So I've had my MINI for a few weeks now and while driving home from work with the sunroof full open I noticed a small tear in the screen like material of the wind deflector. So, of course, while at "slightly" over the highway speed limit I simply touched the area of the small tear and it instantly doubled in size to about 3/4" long. It certainly is not a huge deal but I would like it to not get any worse. It appears as though the initial damage was caused by wear by the way it folds in when the sunroof is closed......it appears sorta "creased" for lack of a better term. Once home I investigated a bit and it does not seem like a part (the screen) that I can easily replace. Does anyone have any experience with this?

I am less concerned with it looking perfect than keeping the tear from growing. My tentative plan is to tape the torn area plus a little extra and just apply a thin film of clear silicone/sealant from the opposite side then once dry do the same from the back of the original "fix". Hopefully this won't look too bad and will limit the damage. While I'm not too concerned with the appearance of the screen since it has it's share of bug parts smeared across it I also don't want to just fix it with duct tape either.

I also thought about sewing it closed but I'm not sure how that will hold.


Hmmmmmm...........

 

So, I'll reply to myself then......

I found the replacement part (#54102755850) for the factory deflector (mesh with folding arms). I'm going to get it and save it for when I have a good chunk of time to dig into the project which I'll document as a "how to" with plenty of pics. For now my silicone adhesive patch job seems pretty durable but I'll know more as summer rolls in.

 

Its because you do not have enough bugs stuck in it yet lol