Driving on the freeway yesterday, I heard a crack, thought, oh crap a rock hit me.....2 min later, another crack and the black plastic molding on myside pillar post flew off. Is this a normal MINI happening? Hopefully it'll be covered by warranty. Thanks

 

There was a thread on this just a couple days ago.

 

I'm just guessing, but since the warranty doesn't cover rock damage to the windshield, I doubt it would cover your problem. I think you just got unlucky. I don't think those pieces cost much, though. Find out what your dealer charges, and then call Classic Auto Campus (NAM site vendor); with their great prices and the 10% NAM discount, they're often cheaper, even once you pay shipping.

 

I had to get one replaced on my '03. It was cracked while removing the windshield. The new one was different from my original, like a design change. The plastic connectors were different somehow.

If you get some pushback from the dealer about replacing, I would argue that since parts are now different, that there must have been a known issue with them staying on.

 

its a 75 dollar piece. classic usually has one of each side in stock.

haha, i love living near classic, not payying for shipping!

 

Last year, the molding strip on the top of the windshield popped out.
The dealer was very familiar with this problem. They had a body shop fixit. Apparently, to do it right, they need to remove the windshield and then replace the molding using a special glue.
They charhed me nada.

 

$75?! That's lame, I had no idea they were that expensive.

 

Did you have your windshield replaced recently? Mine came off awhile back and it turns out at that the company who replaced my windshield screwed those covers on too tight and cracked 'em. Then it was just a matter of time for them to come flying off. I told the company what happened and they came out and replaced them.

There's a couple scews under the molding just inside the door. Then some plastic ***** that snap into place on the A pillar.

 

i had both mine replaced because the guy taking off the windshield didnt see the screws. thankfully, i watched him change the windshield from start to finish.

 

I had the driver side "A" pillar plastic cover fly off while getting onto a freeway and about (4) weeks later the passenger side flew off.

Both times I brought it into the dealer and it was replace under warranty.

Its been almost a year since and all seems well with the plastic covers.

Was told the the dealer they have seen this on several MINIs.

 

Wanda's top windshield molding failed when she was a week old! I was on the first cross-country roadtrip, jammed it back into place (it had pooched out in the middle), and had it repaired under warranty at Ralph Schomp MINI when I was traveling through Colorado. Apparently, there was a bad batch of adhesives used on several MINIs the week Wanda's windshield was installed during her creation. Should be covered by your warranty!


Clover

 

I just noticed my passenger side molding has a small chunk out of it - as if something flew into it right where it meets the windshield (highly possible). Is there a how-to or any guidance on replacing this part (i.e. how do I get to these forementioned "screws").

Steve

 

From what I saw, open the door and pull down the inside moulding along the A-pillar. This should allow you to see the screws. If I remember correctly, there are three. Once those are out, you should be able to just snap it off. Might be a good idea to have a flat head handy to pry up the edges a little at a time.

 

Wow! A response in 4 minutes. Thanks.

 

HA HAA - hopefully it'll help you out a bit.


(how fast was this one?!)

 

Just happened to me yesterday in the middle of a 2,500 road trip.

Thought I got hit by a bird or something - it was the driver's side A-pillar molding that flew back and hit my window. Scared the crap out of me and my passenger. Was doing 70mph at the time.
Hopefully I can get the local (Portland) dealer to throw on a new one quickly - it makes a nasty whistling sound that I'd rather not hear on the 700+ mile trip home!

Windshield was replaced @ dealer ~7 months ago, and car has gone 7K miles since then.

 

this happened to me too, back in February. Driving home to SD from Dana Point, and whoosh, on the freeway, there it went. Quite an annoying sound, but LB fixed it, and I paid nothing!

My windshield was replaced at about 12 miles. About 2 minutes after I picked up my car and drove it off the lot, I was hit by something. The next morning, wa-la, a lovely new crack. Needless to say, I was not pleased.

 

same thing happened to me about a month ago. i was on the freeway, driving home and heard something crack, so i pulled over and saw the plastic piece missing. i wondered what would cause it to fly off. I was only goin 100.

 

Same thing happened to JerseyGirl's Nittany. The purchased-from dealer failed twice to reinstall it properly. A different dealer fixed it the third time and it's been solid ever since. "We use'a windshield adhesive... it no'a come off now..." (the head mechanic is Italian).

 

Accidental double post.

 

On the way to drop off my son at pre-school this morning, I heard a couple of loud cracks. I though it was just my son playing in the back seat, banging a toy on his seat belt. When I got to the school, I noticed that the passenger side molding was gone.

I just had my windshield replaced on Monday, after driving around with a large crack for about a year. I was avoiding getting the glass replaced because I thought they would screw it up. I guess my fears were justified.

The company that installed the glass, Safe-Lite, is coming out to take a look this afternoon. They are going to replace the molding, but I'm not sure if I trust them.

Are there any good DIY instructions for replacing the side molding out there? I'd like to read up on it and then watch them do the repair, to make sure it's done properly. Any help would be appreciated.

By the way, I'm in Florida so I have a $0 deductible for windshield repair, and my insurer USAA hooked me up with Safe-Lite. They seem competent, but we all know it's a gamble to have anyone work on a Mini if they're not experienced with them.

 

From what I've seen with the moulding, there's about 3 screws and then just some little tabs that get pushed into place. The scews are under the weatherstripping. If the screws are put in too tight they'll crack the cover piece and then only the little tabs will be holding the moulding. If the installer has a cordless drill, just explain to him what happens and ask him to put it on the lightest setting.

USAA rocks for insurance!

 

I had Safelite replace my windshield today. This was second windshield replacement I've had done in 2 years by Safelite. First windshield replacement had no problems. But after they replace my windshield today, they cracked the molding on BOTH a-pillars! The guy said it was broken already(it wasn't) and that it was just cosmetic. ARGH!!! Now I'm fighting with Safelite to pay to have the molding replaced. Morristown Mini quoted $40.25 for each piece and $7-$9 to have it replaced. Next time I will watch Safelite through every step when they replace my windshield. Happy Motoring!

 

That sucks big time! I have also used Safelite. Twice. The first time the mouldings came off, but they replaced them no problem and at no cost to me. The second time around, there were no problems. Good luck with the battle. Keep us posted on what happens. Stick to your guns...


And welcome to NAM!!

 

Safelite got back to me and said that they would pay for both molding pieces and install them at no charge. Thanks for the words of encouragement adame! So the moral of the day is if you have your windshield replaced make sure they know how to properly take off the molding on your Mini! See Ya!