pretty cool.

 

and yes, no question about it, this is strictly a dealer issue. Some, of course are better than others and it sounds like you have a pretty good one. It "should" have been cleaned up before you took delivery, but at least they're trying to do the right thing.

Mini of America couldn't be too thrilled about replacing the trim molding on a bunch of MC's because the dealers failed to detail the vehicles properly. Which, as we all know, we paid for in the Dealer Prep charges.

 

I'm wondering why its staining to begin with, I mean they coat the whole car with it when its shipped, you would think that any stain would just be a temporary build up of the oil left behind when wiped off. As I said I've had the drip a number of times, each time I cleaned it off with MrClean Magic eraser as soon as I noticed it, and there has been nothing left after I've cleaned it. I wonder how many of the actual stains are being created by the products being used to clean it. Still its good to see that they are replacing the stained parts regardless.

 

maybe the trim is masked prior to application of the cosmoline? And thank goodness this isn't a problem for everyone.

 

I was cleaning mine yesterday and noticed that I can still see where the oil was, but only when the light is right and it's only in between the high points of the texturing. I'll try that Magic Eraser, I hope a few more cleanings will get this stuff, since I've installed the front mudflaps and would have to get a new set of them if the trim gets replaced.

 

 

So, when i started this thread, i addressed a number of things. One of which is a light that comes on indicating that an exterior light/bulb is out. Originally i just saw it once in a few weeks but i've seen it four times since this past Sunday. When i called the dealership about it, the lady told me that if it continued and was frequent then i'd need to bring it in and have it looked at -- and at that time, they could clean the cosmoline off of the trim. I haven't called the dealership back yet because of one thing....how frequent is 'frequent'?
The specifics: the light was on Sunday, two different occasions yesterday and once today.

 

Thats frequent enough for me.

 

Ditto.

Definition of frequent:Happening or occurring at short intervals.

So LUCK219 make the appointment and get that and the cosmoline taken care of.

 

There is, I'm convinced, one requirement for becoming an SA--the ability to say "I've never heard of this before," and "Our technician couldn't duplicate it." I don't mean this to flame any SAs among us, but that's the runaround I got so many times when I was trouble shooting things. It didn't help that I had one of the very first R56s on this side of the Pond, so I have to say some of what my SA said was true. Trouble was, according to some other owners, these two lines were stated AFTER I presented my problems, by the same person. So, until you can guarantee the light will be on, and stay on, when you go, or you can find a particular pattern to report (speed, temperature, etc), I wouldn't go all that distance.

I see you live in Rockville, MD. We'll be up there in another week. My daughter, also a MINI owner, is Ms. Wheelchair Texas, and will be competing in the Ms. Wheelchair America pageant. Her name is Michelle Colvard--be sure to take a look at these websites to see a really neat young lady (yup, I'm bragging!).

http://www.mswheelchairtexas.org/main/

http://www.mswheelchairamerica.org/c...y/contestants/

She AND her husband, Brian, have MINIs! She has a LY Cab, and he has a Checkmate Edition.

 

Actually, Debbie was someone i was transfered to when i asked to speak with the service department about the issue. I've never had to take my MINI in so i dont really have a SA yet. My MA at MiniOfSterling was Jeff Wannall/Ahmed Shaker.

I still plan to post pics of the cosmoline but keep forgetting to take the camera to work to take them before coming home. Once i get home, i'm in the dark garage and you cant really see much. I'll try to do them tomorrow again. =)

With the exterior lighting issue, i've still have it coming on quite frequently. I plan to call sometime within the next two days or so and schedule a time with MoS to take it in. As long as they give me a loaner while they have mine, i'm fine with it. I'm just glad my work is flexible with stuff like that.

 

Luck219,
I talked to Debbie today, and she told me about the one time cleaning, and to take my mini in at the end of the hot weather. She also told me that if the cosmoline has stained the black trim, they will replace it at that time.

 

Yep, she told me the same. Phew, that's a good thing. At least we're getting the same story. I may have to take my MINI in before the summer's over though to have the exterior lighting stuff checked since my light keeps coming on and i cant find a blown bulb anywhere. Thanks for the info!

 

So, i have a new issue as of 7pm tonight. I was driving to my class on the highway when all of a sudden the gong for not wearing the seatbelt came on and the icon was flashing at me. The catch is: i was wearing my seatbelt. I couldn't get the gong/light to go off. I took my seatbelt off and on again, then i even turned my car off(at a stoplight, not on the highway ) and it came back on when i turned my car on. I went to my class and came hour and hour and a half later. When i started my car, i got the same thing again. I'm definitely calling my dealer tomorrow as there are multiple issues going on w/ my MINI that shouldn't be happening]
1.) cosmoline leaking (which we all know by now)
2.) stupid one-touch passenger window not going up
3.)exterior lighting icon/gong going off all the time with no visible lights out
and now 4.) seatbelt icon coming on when i'm wearing my seatbelt.

Sheesh. All of this stuff is really starting to become a huge pain and a hassle. Anyone else had the seatbelt issue?

 

On the seatbelt thing, I assume you are talking about the driver's seat, not the pax seat, right? Heavy objects can trigger it, like my Yorkie, or my purse.

 

Did you have your books on the passenger seat, by any chance?

 

Yes, actually i did - along w/ my purse. You think that really could have been what caused it? It's that sensitive? It was just one book and my bag. The seat wasn't crammed full of stuff.

 

Sometimes that's the reason. The sensors are suppose to be really sensative.

 

Should be easy to find out. Put the same book and your bag on the seat and take a drive down the road. (Be aware you need to go over a certain speed for the alarm to kick in)

 

my laptop bag sets it off. about 4-5lbs. i put the bag in the boot or on the floor now.

 

haha, i cant believe such little things as a laptop and a textbook can set it of. That just seems too sensitive. Anyway, i'll make sure not to put that much in the other seat then.

Btw, i finally took a pic of my cosmoline drip...These pics are all from the drivers side but the passenger's side looks the same.

 

That's exactly what mine looks like!

 

When the Cosmoline drip first showed up on my 2007 S model my dealer cleaned it up and told me to keep bringing it back and they would keep cleaning it until it stopped. It took 4 trips before it was all gone. On the last trip they told me this had became an item of interest for MINI USA and they would have to do a service report every time after that.

Be careful using home remedies to clean the black plastic. You could very eaisly damage the finish. On the fourth trip my dealer told me if the Cosmoline ruined the black trim pieces they would replace all the damaged ones under warranty. Thankfully the fourth trip was all it took. We were under water restrictions here and could not wash cars at home, so I got four free washes also.

Auford
Lightening Blue S model, White roof, bonnet stripes.

 

My laptop doesn't set it off, and it's a heavy one. I don't think 4lbs should set the thing off. That makes no sense that you couldn't put a bag on the seat. Lots of people do that.