I've had Black Tie about a week and a half now (He's an '05 MCS JB/B), and I love the car tremendously. However, anyone else seem to fight with the door now and then upon entering and exiting the car? Seems like the stay points could be better placed as it tends to be a wee heavy and doesn't always want to stay put for me.

Regards?

TJM

 

are you opening the door all the way??? I mean it does open out way futher than most cars...

 

I fight with the doors all the time! MINI could/should have done a better job of this.

 

Others have reported this issue before. However, the doors on my
2003 seem to work great and I have never had a problem with them
slipping out of either of the "hold" spots when parked on an incline.

 

Its one of the first things I noticed on my '05. It seems that the detents are not clear enough to catch the door, either on the way out (open) or in.

 

I agree 100% I always manage to catch the door as it starts to swing back at me...

 

Good, so I'm not crazy.

Now what can we do to fix this?

TJM

 

Since the door it more heavy, you must be moving slower for it to catch a detent to stay open on. What I mean is you cannot swing it open and expect it to stay. On level ground, if they're not on the detent, they can begin to close by themselves. It's the first car I can remember that did this.

So what you have to do is to learn where the detent is where the door catches to stay open. Then when opening the door, be sure to slow the door's speed enough so the inertia doesn't swing it past the detent, only to come back bashing in on you. Or just learn exactly where the detent is and stop the door at that position. It takes some practice.

If you place the door on the detent and it comes loose by itself, then take it to the dealership for adjustment.

 

One reason that the doors feel heavier than on some cars is that they don't open entirely on a horizontal plane. As you open the door it also moves upwards slightly, which I find to be a wonderful feature that keeps the door from scraping a high curb when opened. Since you are partially 'lifting' the door as it's opening, it tends to feel a bit heavier and also wants to self-close and override the detent.

Open both doors fully on the car then stand in front of it. The car looks like it's about to take off.

 

My GF always has trouble with opening the doors in my MINI. She's only 5'2" and has a tough time reaching the first detent when pushing the door open. This is especially difficult for her when trying to carry things out of the car where you don't have a free hand to hold the door as you get out.

Oh well, i have no problem with it hehehe

 

My drivers door holds and doesn't swing back at all, the passengers door (which I don't use often) swings back and doesn't hold it's position. British Engineering?

I recall a date I had in my car (blind date- complete diaster). I think my Mini had a preminition about her, the door swung back and hit her legs (was windy/slight incline) and she hated the car from the moment it did that... In fact most of the date was her talking about how stupid my car was. My car was trying to warn me

 

I have the same issue on mine. I actually had it close on my head once as I was stepping in and not paying attention. I had tossed my laptop case and some paperwork into the passenger seat, and the jolt was enough to toss it off the detent and it slammed me in the ear while I was sitting down. I have found that the easiest way to avoid the door making me frustrated is to open it slowly. Not the most convenient solution, but I've had cars with worse doors - and the car is just so darn fun, I really don't care if the doors have a harder time staying open.

 

I have the same problem. My wife even more so. I have have thought about removing the grease from the detents and or grinding the detents a little deeper. I have been hit too many times not to try something.

 

Yes, this is one of my only complaints about the MINI. The door always wants to try to chop my leg off. It doesn't want to stay open.

This is the first car I've ever seen that is this bad. Frankly, I'm surprised this is the first post I've seen about this issue. Perhaps if we make a big enough deal about it, MINI will catch wind of it, and maybe even do something about it!

(Wishful thinking, eh?)

 

She didn't assume responsibility for her inattention...first big clue of a self centered person. I'm surprised that she didn't accuse YOU of being stupid for buying the "stupid" car

 

This may belong elsewhere, (in a "Recent MINI Delivery, Owner Still Obnoxiously Picky" thread), but I'll toss it out there -

I'm obviously a Class-A-Knucklehead because:
I think the places where the doors "catch" to stay open are perfect.

There's the first one - useful for careful exits without bumping cars parked alongside...

There's the middle one, which was great for in my garage (but now is not used much due to increased use of the 3rd and WIDEST one, and...

There's the "all the way open" one, use of which is apparently the ONLY WAY I seem to be able to relocate my size 12 feet from the footwell to the pavement WITHOUT rubbing slushy, dirty, nasty stuff from my shoes right onto my still-pristine kick-panel .

All this, from someone who can't move so much as a folding chair from room to room in his house, without chipping walls and doorways. Even THAT has a plus side though - I am rarely asked to help "rearrange the furniture" .

Tatt