Not trying to stir things up here...

But just curious as to whether BMW re-designed the door sills on the new R56's to avoid having the same rust issue as on the R53's (see very lengthy thread on other R53 Stock Problems/Issues forum section...)....

Anyone check this out (lift up the rubber sill cover and see if wet/rust...) or compare designs??

Would be very interested to know...

Thanks!

 

I don't think there is a rubber sill cover - there is an aluminum scuff plate though. There is a rubber gasket, but its above the sill.

 

Thanks for that info, lava....

so sounds like they did do a redesign of some sort....assume that's good news...

 

Actually I looked at it more closely today and there is a plastic sill plate that the aluminum plate is mounted to. It does look like water that runs down the door jambs on either side could find its way under this plastic if it is not sealed. But its too early to look for rust I'm afraid, and the plastic surface is not flexible - you said rubber, This can not be easily bent up to look underneath. If it was sealed, then prying at it would only break the seal and allow water in...

You need to ask somebody that knows more about how it goes together to see what was done here.

 

lava, thanks again for your input...pls be aware in case it's not clear...I don't have a Mini, just toying with idea of getting one...so don't know all the details...hence my original post here....just read that other thread (think over 400 posts!) on this subject in the R53 forum...

Thanks,

Mark

 

im sure the door rust issue was something MINI was aware of and fixed in the new car.

 

The door sill rust was a limited issue mostly for owners who live in moist, humid climes and/or close to salt water. a lot of folks freaked out over nothing over these somewhat alarmist claims.

 

Alarmist?

Whenever it rained ... just rained, it was very easy to see water under the rubber molded. It was alway there ... just wash the car and water was there. There were rust spots and it was very real.

That is hardly alarmist. IMO, rust of any kind is totally unacceptable on a "new car"

 

hmm, "somewhat alarmist" was how I put it. I understand if there are folks that have this problem, and it did sound serious, but it is limited in scope and occurence. I know many many more owners of first gen cars of all years and models who have no, nor evidence of, door sill rust, and my SA knows of a couple problems of superficial door sill rust caught early and repaired, both 2002 MCs originally purchased and driven in the east. I agree, rust on a new car is unacceptable. Owners just need to be vigilant. didnt mean to yank your fur C

 

At a pulley party two years ago we checked numerous cars for this and found that the 10 out of 13 cars had rust beginning under the seal.

The problem was, no one knew to check. I have two neighbors that both have R53s and did not know they had rust spots until I showed them where to check.

Our area is not particularly humid. I truly believe this issue is fairly widespread.

 

OK, sorry if I sounded like jumping on the alarmist remark.

My real point is that any rust on a car built this century thats only a couple years old is totally unacceptable and you agree with that

Skip is correct. For example, if I never read the thread on NAM, I would have never checked for it. I would bet the "masses" don't even know of the problem.

 

Agreed whoeheartedly. My MCS has never seen a winter, or more importantly, the salt which accompanies winter. Anytime after washing the car or raining, water puddles along the molding and causes rust.
Mine was cleaned up and repainted by my dealer under warantee. I agree that most people never check, therefore are never aware of the (existing) problem.

A little off topic - This issue is similar to strut tower mushrooming - many people do not know what to look for. I was looking at mine mushroomed but didn't realize until I better understood what everyone meant by mushrooming - then it was obvious.

Back on topic...

Hopefully the R56's do not experience these problems. Time will tell.

 

Two comments: Between myself and my GF, we have 3 MINI's. Mine are always garaged ( and covered!), while hers is outside all the time. All three had the rust issue. My guess would be that the majority of MINI owners haven't a clue about this problem, and therefore haven't looked for it. As far as the second generation MINI's, I checked out the R56 while I was at the dealer for service on mine, and the design appeared to be identical. I don't think MINI fixed this problem at all. Caveat emptor.

 

One would think that by now, if the R56 had the issue, it would be discovered and discussed here on NAM. Many OC people here.
We've only had our 08 Coop a few days now, but our R53 had slight rust issues twice. NOBODY would think to look for a problem if it weren't for forums like this one.

 

Check you R55-R59 MINIs, just found it on my 2012 R58 https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-minis-29.html