Well, I seem to be yet another person affected by the venerable and apparently infamous windshield crack phenomenon.

Last weekend I took Pepper out to an autocross school (my first ever, and it was wicked fun, emphasis on wicked). At the end of the day I noticed an L-shaped crack had appeared at the top of the windshield, just to the right of the mirror. It went straight down three or four inches, then made a 90 degree turn to the right and went off about six or seven inches.

Over the next couple days it grew a few more inches but seems to be holding steady. It's the outside sheet of glass, not the inside. My fingernail finds no sign of rock impact to start it.

I searched NAM and sure enough, it happened a lot in early models ... but not so much in later ones. I can only assume that I had So Much Fun that the chassis flexed enough to crack the windshield.

I have an appointment with my Mini dealer to get it replaced next week. I want Mini to replace it under warranty -- and have made a bunch of printouts of posts from '06 owners with this problem on NAM to take with me. But worst case, my insurance covers it with no deductable (thank you Massachusetts over-regulation, for once working in my favor ).

Kinda frustrating ... but what can you do? Oh well. At least i had an AWESOME day on the runways!

 

My windshield was cracked by a rock chip on the interstate. As I hit the ramps, the crack grew. I was able to get some windshield crack sealant. It hides the crack from the outside but can still be seen from the inside. This stuff did stop the crack from growing though.

 

Good tip, thanks!

 

This happened to me as well about 2 weeks after I purchased my 2005 MCS used. Unfortunately, this wasn't covered under the 90 day warranty. I know that Mini will be replacing your windshield, so it will be difficult for you to request a brand. I chose the PPG brand for my windshield and it seems to be much thicker and robust than the OEM brand.

 

My windshield cracked on my 06 mini and my dealer prestige mini under warrenty replaced it because it was a stress fracture not from a rock.

 

I had the same issue! My 07 mini went into the shop for some unrelated problems and came back with the infamous L crack in my windshield. I assume that the car sat outside in the sun, and then was washed with cold water before they returned it to me. Needless to say I'm not very happy considering I just paid them like crazy to fix my car and now they're not cooperating to fix the windshield they broke. :[