I got a reply back from the dealer and she said they haven't heard of the problem before, but...
"What I will do is, next week our regional rep will be coming by our store and usually when he comes we have discussions about our customers, their ideas and concerns, and we get his feedback and thoughts. I will bring this us once he gets here and then immediately let you know what he thinks!"

She also thought it would be covered under the warranty.

 

As someone who has worked in body and restoration shops, I wanted to chime in.

The POR solution is an excellent way to go.
However, I would not in any circumstances, try to silicone (or glue) the weather strip to the body. You will most likely end up trapping water, not only destroying the weatherseal the next time you need to pull it out.

We should all remember to dry the jambs and door edge everytime we wash, if you don't already. Those of us who are really into it could dry under the seal too.

 

03 DS MCS - 9K miles - never driven in the rain.

Rust.

Two neighbors, one with an MCSC and an 05 MCS - both with rust.

Someone needs to get the word out. Odds are most of our cars have this issue.

At this weekend's SF pulley party, I'll try to see how many people have the same issue.

 

Rust on an 05 is rediculous.......

 

/sarcasm on/

We've had a wet year..........

*rimshot*

/sarcasm off/

The first words in German you should learn are "Mein auto hat rost darauf."

The second you should learn are "Mein verdrahtendes system hat eine scheiße genommen."

And for what it's worth, rust on an 02 is also ridiculous.

 

I too found similar rust, but not so much. It did appear there was a rectabular spot on both sides that weren't painted, like a robotic arm was holding the body during the painting process? I guess I'll add pulling these up and toweling them along with the door jambs. I unfortunately lost some of the plastic covering on the passenger side sill plate. Higher direct water pressure seems to start lifting it, so I try not to rinse so hard anymore.

 

I have been following this thread since I am waiting for my mine to arrive and want to do all of the preventative maintainence possible. SO... should I get some POR and apply it straight out of the gate or wait until something develops?

 

I checked my Nov04 built 2005 MCS, and the underside of the seal was wet, but there was no rust anywhere to be found. I wash my car compulsively, every 3 days on average.

What I did notice was, on my 2005 the entire sill area is painted. In the photos of the 2002, it appears the rusted area is not painted, like it was the area being clamped during the paint process. In my 05, there isn't an unpainted "clamp" section. Since 2005, the rust warranty has been increased to 12 years, unlimited miles, and the entire vehicle is dipped and wax-injected. As someone suggested, some conditions of this warranty are annual inspection and biannual pressure washing of the undercarriage.

I decided to dry the wet seals, then put wax on my sill areas just to be on the safe side. I plan to add lifting and drying out this area to my car washing/drying routine.

Also, when the dealership performs the above-mentioned annual inspection, ensure that they lift those seals and examine that area as well.

 

Checked mine out tonight, and sure enough, there was a touch of rust. Not much, but starting at the edge of the pinchweld. '03 DS MCS.

 

+1, pass side was wet under the seals
9k miles, 02 MCS

 

agreed,...... that was my subtle message......

 

Thanks ever so much for the 'heads up' guys!! Just checked mine which is an 08/02 build and sure enough - rust on the driver's side door near the weld, but also another couple of spots along the top edge. It was also still wet, which is strange as the car hasn't been washed for a few weeks, although it has been raining.

Strange thing is the passenger side door is clear - although very wet under the seal.

Will be telling all the Aussies to check their cars too now. Thanks again - looks like it isn't just confined to the US MINIs :( Will see what my dealer says.

Cheers
Avril...

 

For everyone that see this thread, before you do anything, let's find out what MINI usa is going to do about it, you wouldn't want your rust warranty to voided by an "unauthorized repair or mod".
In the meantime, prevention is the best solution..You should dry off UNDER the rubber seals during your detailing routine.. I am going to check the hatch as well...
And BTW thank you SpiderX for this thread..

 

You are correct, according to my Dealer in Sweden "if you have done anything to remove the rust and have done any repainting your self the warranty is voided" Any actions that are made by a Non authorized dealer or paintshop will result in = warranty GONE.

 

just checked mine... no rust that I can see (though it's dark outside - will check tomorrow in daylight), but it was soaking wet under there.

 

To me i think the problem is lack of air holes punctured into the weather-strip itself for ventilation. I believe my Accord had several holes along the strip just to dry out the water quickly, and I never had a rust problem with it. (along the seams anyway
Here in Ontario Canada, we use so much salt on our roads that people out of the province are afraid to drive their cars on our roads with fear of catching rust! Luckily there was none found on my '05 mini. But there was definitely moisture along the spot-weld seams when i took the weather-strip off. I think im going to poke some more holes in the rubber...see if that helps.

 

I would not modify your weather strip at all. It could be used as justification to NOT fix a rust problem if it arises.

 

second that...im waiting to hear what MINIUSA has to say before doing anything.

 

Checked the hatch and thankfully that seems okay...The rubber seal there is very tight and injected with that white wax..and dry as a bone...

 

Hopefully that white wax is the solution then. Whatever absorbing properties it may have...

 

I just checked mine out and there is some rust forming. It's not on the sides but on top where the two metal sheets meet. There's two or three spots on each side with a few inches between them. I'll take some pics later today or tomorrow. Mine is an early '02 MCS (first shipment to my dealer).

 

I've seen that on a number of cars, where the aluminum strip gets nasty and the plastic film peels off. I could never figure whether the film was supposed to stay on or be peeled off.

 

I think the film was meant to be pulled off as prep work by the dealer. They left it on ours and I've never bothered to pull it off.

 

The plastic film on one of my door plates started to peel off, so I pulled it most of the rest of the way off... it makes things look worse. I wound up getting a new plate to stick on.

Oh yeah, I've got rust too.

 

I remember thinking that the plastic should come off....soon as I heard the sound it made I stopped.

Anyways, rubbing alcohol will take that residue right off and make it all look just like new.