So, i've had my MCS for a little more than three months now and am starting to notice a few little things going wrong and glitching - have any of you guys had the same problems?

1.) My uncle pointed out on one really blistering-hot day that there was something leaking down from the bonnet onto the black panels above the front tires. Maybe some type of grease used in the hood? I'm not sure what it is. It doesn't seem like it's leaking anymore but now there are liquid marks from where the leak was and i cant seem to get it off. I haven't tried Black Wow or anything because i dont have any. Any home remedies that might take this off? I dont want it to stain the black panel things.

2.) for one day - just one day - my passenger window wouldn't 'one-touch' up. It would go down fine using one-touch, just not back up. The next day, everything was completely fine and it has worked ever since. This happened a few weeks ago.

3.) Lastly and most recently -- When i've started my car, an icon shows up where the digital speed readout is. The symbol looks like an upside down lightbulb with sunrays coming out of it. I looked it up in the manual and it said something about the exterior lighting bulbs, etc. I've seen it a few times now and have gotten out of the mini and checked all the lights that i can see and they're all working. Any ideas on this? I'm sure it's nothing major, but if something's wrong, then i need to go back to the dealership and have them fix it!

Ok, that's all. JUST 3 things for now. If anyone has been having any of the same issues, please let me know. Especially the whole hood leaking thing. That's kind of disturbing. I've emailed my SA (because i wasn't sure who to talk to) and i haven't heard from him at all.

Signed,
*Worried*

 

I can answer #1 for you since this seems to be very common on the MINI Cooper's in hot weather.What that is dripping from the hood is excess rustproofing/Cosmoline sprayed on at the factory and should disappear very soon.I've had it drip on my front bumper for a couple of weeks after I bought my '08 MCSa and it wiped up with some Meguiar's cleaner wax each time.I didn't have it drip on the black front fender moldings but maybe try either WD-40 sprayed on a rag or possibly even a little Goo Gone.

Number 2 and 3 I am not familiar with but perhaps someone who has experienced that can give you an answer.

 

dripping from under the hood onto the black moulding. If you open the hood you will see the white oily goo oozing from around the hood braces. I cleaned it up with some soap and water. Hopefully it will stop soon.

 

I washed my car last weekend with regular car wash and it didn't remove it, then again, i didn't notice that it was still there until after i washed. So, i didn't focus on those two particular spots. Maybe i'll try again with regular wash and then some googone or something. Thanks!
I'm glad other people are having this same issue and it's not just me. THe other two things i mentioned seem kind of minor but this one was making me worry, and i didn't like it!
Thanks all!

 

I dabbed a little gasoline on a paper towel and rubbed it away. Goo-Gone should work also. It should stop leaching out for good by end of summer. I have it also coming out of the front of my hood and on to the bumper. Makes my car look like it has a runny nose... or drooling.

 

Oh wow, Thank you Luck219 for posting this. I have the same leaking thing happen to me and hadn't been able to remove it when I washed my car. The best my husband could do was get it to smear around a little. I'll try some googone today and let you know how it works.

 

Keep up with cleaning this goo as previously mentioned, and especially try to keep it from sitting on your black plastic moulding for too long. If you can, you might even get your cleaner of choice and try to clean up the sources of the leaking under the bonnet and other places. It will stop eventually. Not a problem if you keep up w/ cleaning.

You might search around, but there is a way to reset the windows. I don't recall the details of this right now, but resetting seems to correct any reoccuring anomalies. That said, your windows may never blip out again, but it's nice to know there is a reset procedure.

This one I'd take in, especially if it happens all the time. It could be a little short, or a bulb not properly seated, or something even simpler. You can snoop around, but if a warning is being thrown then chances are that something is being recorded in your nifty MINI key that the dealer could sort out in seconds that you may take forever to discover.

I think many MINIs have the odd issues following transport that needs to be sorted and I think the MINI service folks know this. Most of issues are insignificant and in no way affect the car's performance. I recommend following up on each and every one of them, though, and taking the opportunity to get to know your service folks. If they know you value your MINI and are good to work with, that relationship may serve you well. That sums up my experience at my local dealership anyway. They have been a pleasure to work with....but that relationship started with sorting out those initial niggles.

 

#2 - experienced it personally (exactly the same problem) but it's on the driver side. Not just the problem you have, in addition, the dipping doesn't work either for me. Resetting by me and by the dealer's bulletin didn't work either. All these happened on the 8th day of owning my 2008 MCS. Mini of Peabody called me yesterday that they have a software update and they scheduled me for next week so they can "re-program" the whole thing. You might want to call you local dealer and ask them about the update. Keep me and the rest posted please.

 

I'm glad i'm not the only one! Please let me know if googone works. If so, i'll definitely go get some this weekend. I haven't noticed any leaking out on the front bumper -- but it does make my car look like he has a runny nose!

DaPooh - I hope that my service people are half as good as yours! I haven't had to take anything to them so far and have emailed my SA for a bit of information but HHHEEEE apparently doesn't like to return emails. So, i may just have to go around the long way.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions!

 

Lucky...my dealer wasn't as good as you thought. I wanted 4 1/2 hours for them to fix the problem in the first place. Nothing was fixed, told me to go home and wait for the phone call. I waited patiently for the whole week...felt like being ignored. I emailed the higher up, instantly, phone calls and emails and next day I got the appointment. My appointment is on the july 8th. Will let you guys know how the re-programming goes.

 

Luck219 - I just tried the googone and after 5 minutes of scrubbing, it seemed to lighten the streak by spreading it out more. I am thinking of calling MoS to see what they say about removing it.

 

Welcome to the joys of owning a MINI. There will be small things like this happening throughout your time with the car. Try to think of it as character.

If you are able to accept these character flaws, you will enjoy the car. If you stress out over these issues, this car will drive you nutty.

 

Go-Jo or GOOP brand mechanics hand cleaner works great for getting off any grease/oil stains. (works great on clothes too!) Its very cheap and should work on the cosmoline.

 

My car has no character. It's like a hammer. I experience no problems.

 

Please post how it goes! I haven't had anymore problems with mine, but if there is a new update for anything, i want it! My MINI is only 3 months old!

If you do call MoS, please let me know that too. I'm not sure if i posted above, but i purchased through Sterling too. I really dont want these 'snot-marks' left on the sides of my car. Now that i know they're there, it's really distracting.

And yes, i'm trying to stay on top of everything, even if it is minor. A brand new car shouldn't be having any issues. Or, at least i dont think they should!

 

Lucky...I will definitely post after the update re-programming. Mine is only 3 weeks old.

 

Just got done trying WD-40 and the stain is still there. I left a message for my MA yesterday about it, and am hoping I will hear back tomorrow. I'm worried the trim is stained

 

That sucks to hear.If the trim is stained have them replace it under the factory warranty if they can't remove it completely from their body shop.

 

Yikes, I had the same problem with the dripping bonnet grease and I found that just some regular car soap and water took it off. It took two washings to get all the grease off, but I wasn't worried because I could see the stuff wasn't penetrating the surface of the plastic trim, it was just smearing across the surface. In fact, the last thing I would've used to clean it is WD-40, not without testing it first. You never know what sort of solvents a plastic will be sensitive to and WD-40 can be pretty wierd stuff.

The good news is that after 3 hot days the grease stopped dripping.

 

This is just an offhand comment, but you might just talk to your SA about it and ask that it be "dealer-prepped" again. Some people have even had it clog up their windshield wipers (NOT the same as the "weeping washers" issue). Having Cosmoline on your car after delivery says they didn't do a good job (mine did--I've had nothing at all), and respraying or more pressure washing or whatever they were supposed to do might fix it. I'd complain, at least. You're going to the dealer anyway about 2 and/or 3, so what do you have to lose?

 

I thought of the dealer detailing angle, too, thinking they should've steam-cleaned it better, but there's a heat shield mounted to the underside of the bonnet that would probably be damaged when hit with the pressure wash. Also, the grease is coming out of the spaces between the upper skin of the bonnet and the structure that's welded to it. That makes for a lot of area that even a steam/pressure washer can't reach.

Having said that, obviously not everyone has had this problem, which would suggest to me that either 1. there are some dealers that do better prep work than others, or 2. some Minis haven't seen the high outside temperatures needed to make the grease start flowing out, or 3. a combination of 1 and 2. I haven't seen enough evidence to make any further conclusions.

I think the real point is not to get too worried by it. The stuff stops flowing after 2 or 3 hot days and will clean up with car soap without leaving a stain.

 

I think mine stopped after a few really hot days of being in the sun. I haven't seen it anymore, i just know the smudge-marks are still there. I will try again with just regular car wash soap. Like everyone else though, i just dont want it to stain. If it does, then i'll definitely be having words w/ MoS if they give me any grief about bringing it back.

 

I'm guessing #1. It's definitely hot enough in Houston, and this is year 2 for my MINI. My dealer is conscientious, once they get past the SA mantra.

 

It's been raining almost every day so I haven't been able to really check out this problem again on my new MCS. I did today and it has definitely discolored the surface of the plastic below the hood seam. I plan on contacting the dealer tomorrow for a possible fix. I think the plastic molding will have to be replaced.

 

best way to remove cosmoline is hot boiling water. that's how the guys who buy moisant nagant gets rid of it.

the second best way is to use a steamer but be careful.

also my 2000 yellow m coupe still have cosmoline drips when driven on hot days...