For MINI/BMW, it is going to come down to a financial decision - cost of grinding off the rust and repainting (with maybe some sort of waxoil treatment - see Tit's post #374) vs. the cost of re-designing, manufacturing and recalling a new rubber seal. Since there is really no safety issue in play (for the U.S. safety issues can result in a compulsory recall at mfr's expense), guess which approach MINI/BMW will likely pursue (if they pursue any at all, since the rust warranty only addresses perforation)?

 

If thats the case, I guess I'll have that spray on super thick truck bed liner that wont chip stuff put on....

 

It might be an option after you have removed the rust and treated the area that rusted with some sort of rust resistant coating (like POR-15). Although, personally, if it were my car, I would just remove the rust and treat the rusted area with POR-15. It is not as if the area is subjected to impacts like pick-up truck beds are.

 

They do it right "down under"

 

It would be nice if MINI/BMW stepped up to the plate the same way. Any bets on whether they will? Skiploder?

 

Well, I've now had a chance to examine my car, and I have the unpainted plastic sticker with a little rust scenario. I have come to the conclusion that the little vent holes, and the larger hole up near the upper hinge area have NOTHING to do with the water collection. The seal is formed in such a way (think of an elipse bent in half) that the holes only allow air (and whatever else) into and out of the inner chamber. The channel where the water is collecting, the one that grips the metal ridge, is actually an exterior surface. In my opinion, the only place that water could be collecting in that groove is at the upper portion, where the "U" is facing upward, acting as a catch basin... like a "U." Ok, so the only thing KEEPING the water from just draining out of the bottom and away is the grip that the rubber seal has on the metal.
There may be a few options here. Obviously, I am taking this fromt he perspective of one who is out of warantee. There is a low-risk solution, and a high-risk one. First- the trim strip has a sort of continuous internal metal structure that provides the clamping force. One could modify this piece along the bottom of the seal by bending it outward (opening it up) over a small area (like 1/2 inch or so) in strategic locations along that bottom edge. This COULD allow for drainage while maintaining enough clamping force to keep the seal in place. Also, this would only be done on the OUTBOARD side of the seal, so that water would not drain INTO the car. Again, this is just based on my observations which I by no means claim to be perfect. The more radical approach would probably work better if executed properly, but there is no way to know if you did a thorough job- remove the entire weather seal, flood the clamping groove with a clear silicone (after completely drying and treating metal for rust) and reapplying the seal. This, in theory, would exclude water from the area, and it would just run along the outer door channels and out the bottom... like it is supposed to. The problem is, of course, that there is no way to know for sure if this is working. It also means that if you should have to remove the weather seal, you'd most likely have to replace it. But I can't think of a time where I ever had to do this without replacement as the intention anyway.

So there you have it- my $0.02. Enjoy!

 

I DISCOVERED I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM AND WAS INFORMED BY DEALER...WARRANTY IS FOR RUST PERFORATION ONLY.......SpiderX HOW LONG AGO DID YOU DO THE 'RUST CLEANUP' AND PAINT...??...HAS
THE PROBLEM RETURNED...I NEED TO GET ON THIS A.S.A.P...!!!

 

you have the biggest sig i have ever seen

 

Skiploder should take note - he was wanting to have the biggest sig on NAM; it would seem that he has competition.

 

Took the car to the dealer today for a clutch repair (03 MCS, 52K). As soon as that portion of the job is done, it will be sent to the body shop to take care of the rusted door sills. I will post more (and pictures) once I get it back...

 

Hmmm. While I am glad you are getting your issue repaired, I hope this is not the start of a hidden warranty campaign where only the ones who complain get the attention....

 

I hope it is not the case. The regional service manager gave me the option of having it repaired now or waiting for the "official" resolution. I just did not want to wait; besides, the car was going in for something else anyways....

 

At what dealership? if you don't mind me asking...

 

I had mine fixed about a month ago.......the dealers can do this if they want to......any dealer that stands behind the "perforation" clause deserves to get boycotted.......

 

I called my dealership (Moritz in Dallas) for my first service (12,000 miles). The Service Advisor stated that he had never been asked (in the past 3 years) for the undercarrage pressure wash and inspection... technically a requirement to keep a MINI's rust warranty in tact. They have no facility or equipment to do such a service.

I'm trying to think of a way to prove that I requested the service. Maybe a letter via certified mail? Would I have to do it every spring?

 

I requested the undercarriage pressure wash service from Hendrick MINI at the 1-year mark, and they too said they were not equipped to perform this service. They told me the car would be raised up in the mechanic's bay, not the car wash bay, and that they couldn't spray the pressure washer in the mechanics' bay.

I pointed out the requirement, and they suggested I find some other place to have it done so as to remain in compliance with the warranty.

I used my own pressure washer, raising the car at home, and documented the date, mileage, etc. on my Automotive Wolf software.

I had the dealership stamp my body inspection page in the warranty book.

A bit of hoop-jumping, but it's smarter than just ignoring the requirement...

 

Some car washes are set up to do a pressure wash of the underside of the car.... But then you get into the issue of whether you want to run your car through a car wash....

 

I dont mind at all...

The car is at Long Beach MINI. After a BIG clutch work, apparently, it is now transferred to the body shop to take care of the rust issue. It should be out sometime tomorrow (Thursday). I will let you know what was done to it and how it looks once I have it back...

 

Okay,
Just got my car back from the dealer..To refresh you memories, I was one of the earlier posters in this thread...
My 2002 MCS..has about 49,500 miles on it, so I took it in for the final warranty work to be done to fix some little issues....
I mentioned the rust issue to my SA who is a GREAT GUY...(awesome service) He told me he was unaware of the issue and took down my complaint and checked out the rust under the seals, they kept the car 1 week (and gave me a 2006 MCS (Fully Loaded for all you lucky folks driving the newer models, it truly is a diffrent car.feels much faster than mine) anyways, this is what was written on my service ticket:
WATER TESTED AND FOUND LEAKING WATER INSIDE FLOOR BY DOOR SEALS AND RUST SMALL AREA OF SEAL AREA ON THE BODY REMOVE FLOOR CARPET TO DRY WATER. SCRAPE AND PAIN RUSTED AREA. REPLACE BOTH DOOR SEALS AND IMPROVE SEAL MOUNTING WITH RIBBON SEALER.

So, my dealer did repair it with no questions asked. I do not know if they plan to address the issue, but I am quite satisfied with the outcome...

 

So far, it sounds like a case-by-case response (otherwise known as a hidden warranty). I HOPE this is not how MINI is going to deal with this issue.

 

I picked up the car this afternoon. The new clutch feels GREAT!!!

Now back to the rust issue... As you can see from the pictures below, they removed those thin sheet metal pieces and painted the area. The invoice reads "Repaint inside pinch weld (both sides), prime and paint, match color". The total cost was $370.54 (under warranty of course). The pictures with text are "before" and the ones below them are "after" shots.

If they -ever- come up with "new" weather strips to eliminate this problem, I will get those fitted as well... Now I can sleep better

 

Hey all,

I peeled back the rubber today on my 05' and I found water! The passenger side was VERY wet! No Rust. I dried it out and I replaced it. The drivers side, the side that gets used more, no water at all. No rust either. I ALWAYS open my door after washing and dry the whole door jam. I make sure to get every drop of water. I am guessing that the water is getting in through and in the rubber in one of the parts where it is standing up, it couldn't work it's way in elsewhere I think. I will take it off and dry it more often now.

 

 

I just had my dealer look at my rust today and they said to set up an appt with the collision center. They will cover it under warranty. When I'm there, I'll ask about the chances it will re-occur if the weatherstip doesn't get updated.

 

Mine's an '03 IB/W Cooper, build date 12/6/02...

I peeled back my rubber seals yesterday and sure enough I had a little rust. It is worse on the passenger's side than the driver's side. I have the tape over the little rectangle areas. I went to my local dealer (Century BMW/Mini) and Jim was unaware of the problem. He said mine was the first car he had seen with this, and the first he had heard about it. I told him this issue is all over the web.

Anyway, he documented it for me and has a call going in to the regional manager to "look into it". He wil also speak with the tech that services the Mini's (Brent) and see if he has seen any of this yet. My guess is no.

I think we should get a list going on the web of an exact count of cars that have the problem. Also, how about trying to determine when the design of this area was changed (no tape/entire seam painted). It appears that it coincides with the '06 builds and the extended rust perforation warranty (6 years to 12).