Any history? No rocks, no chips. Driving down a bad but paved road at 30 MPH. Pop. Crack from the lower left corner.

This was a bad day. It started in the morning when I went over just an expansion bump. Lights went out, radio dies and power steering warning cam on. Steering and lights came back. Radio did not. After work, the radio worked. In the shop now. They tell me it is not too dramatic when the power steering does fail. Headlights also flicker at idle, so there is at least one non-intermittent electrical problem. I hope it leads them to the rest.

 

I know the early first gen's had this problem... but I haven't seen anything on the 2nd gen.

Losing devices sounds like a bad ground connection somewhere. Good luck on that one. It can be pretty hard to diagnose.

I wonder if it would/could be covered under insurance since it happened while driving?

 

With the rake of the windshield, I'm not surprised. Although it normally pits more than cracks.

 

I just had a second windshield replaced. Second one in 9 months. On my 3rd now. These cars are rock magnets.

I had Safelite come out and do the install in my driveway.

Pics from install 9 months ago are here:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...y-cracked.html

 

You might want to take a few pictures of your car the day beforre the windsheild replacement. The glass company that my insurance sent out wound up doing an additional $1500 in damages replacing the windsheild.
Later. Bob

 

Thats always a very good idea. I cant tell you how many times we had glass guys replace windshields and damage the dashboard, speaker grills etc when I worked for the dealership. It got so bad I was watching every install myself. Since I was in charge of inventory I eventually found a good glass guy and the dealer still uses him as do I.

 

Wow, yea, I'll take a picture. Crack is clearly a stress crack right from the corner. It is covered under my comp, but I contend it is a manufacturing defect and should be 100% under warranty. I'll see what my insurance company says.

Lose grounds. Two actually. There is a service bulletin on this it turns out. One on PS fan, I did not catch where the other was.

 

If you have warranty, take it in, worst they'll do is say no its not covered, right?

 

Same here. Third windscreen in 24 months

 

I had this, a stress crack from the lower left. No pits or chips. I brought it in and got a new shield the same day. Warranty covers it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blitzcat/5087859542/http://www.flickr.com/photos/blitzcat/5087859542/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/blitzcat/

 

My MCS is 2 months old with 1600 miles. Drives beautifully, but I'm getting pummeled by rocks on highway 101. I found my 3rd pit today. I'm still researching, but it seems to be a problem with Mini's? Is it the poor OEM windshield or because the car is built so low?

 

Sometimes I think its actually the angle of the glass compared to other vehicles because the glass itself has standards/guidelines that they follow and the car isn't as low as some other makes or brands, so its gotta be the angle/aerodynamics that rocks hit it like a truck.

 

I think you've both got it correct. I would submit that the windshield rake (the angle at which the windshield slants, measured from vertical) on a MINI is fairly low (i.e., closer to straight up-and-down than, say, a Corvette); this is simply a result of giving a small vehicle a generous amount of front-seat headroom. This means that any rock that hits the windshield will do so at a fairly blunt angle, thereby transmitting most of the force of the impact directly into the windshield (whereas on a vehicle with an aggressive windshield rake, like a Corvette, it will tend to "glance off" the windshield).

Also, since the MINI is relatively small, the windshield is going to be closer to the ground (and the tires that kick up rocks...), which means the most of the rocks that would hit the front of a larger vehicle will probably wind up hitting the windshield on our MINI's.

 

I lowered my comprehensive deductible to $50 (lowest AAA offers) for only $44 more a year. I also upgraded my AAA membership to Premier for only $20 a year since it comes with an annual $50 windshield replacement reimbursement. Bring it on!!!

BTW... found another pit today. This is crazy!

 

They redesigned the car for '07 and didnt remedy the windshield stress crack problem? Confidence inspiring, BMW is . . . :rolleyes:

 

I had a similar issue on my gen 1, stress crack at the top, right smack in the middle. Car was still under warranty, dealer checked it over about 5 minutes to be certain it was a stress crack, and then went ahead and replaced it with absolutely no hassle (International MINI in Milwaukee).

 

My 09 is identical, but because of a few small pits, Mini refuses. It happened driving down a bumpy street. Nothing flying at the time, no other traffic. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...milies/mad.gif

I just made the final decision. I am trading it in on a GTI.

 

Yeah, I'm on my third windshield. The first two were stress-cracked and replaced by MINI. I just think it sucks that they didnt fix this problem in the R56's redesign.

 

I just bought a 2011 Mini. It has 450 miles and a cracked windshield. With a $250 deductible that makes it 56 cents a mile for windshield costs. Compared with 6 cents a mile in gas savings I am having a little bit of trouble justifying this purchase. Now I find that this has been happening for a decade and Mini can't fix it!?! And I'm bleeding from the window I just punched. Why did I buy this POS? Repeat after me - DON'T BUY A MINI!!! DON'T BUY A MINI!!!

 

Wow, I feel the pain. I have a 2011 MCS with 1100 miles and have gotten hit by several rocks and I already have a nice pit which I hate. i'm probably waiting for the crack to come someday.

How did it happen on yours?

 

Personally I never considered the windshield a determining factor for which car I buy. I guess if the windshield cracks, then the whole car is a POS and time to get rid of it...

geez!