In both of my MINIs, every time I wash the car, then open the doors, there's a huge amount of soap suds on the sill and the bottom of the door. If there is indeed a "lower door weatherseal," it's a joke.

 

Honestly, I think the problem IS that lower weatherstrip. Like you, I find a lot of post-wash soap and water accumulated there. Now, I am not blasting water up from below the bottom edge of the door, rather I spray between the doors and the quarter panels to rinse the soap and dirt out (I do wash the door jambs and hinge/a-pillar). The water that I flood those areas with is being held by that strip rather than being allowed to drain out. The lower 'sweep' strip is apparently there to prevent dirty road wash from getting under the door and messing up the sill and getting on your clothes. I always follow up after rinsing by wiping/drying up all the water in the door opening and the 'hidden' areas of the door.

Blargh. I hate rust.

 

How easy is it to pull up (and then put back) the weatherstriping?

 

ditto on the por-15. I restore classic vehicles (mostly motorcycles) as a hobby and use have used most of the por-15 line of products during different phases. they work great and are really very simple to work with.

Ray

 

I am pulling these weatherstriping and getting rid of this problem before it starts.....

 

Very easy dude, just pull on the rubber, it will slide right out..

 

I have an 02 with 13k on it, pulled the strips and sure enough, a pin dot of rust is starting in the same spot on both sides. Whats curios is that when I pulled the strips, it was still wet under them and in that crevice. I WASHED THE CAR THREE WEEKS AGO.

 

MINI comes with a (02'-04') 6-year rust-free warrenty and a (05'+) 12 year warrenty.

I would have taken it to the dealer and got it fixed.

-Cody

 

They say its a "perforation warranty" so I don't know how mine will apply...
I will definitely take it in though..(warranty is due to expire in October)
I have also read that you have to have to take car in for yearly inspections..
I will post what MINI usa says....(they still haven't answered my email).

 

I'll check on mine when I get home, I sure hope I don't have any but I'm expecting the worst.

 

I'm very glad i posted this...... there should be a recall from Mini to pemanently fix the problem........can we get together on this

 

Yep - POR is what I use on my 79 .... and now that I'm familiar, other places too...

It ain't cheap, but it works.

EASTWOOD has a competing product eastwood.com, but I've been happy with POR.

DO NOT get POR on anything you don't want painted. Once dry it must be ground off (unless you put it down wrong....then it peels....)

And wear gloves ... this applies to hands too!

 

Hi,
after seeing this post i check my MC 02 and guess what.... Rust everywhere! I have it on the both sides, the trunk is also having small spots of rust that is comming under the paint, under the 2 hindges that holds the trunk the paint has start to buble up. The driver right side next to the rear wheel arch also has a 0,5 cm round buble under the paint.

I have shown this to my dealer and he has booked me in the 19 next month to have it fixed. They have never seen this problem on a MINI according to them. They will remove the rust and repaint the whole area and change the trunk.

This will not fix the issue for good for the seal problem area, water is been collected under the rubber wich means after the fix it will appear again after a while.
I am thinking of greasing (machine oil, SKF bearing fat) up this area in the same way as you do a gun before storing it for a year or so. This will i think conserve this area and keep the water away, am i right on this or ?

 

we only found it because we were chasing a wiring/ground problem......

 

I got the standard letter from MINI USA so I guess it will be a trip to the dealer for this one...I'll let you know what they say and keep you all posted my MINI Bro's....
Here is the letter:
Hi Alexander,

Thanks for writing MINI. I'm sorry to hear about the rust your baby is
developing.

Unfortunately, we don't have the ability to advise you in a technical matter
via e-mail. It is best to take your MINI to your authorized MINI dealer to be
reviewed by a Service Representative in person. The service team can provide
technical support, and they can give advice on warranty coverage.

I apologize that I am unable to answer your inquiry directly. I hope you and
your MINI are able to motor many more miles together. If there are further
questions I can assist with, please feel free to drop me an e-mail. I will be
happy to lend a hand.
Ever notice that they all close the letter the same way...must be a template..

 

So is there possibly a better weatherseal that can be applied to the bottom of the door? Why isn't there more response to / concern about this?!

 

I'm sure lots of us just waiting to get home and inspect, I know I am.
I've got a 7/02 MCS and will be pretty fired up if I find ANY rust anywhere.
We'll find out at lunch time..

 

okraD La - Please post what your MA says. As an '02 driver I'm very interested in MINI's response. I have not checked my door sills yet but it is the first thing I'll be looking at when I next open the door.

Tim

 

I have to go by the dealer today to pick up some new IC boots and I will ask them

 

I just checked my '03 and I have some rust too. I e-mailed a dealership that does a lot with my MINI club in hopes of getting some answers.

 

As soon as I found this thread I jumped up and went inspecting.

I have an 02 S, D/S with only 13K on it. This MINI has forgotten what water is. I have'nt used a garden hose on it in 6 months.

Sure enough! (on the driver-side bottom door sil) I can detect a hint of RUST! Its' so small that I literly removed it with my fingernail. I'll have to do a complete preventive thingy on both sills when I have time.

I appears to be happening/beginning at the spot-welds!!!

My guestion is....How many other areas are there on these cars that can develope the same problem.

Also, for those who care to check this new discovery, the molding pulls up and goes back into place very easily.

 

I know and i want to say THANK YOU ! Without you posting here i would never guess to check under the seal.
Today i have checked in total 8 Minis and 6 of them had rust !
The cars were from year 02-05 and the one from 05 had rust !
That is a very high procentage !! But Sweden uses more road salt then any country in the world...

3 of the cars was at the dealer being sold as used cars and i showed that to them, they were "suprised" they told me that they will inform HQ in Germany about this issue...

 

Check the areas i described a few posts up...

 

...didn't find any on mine thank god.
Now the E28 is another story, but that badboy is over 20 years old.

The hugest thanks for the heads up, hope those with this issue get taken care of by MINIUSA.

 

No need to Thank me but you are welcome......I have learned so much from this site, I'm happy to give something back.....

I went to the dealer and the tech rep from Mini is going to be in Atl next Tuesday I have an appt for him to look at my car but he was also sent the link to this thread by the service manager so England and Germany probably already know about it......i'm sure that some sort of recall will be put in effect otherwise they can kiss this line of cars goodbye...who would buy a car knowing that the mfg knows of a rust problem and won't stand behind it.....(notice the tail wagging the dog here) but the fact remains.....would be very bad for PR