Asked my dealer to order me new trim replacements (late July). Said sure 3 to 5 days will contact you. A month later nothing, called today to find that they did not order anything and are waiting for me to come in to the dealership to check the problem so they can make an official MINI ticket. WTF 30 days, why not call me you fools. Totally expected them to say it will be here this week sorry for the delay. Did not expect no we did not order it. Talk about brushing the problem under the rug. I hope they read this and do something about it (Yes you @ New Country MINI in Hartford, CT) so mad right now. Driving around with flapping trim expecting my dealer to do right by me and to find out I am ignored. This is such bull. Of course I can not get into the dealer until mid sept because of work schedule and vacation so again weeks away now before I can even report the problem. Probably months before a resolution.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr

 

Just wait. When you go in next time, they will say the 'fix' is only a month away. Come back then and we'll schedule you for the repairs.

Another two weeks and I return to my dealer to hear them tell me for a 3rd time to wait till next month.

Mark

 

I don't think MINI even has fix in place yet othr than adding more of the same chrome tape.

 

Just got an email from my MA; he did not give much detail, but did say "I just ordered you the new kit, they are on back order right now, but when we get it you'll get an email from us."

I'm assuming by "new kit" he means the corrected beltline trim, and not the existing bad pieces.

Anyone else have any news?

 

Ok, I'm tired of showing everyone my new car and then having them see the peeling tape and having to explain the whole thing, and I'm tired of waiting for Mini to get the new parts...so...I got the black tape to blackout the chrome. My question is, what's the best way to apply it? There were no instructions. Do I remove all the trim pieces, remove the chrome tape, and then apply the black tape? Tips?

 

When I did it on my R56, I carefully and slowly applied it over te beltline with out taking it off. Be careful not to stretch it. also it took two applications to get it right. There is a protective film on top of the vinyl in addition to the paper on the bottom. I did not take the film off [mod newbie ] and it peeled. The second time I time took the film off and it lated until my car was murdered.

 

Not sure if I can leave the existing tape on because some has already peeled off completely. Also, the trim pieces curve and I don't know if I can get the tape to curve like that when I apply it.

 

The beltline contours are no different from contours on the R56 so I am not really following what your concern is. The tape is very thin vinyl and not rigid

 

Well, it's been nearly another month and the SAME answer!!! " Yeah, we know about the problem, but come back next month, and we'll fix it then."

It's kind of funny, tracking the answers:

Month: Dealer response
May: WHAT PROBLEM???
June: Gee, thats the first I heard of that problem
July: We see the problem, come back next month when the fix is here
August: Wow, there sure are a lot of problems. Come back next month
September: There is a fix JUST around the corner. Come back next month

Maybe the fix will be available before the model line is obsolete.

Has anyone got a straight answer, or a true fix for this problem, from their dealer?

Mark

 

They are probably just waiting for it to cool down everwhere so there will be almost zero chance for the new parts to have any issues until next summer - - if they are still using some sort of tape.

 

I got tired of waiting.. I plasti dipped mine black lol...

 

Ok, I just joined the peeling trim club. Will call Mini on Mon...
Plastidip black sounds like a good plan if the same is getting installed as a so called fix..

 

I got peeling trim on the front windshield piece (2011 CM). Got quoted $149.95 to replace it, because I am now in my extended warranty period, but I explained how bummed I was about it and how I felt that MINI USA was really letting me down by sticking to the technicalities of the extended warranty (all trim excluded), even though it's a known issue with this model and year, my dealership stepped in and took care of the charge.

 

I am an original VW person....always bought and drove VW's!
But recently they've changed their body types so much.....to me they look nothing like a VW anymore!!

I am new to this forum....actually to any forum....so please bear with me while I learn the lingo...

BTW.....I live in Orlando FL and my cars are always garaged.

I purchased My 2015 Mini Cooper Countryman S on Sept 8, 2015.....so far I couldn't be more pleased, it is a beautiful car and lovely to drive.....but after just 1 month and approx 300 miles....I noticed something!

There was a piece of lint or straw or something just kind of lying on the chrome trim around the driver side headlight....so of course I immediately grabbed my shammy to dust it away (because I am still excited with my new car finish) LOL....anyway as I wiped.....this silver foil kind of material just began to roll/peel away from the trim...I was like WTHeck😳😳

At first I thought it might have something to do with the Cilajet coating that I recently had the dealer apply to the car (again as added protection) but that's basically a wax and wouldn't or shouldn't look like a silver metal!!!!

I spoke to my salesmen via text msg....who gave no indication that this was an ongoing issue that they knew about, I spoke to friends (BMW owners) who actually referred me to you guys! which is where I'm getting a ton of insight!

But here's my additional problem....the threads in this forum that talk about this issue are primarily from 2011 or even earlier.....It is now 2015 and I seem to be having the same type problem with my car😬😬

So I guess my questions are:
A) Did they (Mini Cooper) ever come up with a satisfactory answer/remedy to the problem?
B) Will there be more trouble to come with other areas of the car's trim?
C) Why is my dealer seemingly unaware of this issue....especially since it's been reported by many others from 2011 or earlier?
D) And why was it not mentioned when I called to report it?

This is my very 1st Mini Cooper, I am very happy with this car, I gave my dealer and salesman rave reviews, and I thought that I would be settling in quite comfortably with the Mini Cooper Family.....But now I'm not feeling so positive😐

Another problem for me is my dealer is quite a distance from where I live and I never relish the trip....actually most times I send my daughter to do my dirty work😊😊 and honestly the distance for me was almost a deal breaker....but the dealer and my salesperson gave me such fantastic service that they really won me over...but I would hate to now have the need to run back and forth for repairs of things that should have been taken care of "RIGHT" in the first place!

I will keep you all posted as to my outcome!

 

I've been an active member here since before the first Countryman rolled out of the factory, and yes, a significant number of 2011 owners reported this issue. But since then there have been few reports here.

So long as the car was still under warranty, most owners had little trouble getting Mini to step up and replace the defective part(s), and hopefully that will be your experience.

Your car is essentially brand new, so only time will tell if yours is an isolated problem, or if yours is the first of a batch of defectively made headlight trim pieces.

As to your questions:
A- yes, I would say they did as the number of reported problems dropped to almost zero. No doubt the answer simply is that their supplier needs to manufacture the part correctly.
B- Of course that's impossible to answer, but it appears that the vast majority of CM owners after MY11 have not experienced this issue.
C&D-You mentioned that your dealer is not aware of the problem, but from your post is sounds like it's your salesman is unaware. Was your salesman even working at a Mini dealer 4-5 years ago? And even if he was, it's not like the 2011 problem effected the vast majority of cars. He might not be aware of the 2011 problem, or he may have forgotten about it long ago. Furthermore, the dealer has not even examined your car yet. Could be that what you are experiencing has nothing to do with the 2011 issue. And even if it's a repeat of the 2011 issue (which they don't even know yet as they have not even seen your car) why would it be important that they tell you about the 2011 issue? You are assuming there is a widespread issue. Maybe yours is just an isolated case, or perhaps yours is one of the first of many to come.

BTW, you mentioned you live in Orlando, so you do have a dealer that's not that far from you. You don't have to go back to your selling dealer to get warranty service. Actually I've been pleasantly surprised with both Mini and BMW dealers being very willing to accommodate owners that purchased their cars elsewhere.