Had my beltline trim replaced earlier this week. It's the same foil/tape as before. I suspect with fall/winter temps, we won't see any issues until things warm-up again.

My previous Clubman's trim was a solid piece of plastic that looked like chrome. This new tape stuff is a cheap point on the car. On the plus side, all pieces were replaced.

 

I'm still waiting for one trim strip, per my SA: "Fenton's trim piece is on national back order and we are still waiting for it to arrive. Once we recieve it someone will give you a call and set an appointment for Fenton."

 

Shoot, that's unfortunate. Do you know if the 2012 coupes and hatchbacks use the same?

My R53 seems to be metal as it has dented on the front under the windshield from a stone. No cracking, etc.

 

My SA ordered mine when I was in for a reprogram to cure the stumbling on acceleration. He says that this is the real deal replacement, but would not replace all the trim on the ones that are pealing off right now. That was a week ago and I have heard nothing since.

 

After speaking to the shop via phone (receptionist...mistake) we took in ours. Only to find out they were only going to replace the peeling parts...and it is not the update part. Not pleased. Does anyone have part numbers on the new "fixed" parts? And even better a detailed photo of the part...just curious if they redesigned the part or just updated the adhesives.

 

Hey Justin - not sure about the 2012 coupes. I know my 2008 Clubman was like what you describe for your R53.

I think this is a Countryman only thing right now. Hopefully it doesn't spread...

 

Just got a call from the dealer on trim replacement. According to parts the serial numbers are unchanged for the replacement trim. This was second hand info and I'd like to confirm this is accurate. It seems strange to retain the number if the product is different.

Since it's a hassle taking the car in I would sure appreciate knowing the numbers on the new trim.

Thanks

 

As far as anyone can tell right now there is no new trim. What everyone seems to be getting is just replacement parts.
Some claim that the process for creating the parts has changed, so technically there would be no need for a new part number.

At the same time I hear that 2012's coming off the ships are still having this problem so maybe nothing has actually changed yet.

From what we can tell everyone is still waiting for anyone to have a confirmed "new" style of part. All the data so far seems to indicate that we won't know if these replacement parts are any better for up to another 8-10 months depending on where everyone lives and if the original problem was at all temperature related.

 

OK, now it is really getting ridiculous. I just received a call from my dealer, asking which trim pieces I needed replaced. Supposedly, the order was turned in so long ago, that Mini assumed it was filled, and cancelled the order. They don't know which parts I need replaced.
I've never heard a bigger line of BS in my life. I was told that, now, the trim is on back order till mid JANUARY. The car will be a year old before they get around to fixing the trim... if ever.

Mini continues to build cars to sell, yet they let current owners rot waiting for replacement parts.

Unbelievable...

I think I will let them pull parts off of existing cars they have in stock, and then make sure they fail before next summer so I can get them replaced again.


Mark

 

Sorry to say the "new" trim pieces w/ stainless steel insert will not be available until sometime in early spring. In addition some dealers are replacing the old trim with something that uses a mylar tape and UHT or Ultra High Tack adhesive. This was meant to be a intermediate replacement. If you partake in this so called fix, they will replace only the trim that is now peeling. Sooooo when you return in the spring to get the new trim with stainless inserts you will only receive the pieces that were not previously replaced. In other words if you do not wait to have all the pieces put on at once when it is available in the spring, you will have two different types of moldings on your mini.

 

dhroz,

Please tell me where you heard that the new trim is being designed, let alone a timeframe for delivery? My dealer swears that the 'fix' is already in place. I say its BS.

Also, if the 'new' trim fails again, they WILL replace it again, or I'll take it off their inventory myself.

Mark

 

Trim they are now using is not new- Have your dealer refer to the August 4th bulletin released by BMW/Mini. I am surprised that they are telling you this info.
The old part numbers do not exist anymore. They will publish new part numbers once the engineering change has been released for use and sufficient material is available. Dealers can only get the old material with a new adhesive. Not a good substitute for the new material when it final becomes available.

 

Finally got the 3 failing pieces of trim replaced on Friday.
Initially was told that it would take most of the day to do the service but it ended up only being 3 hours after I dropped her off to have the car fixed and washed.
As far as I can tell it's just the same style of trim being replaced, nothing new about them. The service adviser didn't know of any long-term fix being planed either.

 

Chrome is peeling and flapping off my Mini Countryman like a Rose Parade float. The MINI Dealership won't replace it until pieces completly FLY OFF and then only one by one as they go. From what I'm reading here, it sounds like I should wait anyway until the new material becomes available in the Spring? I'M SURE all the trim will have failed as Denver weather is pretty severe. Your opinion now or wait?

 

I went in today and they replaced all the trim on my car. It is the same trim tape but it looks fine. But as you said we will see how it holds up in the summer. But I had no issues with getting all the pieces replaced. It took about 1 1/2 hrs and then I also got a oil change which I had to pay for because I am only at 4,000 miles but no issues. They should replace all the pieces at no charge.

 

Washed my countryman the other day and noticed what looked like glue residue at the edge of one of the chrome trims. I'm guessing this is my dealer's "fix". Apparently they've been gluing the chrome tape ends down before delivering them to their new owners.

Not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand at least they were trying to be proactive about preventing my countryman from getting chrome disease, but on the other, I don't like the fact they didn't tell me about it and that it seems like such a temporary fix (probably just to get it through the warranty period?).

 

Got a call from the dealer that all the trim pieces they ordered for me came in.

Windshield, driver side rear door, drive side scuttle, driver side quarter panel, passenger side front door.

Taking my CM in tomorrow actually have them replaced. Will update on how it goes once it's all done.

 

Trim was replaced today!

I don't see any difference between the new pieces and the pieces they replaced. It's likely they are just the same as the pieces that failed in the first place.

Only time will tell how they hold up.

 

Finally, something positive to report. I received a call from the dealer yesterday stating that the replacement trim pieces were in. I setup an appointment, and brought the car in today to have the replacements done. I was given a Cooper Hardtop as a loaner for the day, which I did not expect. I was also told that all the trim pieces would be replaced since the ones on my car were REALLY bad ( I have 10" or more of chrome missing from 4 different trim pieces, and another starting to peel...). Again, they went above what they needed to do to get the job done. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.

Mark

 

Well, good & bad news on the trim replacement front.

The dealer replaced all the trim, and even gave me $150 credit towards any accessory I wanted to purchase. I thought that was a nice gesture. That's the good news.
The bad news is the trim pieces are exactly the same as the old, and one piece is already peeling. It's the small piece between the front passenger door window and the hood trim. The entire bottom edge of the chrome tape is delaminated from the plastic base. Yet, they still installed it on my car... The part numbers they list as being replaced appear to be the same ones in the parts manual from last April. I don't think they actually fixed anything, and I'm confident we will be in the same situation next summer when these replacements peel again due to heat.

But, at least I can say the dealer actually tried to fix the problem.

Mark

 

Mini is so slow to react to issues on these cars. Here we are going on 5 years and they still have melting hood scoops. Peeling chrome trim on Countrymen will be another issue thrown on the back burner...

 

MINI of the Woodlands replaced all of my trim pcs today... They said it was the final fix..... hope they're correct!!

 

Well, I had the Blue Bomber towed to the Dealer for a failed thermostat/no-start condition yesterday. Screwed up my whole day...
But the good news is they replaced the defective trim piece that they had just put on the car two days earlier. I now have a complete set of trim that is the exact same as the old pieces. And I can actually get the car to start.

Sorry for my negativity, but I am not a happy camper today. I understand new cars, and a few issues popping up, but this car is 8 months old, and I don't know if I can depend on it to start, let alone keep the trim from falling off.

Mark

 

My SA ordered my replacement trim on 11/11. It is now 12/23 and no call that they are in. I am going to replace the chrome with black tape and be done with it.

 

I got the permanent fix today! Traded my Countryman that had 5K miles on it for a 2012 Nissan 370 Z. LOL Goodbye Mini!