I read a thread yesterday from a person who broke their old scoop as well as the new carbon fiber one trying to replace it. You may want to read that one before messing with it, just so you'll know what to look out for.

Yes, it's covered by warranty. They have to order it, have it painted, then give it to you. I forgot to ask if they would give it to me, or required dealer installation. I'll post here when mine comes in.

Do you happen to have a link to that thread?

Are new scoops made out of thicker plastic now? I hadn't heard that. Can anyone confirm that this is true and dose it help at all. Thicker plastic would sounds like it would be a slight improvement if it works. Variation in the thickness of the plastic seems to be the likeliest reason for the variation in the degree of melting of the scoops, so logically the thicker the better.

I don't think its thicker, just a plastic with a higher melting point.

If that's true, wouldn't you think they would have used this for the replacement scoops? I don't know for sure that they didn't, but I do know they replaced mine with a totally closed honeycomb, which doesn't make sense, either.

There doesn't seem to be much consistency with how MINI is addressing these issues.

Just asking...I got my 09 MCS on APril 16 with late Feb build date. Naturally the scoop is pretty hot esp on warm days, but it seems about the same temp as the right front fender on my 92 911 and that never warped altho it was metal and not plastic. Anyway, I was getting set to order some metal backed insulation and noticed that the underside of the scoop already has a heat shield. Is this new or is it a worthless remnant from the past?

Define heat shield. Do you mean the foam pad? If so, worthless.

you have it right. the fender on your 911 is metal the hood scoop (the part that pops out) is plastic. I've had my first one replaced and I removed the grill that is 1/2 covered. It's only been a month so I don't have any conclusions. However, on the old scoop the part that melted/warped is right behind the blocked part of the grill.

Also the felt under the hood doesn't help with this problem. My guess is that it is the hot air floating up from the turbo and escaping through the scoop that is warping the scoop.

Afraid of that. Guess I'll wait until Armageddon and then replace with carbon fiber scoop. Thanks to all.

The carbon fiber one will melt as well. There are posts on the boards here that have pictures of one that has ben melted.

Exactly--the scoop is hottest about 5-10 minutes after the car is parked. That's why, when we have a picnic, we park, pop the bonnet, put the foil wrapped bratwurst directly on the turbo, and close it--doesn't have to be locked. About 15 minutes later it's hot enough to eat.

We precook the bratwurst the day before, and tightly wrap in a few layers of heavy-duty foil. Makes quite a stir at a club picnic!

I bought my JCW convertible a month ago and my hood scoop is already warping. I called the dealer today and my MA is checking into getting replacement parts. She's supposed to call me back tomorrow and let me know if the part theyre replacing it with is different than what I have.

Guess they haven't changed the plastic, or at least not on all cars. Strange, though--it's been 2 years since the problem was first reported, and by now many scoops have been replaced.

I've also noticed that there's a wide variance of scoop melts--some never have it, some have mild melting, and some have a major melt. Driving style? Multiple suppliers of the scoop? Tolerance differences in hood fit? Even location isn't a sure thing.

From what I've seen (and felt!) the open and closed scoop grate from the factory aren't really different. Taking the grate out entirely is the only thing that fully prevents melts, as I THINK there has been a report of a carbon fiber scoop melting.

My MA called me Friday and said they MINI was working on a fix for it, but in the meantime they would swap out the melting one until a more permanent fix came in.

'Bout time. Wonder if it will involve carbon fiber. Speaking of which, have those of you who have or know of carbon fiber replacements noticed that they are cooler to the touch? In other words, is the scoop not only stronger, but cooler as well?

Everything I've seen and read points to a combination of hot day, hot engine, and parked in direct sunshine is needed to generate enough heat to soften the scoop to the point that it warps.

The scoop's heat depends on the heat fed into it, so I doubt the carbon fiber scoop is cooler than the stock plastic one. CF's main advantage is it's supposed stays stiffer at higher temperatures.

`09 JCW and just noticed the sagging scoop issue. Driving over the mountain last night, stopped to check how hot the hood was at 10 PM, 59 degrees F according to the MINI temp gauge and the hood & Scoop were still too hot to leave your hand on them. I have made no mods to the MINI. When I first got it I would smell a "burnt" smell after driving it. Then I started noticing a Buzzing when I decelerated @ about 4K rpms. The burnt smell stopped but the buzzing sound comming from under the hood, center, is still there and now the scoop is starting to sag.

Forgot, the sunroof doesn't open without pushing from the inside when it's been parked out side in the sun. afraid to have it adjusted as it's pretty quite when closed and I've read horror stories about wind noise.

Dealer is 200 miles away but will schedule a visit. Is my JCW a lemon? Even if they fix the scoop, all that heat has got to take a toll on the paint....?

Getting a little concerned.....

Mitch

I think you're right. Unfortunately, around here, it describes pretty much every day for the next three months. Just had mine changed out (1 wk ago) and I'm watching the new one closely. The SA told me that the new plastic is heaver than before but still might not be the solution. I agree.

I wouldn't worry about wind noise. In the early days of the '07s, some were shipped with the sunroof glass slightly out of alignment. There were a lot of seal replacements until this was found. I don't remember if it was a vertical or horizontal misalignment, but since then (to my knowledge) it has not been a problem. By some miracle, my week 3 '07 never had it! Having said that, I assume you realize that no car will be absolutely quiet with the sunroof open (I've had quite a few of various species over the years). You shouldn't hear the howling that some early cars had, though.

BTW, there are two times that I hear a thin, reedy noise--when I'm over a certain speed (and you know I can't tell how high, wink, wink), OR when there is a 90° crosswind of about 20 mph or stronger.

Deb...that noise you hear is Zippeee trying to take off!

Is THAT what it is? I always thought there would be a "rockety" sort of noise first!

My Nov 2007 Mini had the melting scoop ( and was vented) & was replaced in Dec 2008. It is now June 2009 & it is still melting AND this is even after I ALWAYS pop the bonnet when I get home to let the heat escape. When I go back in Dec 2009, I will get another scoop, #3.