I can see it now:

"I burned my leg reading a warning sticker on the bumper"

 

Been there, done that (twice)... pretty much as bad as ori.

 

almost every one got the same mark. My wife's exactly the same. It's a Mini flaw design, pipes look goo in the center but sticking too much is bad....can we class action law suit :-) hehehe

 

How long did you lean against the exhaust?!? I've hit the exhaust with my shins before, but have felt it and moved my leg and I've never had it burn that bad! You didn't smear your shins with butter or olive oil did you?

Are you friggin' serious?? That's akin to saying you should sue someone if you raise your hood and burn your hand when you place it on the exhaust manifold.

 

>How long did you lean against the exhaust?!? I've hit the exhaust with my >shins before, but have felt it and moved my leg and I've never had it burn >that bad! You didn't smear your shins with butter or olive oil did you?

Because the pain receptors are slower than the touch receptors, I didn't realize that i was up against the pipe until it was too late. It was probably on contact for a couple of seconds. That's all it takes when it's that hot.

Quote:
Originally Posted by maximus96
wow that looks pretty serious...lawsuit time!

>Are you friggin' serious?? That's akin to saying you should sue someone if >you raise your hood and burn your hand when you place it on the exhaust >manifold.

Well, in order to burn your hand on the manifold, you have to open the hood and make the deliberate action of putting your hand on it. That doesn't sound like an everyday thing someone does. In order to burn your leg on the pipe, all you have to do is reach into the cargo space and not realize the tailpipe juts out right in the middle. I think the two situations are very different.

>That's awful!
>I'm pretty sure there was no need to circle it though, that did make me >laugh!

I can certainly see how the circle made you laugh - however, it wasn't meant to identify the burn. The director of our burn unit grabbed the marker and circled the area of cellulitis around the burn. The concern is that if the redness/swelling continued to spread, infection and tissue death can result.

I told Mini that this was not a McDonalds - Hot Coffee situation. I wasn't unreasonably careless. There is an easy fix to the problem. This is happening to a lot of people.

If anyone out there wants to organize something in order to push BMW to change this design flaw, I would be very interested in hearing about options.

 

Your mini is just branding you...... telling everyone that you belong to him/her.

 

Man how law suit happy do you have to be?? People like you are the reason I have to read stupid warning signs on Nav or air bags.

Seriously it is an accident and it is not a design flaw its an exhaust pipe! Want to eliminate that go buy an electric car no tail pipe Just keep your tongue off of the battery!

 

Magnaflow exhaust that sticks out farther than stock....93,000 miles...4 years...not a single burn from the exhaust I haven't slammed my fingers in the door either

What's up? Dr. O, here's another thread on burn't legs again

 

No burns here, just have to be aware of your surroundings. You don't leave your hand in the door jam as you close the door, you don't leave your head in way as you close the boot... Get the picture?

 

I have a late-build 2008, and my exhaust pipes are ALWAYS just behind the bumper... they never stick out. I can't drive particularly hard, because I don't want to get fired, but even after several hour trips they're still tucked safely away.

I tested it since I know they expand when hot, so I sprayed some water on them, and had instant evaporation. It also blackened a wad of paper towels... so maybe it is fixed on later builds? Just a thought.

 

I have an R53, but please bare with me for a minute.

I drove a 2007 MCS loaner for a few days & did notice that the pipes were sticking out a bit farther than the R53 ones. No I didn't manage to burn myself. Darned lucky too, because the hair on my legs could have gone up like a forest fire.

A friend just got an 08 R56 MCS JCW. I noticed the pipes on his car are tucked up under the bumper a lot more than the 07 I drove. Could it be that MINI took it upon themselves to fix this problem , perceived or real without mentioning it?

Makes me wonder..... Hmmmm.

 

+1

I ride motorcycles and if manufacturers had to put a sticker on every bit that gets hot on a bike, you wouldn't be able to ride it! A little awareness goes a long ways...

Flame suit on...

 

Right ON! This thread was making me ill. People looking to cash in, I'll bet they never heard of Lawn Darts, best darn game invented until the police state stepped in to stop the Darwin award winners of our country.
Jeeze, pretty soon you'll need a helmet to ride the metro-bus.

 

Hey - ORI didn't say ANYTHING about lawsuits -- he (she? -- I hope not, that's a LOT of leg hair for a girl!!!!) specifically said let's get together to see if BMW can change the design. And obviously, if BMW has already changed the pipes on the '08s and Clubbies, it IS a design flaw. Most people can live with it, though, so it may not be that great big of a difference to most.

I've been so "branded" by my car too, and more than once. But Ori, that REALLY must have been hot to make that big of a mark! Mine have never been that big or bad.

 

I think maybe this thread needs a warning label to keep people from becoming ill when they read it.

I saw no problem with the original R56 pipes. That being said the R56 MCS run hella hot, they even melt their faux hood scoops. I think it might be a fair assumption that their tail pipes are hella hot too. I'm thinking that the pipes came out farther to prevent the rear bumper from melting on the turbo MINI's. My R53 pipes are hot, but if I touch them I'm not branded, it's just an ouchie.

There is a rumor, I'm started it here... that the warning labels affixed to the tail pipes at the VDC are burning off before the customer picks up the car.

I still have to wonder if BMW has changed the pipes on the later cars & if so, why?

 

I had an 07 MCS and now have an 08 MCS, no changes to the tail pipes, they stick out and look identical and still no branding here...

 

That's interesting. I have a friend that just picked up a JCW & the tail pipes do not stick out as far as the ones I saw on my 2007 loaner. Next time I see his car I'll take some pipe pictures.

 

It could be because the JCW bumper is different from the normal MCS and it makes the pipes look more tucked in.

 

I don't want any more warning signs. What I want is fewer people getting burned. If the design of the exhaust pipe results in burns (and it obviously does), then the company should consider changing it.

To those of you that equate this to getting a finger caught in a closing door, all I can say is: "you're missing the picture here." Accidents do happen and in most cases, they are not the fault of the manufacturer. However, when people act in normal, expected ways, and bad things happen, somebody ought to consider doing something to prevent those bad things from happening to others.

In a vast majority of cases, the people out there getting burned are not being reckless. They are most likely just reaching in to get something out of the back of the car. By the time they realize their mistake, the tissue is damaged.

 

I guess we'll all just have to adopt a "wide stance" to avoid the burns. Of course that creates other potential hazards...

 

My son picked up a good one about a week ago -- and I still won't let him drive the car!

 

It's not a permanent fix -- nor for everybody -- but it looks like having a hitch (w/draw bar and ball attached) might help prevent some of the branding. I say this as somebody who is currently in the process of installing one! (OK, it's IN the car, not ON it...YET.) But anyway, since the draw bar & ball stick out a few inches, you'd be more aware of hitting it, and would stay away from the "danger area" -- at least MCSs would....

 

Back to the more humorous side (as this thread started), my MINI branded another person this weekend. 7 members of my cycling team were on a road trip in my car and another vehicle and at a roadside park, a 14 year old mate touched the pipes while reaching into the back seat through the hatch. A quick yelp changed to a laugh and we all laughed WITH him, not at him. Lawsuits and/or design changes not anticipated.

 

If you read that post quick, it says there were SEVEN IN A MINI!!!

 

It really would have qualified as a clown car if we'd managed that!