So, I have been bugging my MA to find out why our Coupe has been in Pre-Production Kit stage since Mar 6, without a confirmed production date.

He called me today saying they wont build the car with Recaros I need to make another seat selection.

His info said they were pulling the option from R58 coupe and R59 models.

No more info given. So we made the change to lounge leather black

Was really looking forward to those Recaro's

 

Lame, I wonder when they were going to tell you and others who ordered them.

 

Some people are gonna be rather irritated at that.

 

Not good! I've had a JCW Roadster that has been on order for over three weeks, and the dealer cannot figure out what is holding it up. They are waiting on a call back from the Mini Rep. I ordered the Recaros...

 

Yes, I have been in the same boat. MA said the directive to pull recaros from R58 and R59s just came down today in a notice to dealers.

He told me they were holding my order in hopes that whatever was the issue could be fixed and then continue with the build, but the decision came down to have the customer pick a different seat option.

I think ya better lineup a second choice on your seats.

 

Something doesn't sound right.

Lil Maky who is your dealer?

 

They would be in Tacoma. How would it not be right. He read to me from his notice. They checked with Mini Rep overnight.

 

ok, so nw, they have a Spice Orange there with Recaros right now

 

Let's see if I can find what's up.

 

I think the issue must just be a shortage because I can't see why they would actually pull the option.

I ordered Recaros in mine and it is already built and on a ship headed my way. So if there is a issue does that mean I will have a problem when the car arrives.

 

Sat in a nice black coupe with recaros last night at one of the local dealers. If you have 42K and change it can be yours. It is a JCW black on black, silver vipers, HK, Nav and recaros.

Those were a nice set of seats.

 

I think that is normal though for the JCW Roadster. Mini seems to be limiting the production of JCW Roadsters because most dealers didn't even have a slot to order any until mid to late February. Then they could only order one per dealership.

My order went in Feb.1. I got a dealer slot on the 12th, and it went into production on March 3rd. I had told my dealer on Jan. 15th that I wanted one and he gave me the first choice as soon as they could even order a JCW Roadster.

I never heard a word about it, nor my dealer, and even though I had a production number it never updated in the Owners Lounge until the day it was already in production. On that day, I got a VIN, Ask-Mini was updated, the Owner's lounge was updated, and my dealer called to let me know it started production. Seemed weird the way it was nothing for 3 weeks and then suddenly it was in production.

 

That is a nice car over at Loveland

 

Like Lil Maky said here is the official statement. My GM is working on just what the reason is behind this.

"Please be advised that there is a restriction on Option 4FA (Recaro Sports Seats) for all models listed below:
R58
12MN – Cooper Coupe
12MO – Cooper S Coupe
12MP – John Cooper Works Coupe
R59
12MQ – Cooper Roadster
12MR – Cooper S Roadster
12MS – John Cooper Works Roadster
We have been asked to delete the option from these orders immediately, with no assurance that the option can be offered on these models in the future. The option will also be removed from the ordering system until further notice."

 

Wow! It would be nice to know why.

There are a bunch of Coupes and Roadsters that already have the Recaro seats installed. So is that a cause for concern.

I mean why would they only single out the coupe and roadster and not any other minis if it was just a supply issue? And why is the option removed indefinitely?

I was really happy that my JCW Roadster has already been built with the Recaros but now I am wondering if this is good or not.

 

It would be real nice to have some definitive info on why. Is it a shortage, quality control, what? Not liking the feeling I'm getting from this whole thing, while spending a pretty penny on this build

 

I suspect it has something to do with the side airbags. The convertible doesn't have head curtain airbags, and as a result its side airbags are different from the hardtop. When the Recaro seats were introduced, the R57 convertible and Countryman were excluded. However, the Coupé and Roadster are based on the convertible. I think someone at MINI messed up on this.

 

Wow...I'm just sittin here scratching my head on this one. Hopefully more info next week.

 

Well I guess it would make sense if they under estimated the demand and the side airbag models were no longer available.

That would be a reason why it only effects the Coupe and Roadster. They may have plenty of Recaros that will work with other Minis that don't require side air bags.

The only thing is, I heard on Motoring file that none of the seats actually had side air bags. People always said that the European units wouldn't work because they lacked side airbags but the actual issue was that they didn't have the proper side air bag sensors, not the actual air bags. In which case that would effect all the minis and not just the Roadster and Coupe.

 

Clarifying my previous post...

Every MINI (at least all models in the US) include side airbags in the front seats. In addition, the standard hardtop models (not Coupé) also have head curtain airbags. However, the convertible does not have head curtain airbags for obvious reasons. To compensate, the convertible has a different side airbag that provides some head protection. In summary, the convertible and hardtop use different side airbag modules.

What makes sense is that they designed the Recaro side airbag to operate in the standard hardtop along with its head curtain airbags. They would need a different airbag module for the convertible (including Coupé and Roadster). They may have overlooked this and are finally catching up to it. Hopefully they can correct it by creating a convertible version of the airbag module that fits into the same seat.

 

So are you saying the all of those Coupes and Roadsters that did get recaro seats are un-safe because they have the wrong side airbag module?

There are a lot of Roadster already built with Recaro Seats including mine which is on a boat headed my way.

I wonder if it isn't a case of Mini being in short supply of the proper side air bag module for the recaro seats and that they can't build any more new Roadsters with recaro seats because they ran out of the proper module.

 

I'm saying that the Recaros may not have an airbag module specifically designed for MINI convertibles. As for unsafe, everything's relative. The seats must meet US safety regulations, or BMW couldn't sell them (otherwise must recall them). They probably do meet regulations, but BMW may not want to compromise if they know that the R57 seat offers better protection.

Look at it this way. R56 (hatchback) and R57 (convertible) seats are not the same. Physically they may be interchangeable, but they are fitted with different airbags. The Recaros are available for the hatchback but not the convertible. This is simple deduction. It is inconsistent that Recaros are unavailable for the convertible but available for the Coupé/Roadster (which are based on the convertible). It would be more logical if Recaros were either available for all 3 models (R57/R58/R59) or unavailable for all 3 models.

 

Hopefully they get it worked out. Would be a shame to have your sportiest model unable to be fitted with your sportiest seats!

 

Motoring file had a complete discussion on this in a recent podcast. A Mini exec stated that the reason that the Recaros were not available in the convertible was because it required 4 matching custom seats (2 front, 2 rear). The sales were not high enough on just the convertible alone to justify 4 Recaro seats be designed just for the convertible. Therefore Recaros would be available for the Cooupe and Roadster but not the convertible.
He also stated it had nothing to do with airbags but that the air bag control modules were slightly different.
My guess is that Mini must of had a shortage of the Roadster/Coupe airbag control modules and that for some reason it was going to take a long time to get the supply up, therefore they stopped production with the recaros in the Coupe/Roadster only.
I would bet that the Recaros will be offered later when the supply of control modules is adequate.

 

I suspect it is probably related to parts shortages. If so, those who got the Recaros on the earlier builds will have some pretty cool Roadsters. Hopefully, we'll hear something on Motoring File next week. It is however a major let down to be offered something this nice and have it pulled.

-Steven