15 k mi no cracks 05mcsc

 

Here you go!

 

Thanks, scooterboy!

I'll keep this bookmarked for when the time comes.

 

I'm now member of the team.
05 JCW approximately 8240 or so miles and the L shaped crack just behind
the rear view mirror showed up this past weekend.
I called the service dept at Mini of Mountainview (Central CA) and he tried
to act like it was very official: "the simple ball point pen test."
I wonder what size tip ball point pen is called for? I'm going to stop at
Office Max and buy the widest tip pen I can find to take with me

This seems like it should be some kind of class action too me but I'm not
a layer. Maybe we should try and get Ralph Nader onboard.

 

We have full-glass coverage via State Farm. It isn't too expensive and there is no deductible.

2004 Cooper, rain-sensing wipers --- One windshield replaced so far.

Lots of rocks on the road here in AZ. Went thru two windshields in a month with our Subaru Forester. One in two years with the MINI seems acceptable.

 

I have not read most of this thread, but East bay MINI quotes 875 while MINI of mountain view 691. Hmm, why so different between the two dealerships? This is to replace the windshield with the sensor.

 

Mine just went today.... 26,000 miles. Oh well, spoke to the Mini SA at Bob Smith and she almost got me in tomorrow. But I have to wait till next week, AMVIV is thursday and if I took it in I couldn't have it ready for Vegas. Lets see how long this one last's.

 

Took a hit from a stone recently, and a 3/16" crack started.

I filled the pit with "Glass Glue", a specialized superglue formulation, repeated several times to fill it flush, and razored off the excess.

So far, so good, the crack hasn't gotten any longer (fingers crossed), but summer may tell the tale...

 

Are you serious? It is either there or not there. A ball point pen tip is not going to make a divot in glass. You can make a pre-existing one bigger, but there most likely was a spot the pen was drawn to in the first place. You re saying it he did it right in front of you, right? On a stress crack, the glass is tight and you can even see that a pen will not slip into any point in the crack w/o a pre-existing divot. If he "made" the divot, he certainly has some powerful wrists and one heck of a pen. Sometimes things ARE as they appear. It sucks big time that you are out of pocket, but life isn't always fair. I just had to drop a lot of cash to replace my windshield that was scratched at a body shop that refused to pay for it and claimed they did not do it...:impatient ...but hey, I was not there (assume=*** out of u and me)
As far as paying $1200 for a new front glass, that is VERY high.
About 800-950 is normal, depending on the labor rate in your area and how much your dealer marks up theirprts. However, if a technician (a factory trained MINI tech) is not the one replacing the glass and a glass company is doing it, it should not cost more than 300-400.
The reason windshields break is because of the way they are mounted to the vehicle for chassis strengthening. The aftermarket glass tends to break a lot
less frequently because it is not installed the way it should be. MINI windshields need to be glued into place and allowed to sit to cure for 12 hrs w/ clamps and straps pressing the glass into the body for a complete seal.
W/o performing the correct process, the windshield lends a lot less to the
stiffness of the body and removes a certain amount of rigidity. When installed from the factory or replaced at the dealer, the windshield is under a significant amount of pressure. Plenty of people have ended up replacing their glass at the dealer after the wind noise and water leaks (common w/ aftermarket installs) caused them to have to take action and swallow the expense to get it done right. Now is not to say that there are not plenty of aftermarket glass installers who are skilled at glass replacement, but if they are not clamping it down and letting it cure, it is installed WRONG.
Has anybody ever heard of Diamond Fusion Treatment? It is process that protects the glass and they give you a warranty against future breakage. It enhances visbility, clarity and strength. I don't know if this is available nationwide, but in the Northern Virginia area it is installed by ROADBLOCK (703-421-1875).
Maybe one day things will change, but only time will tell.

 

Say what you will but this was clearly the standard 'L' shaped stress fracture symptomatic of the defect of the Minis caused design or materials or some combination thereof that has been seen time and time again. Things went as I stated earlier, I can't speak for how strong he is but he spent time with the car while keeping me waiting, used a nice pointy metal ballpoint pen, they took the car away for a mystery consultation (can't recall if it was before or after the pen test), denied it saying the new cars don't have that problem anymore anyway (which is since shown not to be true), and tried to overcharge for the repair.

I disagree with your premise that a small divot cannot be made in the soft easy to pit and chip OEM glass (that has been cracked already) with a metal pen- there was zero rational evidance or indication of rock impact on that 400 mile/coupla day old window and I certainly did not see or hear any rocks etc while driving it that time. The car was brand spanking new and I was being super aware and careful to boot.

PS: It is very apparent after a year of having it now, that the PPG glass is not as prone to pit and chip as the OEM (we had the 03 MCS before and also can see what others say about the OEM winshield's issues with pitting to date to base this opinion on).

 

the ppg is most likely a good quality glass. can't say much for the o.e.
however, new cars do not have the problem. 98% will have a rock chip, no matter how miniscule that caused the break. the posts on this website and others are posted by a small number of MINI owners. Majority of people out there do not post here, so you'll never hear about it from the majority. chat posts are as reliable as the weather.
Just curious, how much did they ask for the repair?
how about people petitioning MINI to use PPG glass?
NHTSA hits are not going to accomplish anything, because not enough people care to take the time to notify them; along with that, there are not enough incidences that it is likely they will make something happen unfortunately. it would be nice to see something happen. it's not like the dealer loses out, the only thing that would probably come from that is BMWAG pays out tons of money and ends up increasing the price to purchase your next MINI and all of it's accessories...double-sided sword...

 

Due to having a rain sensor in my car, I had to go with OEM glass to repair my windshield.
I have a 0 deductible on the MINI so it did not cost me anything, but the cost was around $300. Get your insurance involved. That's what they are there for! Also, a lot of states have requirements for insurance policies in effect for glass! And it won't raise your rates!!!

 

Got a crack today - it started from underneath the trim at the top of the windshield near the middle of the car, so I don't think it's due to a rock chip. It runs down about 4-6 inches, then turns to the driver's side and keeps going 6-8 inches.

I actually heard it happen, too! I went to wash my car, and started spraying the roof off. There was no water on the windshield at that point, but it cracked anyway. We'll see what the dealer says, but I can't even feel the crack in the surface of the glass.

 

'05MCS 31k, (Same day the computer says it is time for the 25k checkup )
Mine went Fri before last. Came in from work, washed bugs off windshield, no crack. Came out 45min later, get in to run errands, crack starts under trim about even with the rt side of the steering wheel, travels about 3"down. No chips. (At that spot anyway! Lots elsewhere) Motor 225mi on Sat pulling ATV on trailer, crack travels 3" to the passenger side. You can now feel the crack with a finger nail. Sun do a run to the Dragon from Atl, no movement. Mon AM call dealer, Hank Aaron in Atl, "no prob, see you tomorrow afternoon at 3".
Tues crack grows 6" on the way to work. Get to dealer and once they get finished with the oos and aaahhhs over the new graphics and M7 grills they look at crack. By now it has flexed enough to blow out a small chip 2"down from the trim about twice the size of a period. Pen test holds no water when you can see that the chip is pointed at both ends where the glass has flexed enough to blow the micro-chip out.

Wed lunch, Pick up car with my punch list complete, (no reflash of my Unichip, or washing, etc) and a new windshield. Happy with results so far. I think I have been very fortunate with my service experiences, no issues and no grief so far. Now off to install that Schroth harness....

Tim

 

Hey Guys. I'm in the Paint Protection area, and just ran across a company called. www.clearplex.com The film covers entire windshield and is made by Madico.

Hope this helps. Not sure if this has been brought up already but if it hasn't there is a possible solution.

Thanks
Ryan

 

Pulled out of the garage and looked up to check the garage door was closing and "What the F*** is that?" There it was top dead center, down about 3-4" and then towards the driverside about 6". I marked the end with a magicmarker to see if it travels.

 

These guys replace thousands of windshields a year, and these are the car models that go through the most windshield changes...
http://www.safelite.com/top50windshields.jsp

 

So what are we saying here??

That they are a good company? I think they are; they replaced my glass for $274 installed.

Or

That since the MINI isn't on the list, there isn't a problem?

 

Hey All, I have an '05 MCS (bone stock, its running 14.7's in the 1//4)...anyway...I have to replace my windsheild, its got a big crack in it.

My dealer tells me to do it with them because companies like Safelite don't do it to MINI specs. He explained the process in which the windshield is properly replaced and how the windshield factors into the car's suspension.

Honestly I wonder how full of crap the dealer is in saying that. I know a lot about cars and the arguement that the service director makes is a good one. However I'm also a salesman, and my crap detector was going off.

Is the engineering behind the MINI Cooper S shoddy to the point the my "A" Pillar covers on the inside break?! Is the engineering involved with the suspension so weak that it depends on the setting of my windsheild to keep it stiff?!

C'mon, am I being a sucker listening to this guy...or should I go through the normal channels of my insurance company, pay the $100 Deductible and have Safelite do the work?

I'm trying to find out what the dealership is going to charge and what my insurance company is going to pay. I do have the Rain Sensor on my car so I'm thinking I'll get OEM stuff which is nice...so the difference will be in the Labor.

Can anyone add anything here?

cq

 

I'd say 99.99%

I'd lay good money down that they won't even do the work. They will farm it out to a Company the Specializes in glass work.

I'd never let the dealer techs replace the glass, they'd have limited, if any idea on how to do it! It's not included in their training.

 

Ug, don't deal with the $tealer, go with PPG glass and get it done by an experienced window replacement place, ask if they've done Minis. I had mine replaced by a local shop I trust and they did an excellent job, 9000miles later no cracks or chips in the PPG, soooo much better than OEM it's not funny.

 

If "MINI specs" is what resulted in my first 3 MINI windshields cracking and zero problems with my current PPG windshield, then I recommend staying outside of "MINI specs".
You can have an aftermarket windshield and keep your rain-sensing feature. Here's how I did it:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=49259

 

There is something to the a pillar thing. Do a search. I remember some threads where the a pillar covers were flying off at speed after windscreen replacement!

 

I'm on windscreen #3. This time we went with Pilkington glass as that is what the installer switched to since last year. I already have gotten one tiny chip *knocks on wood* and it didn't turn into a major crack. Yippee!
So sad though that these cars go through them so quick.

 

Got a crack in mine too. It's not from a rock either.