I noticed today that my hood does not fit around my light correctly. Once side is fine and lines up perfectly around the head light, but the other side is way off and sticks out a bit. Nothing has hit my car and has no dings of another car hitting it. Has this happened to someone else?

 

My MA told me to be careful about pulling down the hood with both hands, each same distance from front center. He said there have been issues where folks were not so careful, and the hood got torqued out of alignment.

 

I have the same problem on my 07 Cooper S. There's a 1/4" gap on the driver's side wheel. Like the Sun Screen Issue on previous posts, dealership acknowledged the problem but did not have a fix. In fact, I was told that this is "normal" for the new Cooper S'. A BMW mechanic told me that this problem lies soley with the fact that it's a Mini product, not a true BMW product. What's that supposed to mean?

I'm sorry but expecting someone to close the hood a certain way is just unreasonable. If a hood is not engineered to close properly, using only a reasonable amount of force, it is faulty. Mini USA, if you're reading this, I suggest you do something about it.

I'm having a Mini Regional Manager look at it soon. Will keep you updated.

 

Before we go too far...remember, it is a bonnet!!

 

Sorry to hear about these hood issues. I hope you are able to resolve them. I've had my R56 S since April, and outside of a small cosmetic issue that was noticed by the MA the day I picked it up and eventually resolved, (it involved the anodized Cooper S plate on the sill coming loose and being destroyed when the door was pushed shut right after manufacture. The plate had to be replaced, and a TINY little cut in the vynyl at the very bottom edge of the door where it goes from vertical to horizontal had to be touched up by an outside repair man they brought in).. otherwise the car has been flawless.
Closing the hood: I OPEN my hood as soon as I pull into my garage, just to let the heat roll out. I usually leave it UP for at least three hours, sometimes even until the next day when I'm leaving. When I close the hood, I just ease it down (one or two hands, no matter...never gave it much thought) to about a foot above the point where it will be locked/closed, and DROP IT. No pushing it, no slamming it. Gravity does the job from a foot up. It just drops a bit and it's locked, no problem. I've done this every time the car comes into the garage, so the hood has been opened and closed a lot, with no issues. I sure wouldn't be PULLING on my hood when it's up, period. I just ease it down and drop it that last bit. Hope this helps.

 

Under the BONNET, there are two black rubber bungs that the hood rests against when closed.

These rubber bumpers are adjustable. Screw in clockwise to shorten them (and therefore bring the hood down farther around that side's headlight and wheel well... counterclockwise to increase the height/gap.

These can be used for fine adjustments pretty easily. For somthing more radical, the dealer can loosen the hood at the hindges and realign... but many have no clue or don't want to try, risking further misalignment.

There was also some mention earlier about the hood not releasing properly or closing easily. Try squirting a little WD40 on the latch hinges in front of the radiator. The stock grease used to lube that area seems to dry up really quickley under the heat from the turbo. Keep these lubed up and you reduce the risk of snapping a hood cable or breaking the release lever over time.

 

Excellent suggestion. From new, my R56 S hood release was a HARD pull. It felt like something might break...I'd pull the handle hard and it would finally SNAP loose the hood. I put an old sock under each of the latches and put a bit of break free on each latch, and it "relaxed" so it didn't feel so tight or take such a pull to release. I do that about once a month for peace of mind. Again, solid suggestion for all.

There was also some mention earlier about the hood not releasing properly or closing easily. Try squirting a little WD40 on the latch hinges in front of the radiator. The stock grease used to lube that area seems to dry up really quickley under the heat from the turbo. Keep these lubed up and you reduce the risk of snapping a hood cable or breaking the release lever over time.[/quote]

 

Never had a problem witht he bonnet. It close with a nice solid authority. I open her up each week for cleaning.

The rubber nibs that screw in/out do so rather easily. Once day I spent a bit of time adjusting them for the boot and bonnet, then after getting them just right, I took a toothpick and dabbed a small spot of RTV silicone on the edge where it contacts the metal so it would hold them in place.

 

maybe it looks lifted because the hood is not closed all the way. Press on it with the palm where it locks underneath.