I was looking to buy a roof rack for my Clubman. I was ready to make the purchase and the dealer called me and said they had just received a notice from Mini that modifications were required for the rack and to discontinue offering them. They did not know what the fix would be at this point in time.

Anyone have any idea what issues have been identified? Without the roof rack, and no rear hitch offering yet, there appears to be a real lack of options for bikes beyond using a different car....

 

That's big news to me. I'm going to send out an APB on this to some roof rack owners I know, and my own MA. Don't fret though, I am sure whatever it is will be dealt with positively. The only complaints I'm aware of are that it's a pain in the you know what to put on and that most people put it on and leave it on, at least for the season they're apt to use it.

Let's see what we can find out. Thanks for your heads up.

 

I contacted both Yakima and Thule to ask if they were going to have a Clubman specific fit for a rack. Yakima said on the phone something to the effect of it depends how much interest they hear about one from customers (so I guess the more people that e-mail them the better) and Thule emailed back:
[03/13/2008 03:08 PM
We are currently working on a fit for this vehicle. Make sure to enter you email address in the box provided in the Rack Your Car area once the vehicle specs are entered and you are presented with the page that includes the statement "At this time we do not have a multipurpose rack system that we recommend for use. Please enter your e-mail address here to be notified by e-mail when a fit becomes available for this vehicle." You will be contacted automatically when the fit information becomes available.]

Again probably the more people that enter info to Thule's website, the more incentive they have.

Regarding hitch mounts--my Mini sales guy had told me that Mini was developing of tow hitch mount for the Clubman but he didn't know anything further.
but some one on the mini2 forum who has a towbar wrote:
[The tow bar is factory fit only at this time. It is pricey at £ 500 but I have heard that there will be no aftermarket option for this car. When you specify a tow bar as an option you get different springs to the standard car fitted too, which gives more stability to back end when towing. I have also heard that the underside of the car is diffferent with tow bar fitted.]


I agree until a good solution is found bike hauling isn't great, though not my ideal, my bike does fit in the back with the seat folded down.

I encourage interested people to contact both Yakima and Thule through their websites to express interest in a Gen2 or Clubman specific roof rack. Maybe that'll help get something developed faster. With those slots cut in the roof side it can't be too hard to design a good Q-clip or foot bracket for their rack!

 

what are the problems with the rack, i have one on my clubman. just curious.

 

There's this too....

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=135304

 

I work at MINI in Canada and I remember getting this notice a couple weeks ago... I have this week off of work because of exams, but as soon as I'm back, I'll update the thread with the officials reasons regarding the roof rack

 

Just got the word from my MA. Am going to go with the glass half full modus operandi and believe they'll come out with a more user friendly version - and rather soon! All corroborated info will be much appreciated as we were planning on a well stocked trip.

OK, just got off the phone - apparently there "may have been" a few instances of "isolated installation issues with the rack support" due to modifications on the bodywork. I was assured that it was being addressed. Really, it would have to be - and soon.

 

I checked with Thule even before we ordered our Clubman. I got their standard reply and also another email that said the design guy was going to SEMA one week, then back in-house for the next week to work on designs. I have always been a fan of Yakima racks since the early 1980's, but I REALLY like the way the Thule rack mounts up on our E46 BMW. We ride a tandem and had issues with the Yakima rack scooting backwards on the car when we had our Audi A4. The Thule on the E46 is bolted to the damn roof.

I suspect that the "recall" on the current roofrack for the Clubman is due in part to the difficulty that some owners have had in doing the initial install. It does take a bit of mechanical aptitude and patience to fit/install almost any roofrack.

 

I contacted Thule, too, and did the whole email address submission thing. Perhaps it's time to knock on their doors again.

All I know is that I was very much counting on the roof rack, so I'm still hoping for a quick and well done resolution.

 

Copywrites - Just an idea - if you're transporting only one bicycle, and you have a quick-release on the front wheel, just lower the rear seats and put the bike inside. There's probably not enough room for two bikes (or three passengers), but the Clubman is big enough to fit most road or mountain bikes with the front wheel removed. My 54cm road bike fits with room to spare. I line the cargo area with a heavy "moving blanket" I got from Home Depot, and just lay the bike on top.

 

I was just going to post this....YES, there are issues and racks are not being installed on Clubmans until late summer when new ones are out.

My Clubman is at the dealer as we speak due to the 3rd door leaking. They couldn't figure it out until this bit of news came out. They took it off and alas, no leak.

They told me the install on the rack was quite a bear and what it did was push out the back window just enough to cause a leak. I first noticed it when I was squirted in the face at the car wash!! It came through rather forcefully!

I'm still waiting for a call back from my MA. He had cob-jobbed it and put weather proofing on the window to hold it. That worked so I'm going to ask to just do that for now since I really need my bike racks!! It's bike season and I can't be rackless

I'll keep you posted...picking up Miss MINI tomorrow

 

Oh man not good news for me Bike season is finally around the corner in CO and now no rack for my clubman. I ride downhill mountain bikes and would bet that it wont fit it has no quick release front or back so I would need tools every time just to get the frame in the car.

 

Miniclubman - I may have to go with the one-wheel-off option. I just hope my wife doesn't mind jogging beside me rather than riding....

I think for this trip coming up, we're just going to take helmets and saddles and rent bikes at our destination. Or maybe go to Walmart and buy 2 bikes for $100 and donate them to charity after we use them for a couple days.

 

Put my enquiry into Yakima. I'm going to sell my cross-bars, low-risers, fairing and 2 steelheads but hold on to 1 in the hope that Yakima will come out with some crossbars for the Clubman.

 

laurendesigns, thank you for your post!! Your experience is quite something. It's very interesting because I'm sure that some other roof rack Clubman owners have not experienced this, but I've just posted a link to this thread on MINI2 for others who don't frequent NAM.

Please do keep us posted.

And may I ask who installed your roof rack?

 

It was installed by the dealer.

Still waiting to hear back, I sure hope they'll put it back on and I'll just wing it with the water until the new racks come out

 

Hum...very interesting. We installed the roof rack ourselves - as I stated in some other threads, it's VERY EASY. The instructions are very clear. We bought the rack (OEM) a week after our car was delivered (Feb. 16th). We've washed Merlin many times since installation and we've not seen any water leaks or had any issues at all. I'll be very curious to see what MINIUSA thinks the real problem is.



Donna

 

Oh crap. Bad, very bad. I sold my truck and ordered the Clubbie based on the fact that I could get the rack to mount my Yakima ski box to for a big trip in late July. Without it, I'm seriously screwed.

 

Hang in there, you're certainly not alone and MINI knows that there are a lot of people who are going to be very unhappy if they don't get what they'd counted on.

 

+1 except looking for a solution by Memorial Day...

 

I installed the factory rack myself on my Clubman with no issues. I've had it on for about a month and I've seen no leaks and heard no out of the ordinary noises at freeway speeds. (It has been raining in Seattle the majority of the time I've had the rack on the car.)

 

OT - but... Subdude, have you established whether the Yakima fittings work w/the OEM Mini rack or were you going to bodge something together to make it fit?

 

Fittings? Fittings? We don't need no steenking fittings.......

Seriously, as long as there's a pair of crossbars on the car, I'm good. 30+ years as a mechanical engineer, with access to a full machine shop. I'll make it fit....

Cheers!

Jim

 

Ooo, subdude, I'm looking in my magic ball and... I see a second career for you!

 

Hmm - well in the case of a top box I can see the bodge/cough/mechanical engineering angle working well but I was thinking more specifically of the Steelhead and Viper bike tray connections that have some closer tolerances to be met. I've checked out the illustrations on Miniusa and it looks as if the crossbars are round but obviously the diameters are important in this case.

I'll be over to borrow your press/lathe if they don't fit