The sun is ALWAYS out here in New Mexico except for the odd times every day for about 12-14 hours.... . Seriously it is ALWAYS sunny here so the sunroof is really nice but will most definitely be tinted VERY Dark. We testdrove both one tinted and one without and OMG what a difference that makes!

 

I read through this entire thread, and I cannot believe that out of over 400 posts, only one person had Mini buy their car back through the lemon law. I am now going through the lemon law process myself. The ONLY thing that is going to fix this problem is if more of you start making Mini buy their cars back. If you do nothing but complain on a blog about this, Mini has no incentive whatsoever to fix it, and they will not. The only way Mini will be motivated to fix the problem is if people start making them buy their cars back. Stop complaining and do something!

 

after they made the adjustment 'twice' problem is still not fixed.

 

Mike,

I have been very disgusted with the fact that Mini does not fix some of it's problems. My sunroof on my '08 gave me problems when it was hot outside. I really think Mini should do whatever it takes to fix the problem correctly (even as going so far to change the materials the cassette is made from)

Having said all that.... when I purchased my '09 JCW, did it have a sunroof? Yes...

Was I willing to deal with the idiosynchrosies? YES....

The sunroof still opens, it's just that sometimes I have to give it 2-3 minutes of driving down the road to cool off.

So far, it's worked perfectly on the '09 (I was in FL this weekend and it was in the 90's)

Point is, as much as I'm disgusted with Mini's handling of the repair of this problem, I didn't hesitate to buy another mini with a sunroof.

So I'd go for it.

Mark

 

Thanks Mark!

We have opted FOR the sunroof! Adds to the car and hopefully, keeping fingers crossed, there will be no problems.

Mike

 

I for one am disgusted at the moonroof problem and the general dis-interest MINI (BMW) has for resolving its vehicles issues. I mean look at the cold start chatter, almost 3 years to solve this basic issue. Its inexcusable!

 

I’m with MINI USA. Check your inbox for our offer of assistance.

 

Sorry, I have to complain one more time. Many people are blaming Mini for this problem. Why? We all get attached to our cars, but it doesn't change the fact that Mini is a corporation. Their goal is to make money. Here are the choices Mini has concerning the sunroof problem:

A) Do nothing about the problem. This costs nothing. As a result of not fixing the problem, there are no repercussions. Everyone still buys the car, and people will still even pay extra for the sunroof when they are aware of the problem and they know it will not work. Nobody will return their cars via the lemon law.

B) Fix the problem. This will cost a lot of money. Spending the money will not increase sales, since people are willing to buy the car anyway, and even pay for a sunroof that does not work properly.

Hmmm. What option will a corporation choose?
Do not blame Mini. They are doing what corporations do. Blame yourself.

 

My SA told me that MINI was aware of the issue and was working on solution...this was last year. So I don't think they've chosen option A...maybe they're trying to solve it but haven't done it 100% yet? Or maybe they don't devote a ton of resources to fixing it. IDK, but something like this isn't what a MINI owner should have to deal with. If you buy a sunroof you expect it to work whether it is winter or summer.

 

russr:
"My SA told me that MINI was aware of the issue and was working on solution..."

Suuuuuure.
I think Mini has the ability to cure a sunroof issue within a year if they wanted to. I called a few dealers, and was told that last year they started using a different supplier for the sunroof seals. The new supplier's seals are causing the problems. They have since went back to the original supplier, and supposedly if you buy a new Mini today the sunroof will work. So they have the solution: replace the seal with one from the original supplier. Will they do so? No. This will cost a lot of money, and if they are not forced to do it, they won't.

We have the ability to solve this if we wanted. There must be at least 50 unique people that have posted on this thread. If every oine of those people called Mini today and said they were going to start the process of having Mini buy back their car, Mini would suddenly "find" the solution overnight. When a car dealer buys back a car as a lemon and resells it, they have to notify the new buyer that it is a lemon, which is not a good selling point. They would easily lose 10k for every car taken back. If they had to take back 50 cars, they stand to lose a half million or so. This would help them "find" a solution. As long as people buy their cars and order the sunroof and do nothing but complain on a blog, they will not fix it.

Besides, I have a ding on my car. They can have mine and I'll take a new car (only after making the salesman leave the car out in 90 degree weather and showing me that the sunroof problem is really fixed). If Mini hasn't really fixed the problem, then I'll buy a Japanese car that works. There's a lot of cars out there that handle well for 33k.

 

I do enjoy my MINI overall but would likely not buy another one after the major problems of cold start, exhaust tip burns and the Jekyl and Hide power band plus all the stupid little things like roof sticking, cheesy moonroof privacy and wind screens, unacceptable squeeks and rattles considering the vehicles price and parent company, no auto down windows 2007 to ? cars (nor upgradeable), scoop warping, the rear wiper that doesn't work on auto if you leave it there when you shut down and then re-start requiring it to be returned to off then reset to auto, crazy auto wipers that end up all to often going way too fast and lastly the combined DSC traction button (roads here are bad enough that on some on ramps I need to turn DSC/traction off to get on with traffic when all I want to turn off is traction.

If I could do it again I would not get a moonroof, no auto wipers and would have waited to get auto-up & down windows too.

 

Your wrong on both counts first because it is this exact failure of manufacturers to get it right the first time that has them in the economic boat they are in now. Getting it right the first time, all other constraints equal, that keeps buyers loyal to a brand which is part of long term thinking. The pendulum has now swung back into this proper direction. Secondly you are wrong about blaming ourselves because in the case of MINI or better yet BMW since this is really their baby, even though they like to say its not when they have these problems, and an educated consumer goes by the assumptions they are buying quality. Now many many people know better and likely will not go back for seconds.

 

SO FAR THE NEW SUNROOF IS WORKING THAT THEY PUT IN 2 WEEKS AGO so we shall see if this one is fixed.

 

Yeah, I just had my Mini in for the third time to get the sun roof fixed, and it seems to be working now - even on those hot days. I'm going to be keeping an eye on it this summer though.

 

Well I've now got the dreaded "sunroof won't open in hot weather" complaint.

Took delivery in September and never really had it parked out in hot weather til last month.... now it does it routinely. The usual tries to open/vent, but can't.

So after reading 19 pages, I'm not sure what the latest "fix" is from Mini.... should I expect an entire new sunroof, lubrication, seals or what when I bring it into my dealership?? Anybody?

Thanks!

 

expect them to try the easy fixes first (lube and adjustments).. Replacing the whole thing would be the last resort.

 

Yea, that worked for me. It used to happen a lot down here in Miami during the high temps. After they lubed and adjusted it, it worked perfectly fine. Haven't had any problems with the sunroof ever since.

 

today here in indy....yea... no open. it just kinda goes up and down really quickly. if you push it really quick then like normal it works. i hate going in for service so i'll wait till i'm really upset about it and go in then

 

I just push on the MINI logo on the rear of the sunroof as I'm holding the open button. Works everytime...even in 110 degree AZ heat, too busy to take it in to have them tinker with the sunroof for a whole day or two.

 

The biggest problem w/ the sunroof not opening is that when you roll the windows down w/ the FOB the sunroof won't open.

 

My roof finally opened yesterday when the temps cooled down and I left it open over night. Now it won't close and is cocked, partially up on the right side and almost all the way down on the left. I was told by the dealer to come in tomorrow AM as an emergency repair since they don't have an appt. open for two weeks. I hope this solves the problems once and for all, is there anything else I should be worried about them doing since my car has not been in for over a year. I know the exhaust tip recall will likely be done but are their any updates and changes people have had problems with.

Thanks

 

If you have an early 07 tell them not to flash your ECU if you want to keep all the power you've got.
You can also decline the exhaust tip recall if you want.

 

Please refer me to a thread where this has been discussed. I am interested in knowing how/why there is a difference in power between an early 07 R56 and other R56's. Mysterious!

 

I was at Hassel at 7:30 and worked with advisor MINI Brian, nice guy. They were busy, I hope it was mostly routine maintenance! Anyhow they couldn't get the roof to close so they rescheduled me for Tuesday next week, they have the roof track replacements in stock and they'll also go over anything else that needs updating. Keeping my fingers crossed that my roof problems will be over and nothing else creeps up after Tuesday's go-over.

 

It is well known in the performance sub-forum that the early 07s did not have a boost/torque limiter - which is why the Alta unichip could pull 20lbs of boost. Sometime later in 07 they changed the ecu programming and introduced a torque limiter that limits the boost/torque. I noticed a huge performance drop when they flashed my ECU in 08 for an unrelated problem. Instead of spinning the tires in 3rd gear just by mashing the gas I could barely do it in second.

Why did they do this? Conspiracies abound.