The car:
2006 R53 w/ 35K mi. (CPO) manual.

What happened:
2 days ago, I was coming out of work, and noticed a 2" x 2" L shaped cracked on the windshield of George.

!@#$%

So I go look, as I don't remember catching a rock, and there were no impact points or craters (there at least, as I already sucessfully repaired one on the other side about 2 feet away!).

So I called Morristown Mini (where I bought it) and they did a "pen" test... using a ball-point pen they were looking for any impact imperfections...

None were forund, so they are giving me a new windshield (under war.)

The upside of all this PITA-ness is I get a nice-new unpitted windshield!
I should have bought a lottery ticket yesterday

 

I just had the same problem today, walked outside at work and saw a large 8" crack below my passenger side windshield wiper... freaking sucks... mine is being covered under insurance with no deductible thank god... It amazes me how BMW lets these out of their plants with such a $#!tty windshield...

 

I've had 2 windshields replaced for stress cracks and today I walk out and there it is...another crack coming from the left lower corner. The first 2 windshields were Mini OEM, I'm going to an aftermarket part this time

 

today, had the car about a month, crack about 4 inches down from top middle!!! no impact marks and I have driven the car like a baby, Dealer told me they have not seen any cracked windscreens! Yeah RIGHT!

Peter

 

Replaced mine about 2 Months ago with PPG, and no cracks yet!

 

Unfortulately this is a common problem with some MINIs. I have had to replace one windshield so far.

 

I found an 8" crack in my windshield after work yesterday. L shaped coming from the top edge of the glass on the drivers side. I do not see any rock chips or pitting.
I called my MA and will take it in this week for warranty evaluation.
I will let you know how it goes.

 

I've got another one exactly where the previous two were. My '04 MCS has 87,000 miles on it and the dealer (MAG MINI, Columbus) is having a MINI factory rep look at it for possible free replacement. Most dealers would have told me to take a hike...MAG is at least trying to solve the issue.

 

These tales all sound too familiar to me now...the other day, got into Mini and noticed a 6 inch crack which started from the top-middle of the windshield and formed an "L" shape to the right. I thought it was just the Texas heat that may have aided in this anomoly, but after reading everyones posts, I am thinking that I am another 'mini-stress-crack phenomenon'. Mini of San Antonio wants $800 and to keep Mini for 2 days...I called some national glass repair places and they'll come to my house and install it for under $300. And that is with OEM glass. Not with the Mini-logo mind you, but if this is going to be a regular occurance, I'm not paying $800 everytime it happens. Additional thoughts, anyone?

 

WOw, I never realized how prevalent this problem was in the Minis! My '04 MCS had a stress crack too -- I thought at the time it was a temperature issue. (I lived in a very cold location in the mountains.) The BMW dealership replaced the windshield for free -- I guess they did the "pen" test on mine too. I sold the poor thing a few years later, but to my knowledge, it never happened again. Haven't had an issue (yet!?!) with my '07 MCS. Fingers crossed!