I’m with MINI USA and, on their behalf, we want to apologize to those of you who have experienced problems with your windshield.

While windshield cracks and stone abrasions can occur with any automobile, we have taken this issue seriously and have passed your feedback along within MINI. Our dealership service teams are trained specifically in the MINI product and are completely qualified to make assessments of this nature. MINI Division stands behind the MINI product and will warrant manufacturer's defects.

Each windshield complaint is unique and handled on a case-by-case basis. Our aim is to pay special attention to each of your concerns.

Please continue to work closely with your dealer. As always, we are available at 866.ASK.MINI if you’d like additional assistance.

 

MINIUSA should step up to the plate and issue a "recall" on ALL these inferior windshields and offer refunds for the insurance deductables..Its the right thing to do!!..In my 40 yrs of automobile ownership, NEVER had windshield problems like I have had with the MINI..You said the same thing 7 months ago..bite the bullet and redesign and replace ALL the windshields@@..period..because the 1 and 10 rule is starting to kill the "customer service image of the MINI. (FYI The 1 and 10 rule is if your happy about a product, you will tell 1 person, if you are UNHAPPY...you will tell 10!!) :

 

What's the news here? MINIUSA stands behind the product, but the dealers pen test every crack and find that grains of sand impacting the windshield cause cracks, and therefore there is no warranty?

Sorry, but after having 4 MINI windshields replaced I finally got fed up enough with MINI glass. How come PPG can make a windshield that is much more durable than the MINI glass (observation after following this issue closely over the last 20 months)?

 

Is this the EXACT same post from before. I had to look twice at the date of the post as I thought it was the same old one. I have not gone back and looked at the original but it looks like a repost of the last one.

I believe MINI is not responsible for a windshile that get BROKEN by a rock etc. but if it is a stress crack it will surly travel through a small pit from some road debris.

Everyone that needs replacement should go for the PPG glass once the dealer says no warranty.

I am VERY happy with my MCS and have not had problems like some here have had but I know how you feel as I have had cars with problems that the dealer could not/would not fix.

Earl

 

>>What's the news here? MINIUSA stands behind the product, but the dealers pen test every crack and find that grains of sand impacting the windshield cause cracks, and therefore there is no warranty?

Sorry, but after having 4 MINI windshields replaced I finally got fed up enough with MINI glass. How come PPG can make a windshield that is much more durable than the MINI glass (observation after following this issue closely over the last 20 months)?


DiD...did they replace your windshiel when it was cracked or was there a chip? I wanted to know if I can replace mine from the dealer under warranty. Can you tell me what is under that warranty that you had your replace.

thanks

ant.

 

MINIDivision, I see that you are taking a lot of time recently to respond to many issues brought up on NAM and I am hoping you can continue to address comments in this post. My comments/questions/responses to your post include the following:

1) MINIDivision: "While windshield cracks and stone abrasions can occur with any automobile, we have taken this issue seriously and have passed your feedback along within MINI."

Response: Unfortunately my MINI dealer was rather rude when it came time to schedule a windshield replacement. They were extremely defensive about the crack being a stress crack and tried to make me feel like I had no idea what I was talking about. Furthermore, they refused to acknowledge that many other are experiencing the same problem.

However, once I got to the dealer, it required aboiut 10 seconds for them to agree it was abviously a defective windsheild that had a stress crack. Also, why is it that the dealers continue to state there is no issue, but when I call 1-866-MINI they asked if I would participate in their survey of owners with windshield problems. There is a serious disconnect here.

2) MINIDivision: "Our dealership service teams are trained specifically in the MINI product and are completely qualified to make assessments of this nature."

Response: Unfortunately the dealer's continued refusal to admit there may be a problem biases there assessment of all windshield problems since they obviously don't want to admit to anything more then possible. Until MINI puts forth an across the board statement of the potential problem and agrees to stand behiond the product, there will always be questions about how sincere this concern is for MINI.

3) MINIDivision: "MINI Division stands behind the MINI product and will warrant manufacturer's defects."

Response: When are you going to stop "taking the issue seriously" and instead simply "stand behind the MINI product". Stress cracked windshields and sub-par strength against abrasion are not typical and need to fixed now!!!

4) MINIDivision: "Each windshield complaint is unique and handled on a case-by-case basis. Our aim is to pay special attention to each of your concerns."

Response: As I mentioned above, until MINI simply starts standing behind the product and admit there are some problems, then words and comments like "unique", "case-by-case basis", and "special attention" sounds insincere and more like a way to get around actually admitting there is a problem.

MINIDivision: "Please continue to work closely with your dealer. As always, we are available at 866.ASK.MINI if you’d like additional assistance."

Response: When are the dealers going to stop taking a defensive posture on this issue so we can work closely with them?? As long as they are going to continue to accuse me of driving to close behind trucks and citing sand grain size impacts as the cause for windsheild cracks, then the dealers aren't living up to their side of "working closely together".

I am really looking forward to an honest response to this problem and less talk about working to help us. Please show every MINI owner that you do care about the product they purchased from you.

 

MINIDivision, it's been nine, count 'em, nine months since you started this identical thread, which you've clearly forgotten all about.

We're all sick of lip service and corporate doublespeak, and we don't buy this garbage about "taking the issue seriously." What kind of idiots do you think we are? Do you have any idea how many of your customers read this site and are witness to your dishonesty and deceit?

My ATM machine has more personality than MINIDivision. Your whole presence is here is an insult to our collective intelligence.

_________________
"In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane." -Oscar Wilde

 

>>How come PPG can make a windshield that is much more durable than the MINI glass (observation after following this issue closely over the last 20 months)?

I wish I had as good of luck with PPG as you had, DiD. The PPG glass was in my car for only a couple of months before being replaced. I found the PPG glass to pit-up and chip as quickly as the MINI glass does.

 

Bite the bullet and recall the d@mn things already. There's obviously a serious problem with these windshields. :evil:

I've had a miata for 7 years (150,000 miles) and never got so much as a nick in the windshield.

This is B.S. :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

Questions for MINIUSA:

1 Is there a "new" "stronger" glass being shipped to the dealers? What is the part #?

2. How can dealer/owner tell the difference betwwen the "old" (i.e. inferior) windshield and the new improved item?

3. Your dealers are no help what so ever as the OEM windshield is covered with "pits" that snag on the "pen test" therefore according to YOUR (MINIUSA) instructions is not covered under warrenty!..

4. What is your comments on having a recall on all current winshields and covering the costs of folks insurance deductables of replacements.

As the hundreds of folks have comments on this forum, roadfly MINI2 ect, the current windshilds are substandard and are made of WAY TO SOFT GLASS that causes the pits/and cracks that other manufactures do not have problem with..I will send send $50 to MINIUSA favorite chartity if you respond to the above questions.

 

Hey Gas..I think now you're speaking their language....

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

>>Hey Gas..I think now you're speaking their language....
>>
>>$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
I am the first person in North America to have the "new" one installed and I will certainly keep this site very well informed as to how it performs(this is my sixth install!) peace

 

Windshield markings from "other" thread...

Mini(wing logo)
// Saint Gobain
Sekurit
E6( circled) 43R- 00091
DOT 32 M51 AS1
CCC(circled) E000190

 

I agree with everyone else. The pen test means nothing and is totally irrelevant to the fact that the windshield has a crack. Just because a small 1mm pebble hit the glass doesn't mean it should crack all the way across. All you are saying is that road debris caused the crack. That may be the case for some of them, but it is ridiculous that some of us are on our 5th or 6th windshield. If that isn't a problem, then what consititutes a defective piece of glass. I have had more cracks on my Mini windshield in one year then I have had on all my other cars in their entire combined lifetime.

 

>>Windshield markings from "other" thread...
>>
>>Mini(wing logo)
>>// Saint Gobain
>>Sekurit
>>E6( circled) 43R- 00091
>>DOT 32 M51 AS1
>>CCC(circled) E000190

I'm looking at a 4 month old 2004 Mini Cooper SVT with exactly the same markings. The above doesn't seem to be unique to the new glass.

 

We own a 2003 MC PW/B. CVT, Premium Pkg, DSC & After Mkt. Spoiler. It appears we are very lucky. The Winshield on our Mini has not pitted or Cracked. We live in NH so we Drive In Snow, Salt & Sand.

 

I believe that Honda just lost a class action windshield lawsuit on the 2003 Element (Mine is an 05)...their dealers used the pen test, and apparently the judge was not impressed! A windshield should be able to withstand a small debris hit without ALWAYS cracking.(A star yes but not always a crack)

It should not have to come to this...Mini should bone up to the problem...any attorneys out there?? BMW needs a Class action from time to time to keep them honest and humble them a bit (anyone remember when you had to have the BMW dealer reset the Maint light with their special tool? The Feds took care of that one for us!...they still claim that a tool is needed....amazing!

A Friend's 05 mini has had 3 windshields this year! I took pictures for her and each crack began at EXACTLY the same place...vertically and then went horizontal. Each time she was denied by the dealer with the infamous pen test. Last time she put in a PPG windshield....end of problem and she has still taken some hits, one pretty good one while I was in the car with her! Granted big enough rock and any windshield will crack but not the mini's (or Elements) I had seen! At least a star can be repaired!

BTW: I was quoted $1000 for a rain sensor Mini windshield (not including installation)...PPG is $250 installed! If mine cracks guess where I am going!

 

Welll stated gizzer, thanks .

DITTO on the "vertical and then horizontal crack", what a POS those windshields are. Could it be a great car with quality issues?

PPG for me next time, no questions asked.

PS - still not as bad as my last Ford, thank God!

 

My crack went the other way - horizontal, then arced upwards. But the chip was insanely small, smaller than a millimeter across in any direction.

I was quoted $450-something for the windshield (with rain sensor), not installed, which is ridiculous. I had Safelite repair it with OEM glass for $285 installed. I couldn't find anyone willing to install PPG glass and slap a rain sensor on it; I've got to do some more digging on that and find someone who will be able to do it "next time".

In the meantime, maybe we need someone to start gathering up information so we can go the route that Element owners did...

Does anyone know if the exact same glass is being used in the '07s? My bet is no...

 

Honda does indeed have a class action against them for windshields, and we've submitted the paperwork we were sent for our Element.

MINIUSA better wake up, or they will be next on some lawyers list of things to do.

 

While aftermarket glass is better tenfold I think the structural design of the Mini has something to do w/all the windshield probs. My OEM glass got popped by a spec of a rock & developed a huge crack in under 1 year of ownership. I replaced it w/CSG brand aftermarket glass which has survived getting hit by a huge boulder w/no damage. But...last week I got popped pretty good & now have damage to my aftermarked glass. Granted the damage is only a small mark which is only on the inside of the glass (smooth feeling on the outer surfaces) & has not started running but I am about to be on windshield #3 in under 2 years of ownership

 

I don't see how you state that the company stands behind the product but them let the dealers do whatever they want. We had 400 or so careful miles and a few of days of ownership on our new 05 MCS with no impacts to the window, got the classic spreading "L" shaped crack in the center of the windshield and when we took it immediately to SF Mini they spirited the car away to inspect it, then when the car appears again they have run the crack in, proceed to show how a pen now sticks in it and deny warranty coverage - then, what a surprise, want to charge us some insane amount to replace it.

We were shocked and said this was a re-occurring issue with stress cracks, which this clearly was, and offered to provide more info on other cars with this problem that had the repair covered and they literally said 'that was solved in production as of the 2005 model' and insisted there was no way it could be that or covered under warranty in spite of our willingness to show proof that it still was a problem and other dealerships were handling it.

In the end they told us to 'take it back to where we bought it' and it was blatantly clear that they were not treating us fairly because we did not buy the car from them (and pay their crazy markup). The manager from the dealer we bought it from even spoke to them to try to help us but it was pointless, there was no way SF Mini, or any other local dealer, would do warranty work now that they had dug into the glass many times, and since we could not keep driving around with the big split we had to take it somewhere and pay out of pocket to have it fixed .

This is not close to the first time that the dealers do whatever they want, have the quality of service vary dramatically from one to the other, and don't even know about chronic problems and TSBs - so please, if you are really posting from MINIUSA don't just make empty statements on the forums, do something to insure that the dealers have a consistent level of service and don't tell us, when we call about it, that there is nothing you can do since they are franchises.

PS: Its also nice how the dealer tries to scare you away from getting an aftermarket windshield by stating it will effect the warranty. Considering the ridiculously expensive random price they set for the OEM replacement that is prone to failing it is really sad.

PPS: PPG shames you.

 

I know we are rehashing this but the post from MiniUSA was over 2-1/2 years ago so I dunno if they are checking this

 

Oh yeah, one last thing - do you instruct the dealers not to actually check the car into the system when inspecting the windsheilds or do they improvise that? They did not want to write the car up at all and just "inspected it" and denied coverage without ever entering the issue into the system - we figure this way the problem is never offcially recognized and then MINIUSA can play blissfully ignorant of the chronic failures and not have to account for them.

 

Since it was raised from the dead I figure it could not hurt to restate things and maybe it will help newer owners to be aware of things. (Plus this is a classic BMW PR move, they always posted lipservice re: chronic car problems on various forums and never meant/did anything so it just annoys the heck out of me).

Class action lawsuit might wake them up a bit...