Got one today for my son's Cooper S.....I read through because we did put a new windshield in because of a stress crack......in reading through I see we are not eligible to participate because SAFELITE installed the replacement glass. We went with the non-oem for $280...it cost us the deductible $250......so you can only be a part of this law suit if a MINI dealer installed the replacement windshield.

 

Received 2 in the mail. Another one that never had a windshield issue

 

just received mine.

i enjoy being able to stick it to bmw after they have stuck me with so much crap...

 

I got a couple yesterday, I started a thread in the main forum, search didn't find this thread. We had a windshield go out around 06, the dealer charged $600 for the replacement. I'd be glad to get that back.

 

Our '06 MCSa had two such failures:

The first happened with less than 5000 miles when the car as just about a year old.

The second happened with less than 13000 miles just about a year to the day the first stress crack appeared.

In both instances the cracks started up at the roofline slightly offset from the rearview mirror. On the second occurence (I still have the e-mails with Mini service) the crack went from 2" to a 10" long J shape in 2 days.

I can tell say with certainty that this was a real issue for us and it wasn't related to chips or any impacts.

MINI went over both cracks with a fine toothed comb (actually it was just a pen) trying to see if it "was hit even in the slightest".

I have received the letter but both times MINI did the right thing (by us) and replaced the windshield at no charge.

I have no issue personally but I am certain that there was/is an issue and there probably should have been a TSB or something.

 

Interesting - must have been a quality control issue with the manufacturer of the windshield glass, since some of us haven't had any issues and others have...

 

My 2006 S convertible with 15,000 miles developed a stress crack recently. Not a stone chip! Called the dealership where the ride was purchased new and quizzed them about the lawsuit. Was informed that THEY couldn't authorize a free replacement-I suggested this would negate me from filing a claim in the suit. Was given Mini's corporate's number and called them as suggested.
Corporate was polite but would not budge for a free windshield replacement. I suggested it would be cost-effective for them if they popped for a w/s as no attorney fee's would have to paid as a result for me being a claiment in a class action suit. Basically they said to sue, no free windshield for you.
Today I read that the stress crack problem has been solved. The windshield pillars flex. DUH? Apparently when beefed up for the track (roll cages) their w/s's never cracked. Apparently all the rocket science folks had retired at Mini.
Will Mini pop for a retrofit fix? If you think so reread the above.

 

Why would they pay you for a complete windshield instead of making you participate in the class action lawsuit where they're only going to pay for a portion of it ?

Lawyers fees ? Whether they have 1,000 or 1,001 or 2,000 people participating in the class action suit, their defense attorneys' fees will be the same.

 

Dollars and cents. If Mini would replace the w/s at their cost to fix a problem found to be an engineering defect means less money out of their pockets in the long run. In my neck of the woods attorney's don't work for free.
Oh, there is another thing that goes into the mix. Brand allegiance. That happens when the customer believes in the brand (MINI in this case) and how it treats its customers when something goes wrong with their product.
This lawsuit could have been prevented if MINI acknowledged the defect as other car companies have done in the past (albiet reluctantly) and rectified the problem in-house.
Great site btw have learned a lot and hopefully put out some usefull information in the past.

 

I received my notice last week and over the weekend a stress crack larger than a dollar bill showed up on my windshield of my 2007 Mini Convertible.

I don't have the glass policy through my insurance, so the deductible to replace it would be $500.

The comparable aftermarket windshield that my insurance is offering me (w/ dimming rear view mirror and rain sensor) is $384.95 + tax, whereas genuine Mini windshield is $1483.50 + tax!

I am torn. I don't know what to do... I want the genuine part, but even if we win the law suit, I will still be out $500-$600. On August 24, my Mini will be 5 years old, so I have to replace the windshield before then if I want to be eligible to receive anything from this suit.

 

Not sure who quoted you on the genuine MINI windshield, but it seems way overpriced. The most expensive one I see on penske parts is about $550.

Here's the link (under the vehicle trim category):
http://www.penskeparts.com/DiagramsM...8&rnd=03192010

Maybe there are other parts they are replacing too?!

 

Did a little digging about OEM windshields. Do the same at a reputable glass shop. I was informed this, regarding a MINI/BMW logo'd w/s vs. a non logo.
Different glass companies will scribe any brand name on their w/s's in order to get the glass contract for a car manufacturer. They cannot sell those that are "branded" to any glass shops other than to the dealerships. However, they will produce their own w/s's that are on the same line as the dealership ones but without the MINI logo and sell those to glass shops.
Exactly the same quaility but without the jacked up price and minus the BMW or MINI logo etched on the glass and hundreds less in cost. Occasionly a glass shop will get a w/s with the car companies logo haphazardly removed from the manufacturer at the normal non-dealership price.
Not sure if this helps in your decision making process but if it's a worry on quality that is the deciding factor- rest easy. The neighborhood glass shops will tell you what glass companies make what w/'s for what car companies.

 

I am on W/S number 5 for my 04 MCS, I dont think in the 30 other cars I have owned I ever had 1 break, let alone 5. My insurance Policy has glass coverage so it has only cost me 100 each time, but still that is 500 out of my pocket. I have not recieved anything in the mail as of yet, but when I do, i will let my attorney and insurance company look at it and then I will decide.

 

I was torn about replacing my w/s with a local glass company's offering for nothing under my auto insurance, no deductible, or the dealer's w/s at $500 over what my insurance would pay. I went with the glass dealer. The installer told me that it was the same w/s that I would have gotten from the dealer, as in that w/s was the exact same one I would have gotten from the dealer because they ordered them for the dealer. I don't know if that was true. It looked just like an OEM w/s, but lacked the MINI sticker. That sticker wasn't worth $500 to me. At any rate, that windshield got hit by a rock six weeks later and had to be replaced. I went with the glass shop again. That w/s is still with me, 2.5 years later. So, unless you've got money to burn, I wouldn skip the dealer and go with the glass shop. There's always the chance that you will need to replace the w/s again.

 

Rejecting the class action suit might not be wise.

 

Well then just shoot yourself in the foot. Without the class action attorneys work what will you have -- nothing since it is not worth your while to try to sue Mini and get expert testimony to prove your case. With the class action attorneys work you might get at least some of your $ for a new windshield back. I participated in a few such class actions and have gotten something back that I otherwise would not have received! Best case in point on my 89 jeep cherokee in 1992 or so I got a lifetime warranty on the ABS master cylinder ABS combo hydraulic/electric control unit and 10 year 100,000 mile warranty on all the rest of the ABS system parts as a result of a class action case. Not too bad. Kept the jeep until 2009!

 

After receiving the settlement notice, I took my 2003 MCS by the dealership to see if they would replace my windshield. In addition to several clear rock strikes that I've accumulated over the years, there is a 10" J-shaped hairline crack running from the base of the driver's-side over and then roughly parallel to the windshield wipers. I could see no sign of a chip or damage from a rock strike and therefore believed this might be a stress crack.

The service manager followed me to the car, whipped out a ball point pen, and traced the crack with its tip. "No", he proclaimed, "not a stress crack. It's a rock strike." He pointed to a tiny sliver of glass missing from one point in the hairline crack. "This is the impact point."

I was surprised that such a tiny sliver could provide evidence of a rock strike. After all, the crack had been there for several years. It seemed equally likely that a sliver had dislodged some time after the crack appeared. However I knew that "equally likely" was going nowhere against the earnest penmanship of the smug service manager.

The stress crack complaint is clearly an issue that the dealership has experienced and since developed a means of rapidly disqualifying potential claims. I will talk with a glass shop to see whether they have any advice for countering the "pen method", but don't expect to qualify for dealership replacement.

By the way, when I walked into the service department there were two female customers speaking with another manager. One of them saw my copy of the class action noticed and said that she had received one as well. She then began to tell me about the two windshields she has had replaced as a result of stress cracks. It was at that point that the other service manager quickly zipped towards me and shepherded me out the door to have a look at my car. I doubt that he would have been so quick to attend to me had it not been for this woman's complaints.

If anyone else has had luck passing the pen test and confirming a stress crack, I'd love to hear their story.

 

2 minis, no issues. in fact i believe my 1st mini saved my life -bad accident. Attorney's to get $1,350,000 - you possibly get a coupon. i' ll be writing in support of mini and will not throw the notice away. Just my 2cents.

 

that guy's lucky to pay ONLY $50/insurance to replace his 4 windshields...
ME... 4 WINDSHIELDS IN 4 MONTHS = $1000 insurance deductibles.
My original OEM windshield (2004 MINI COOPER) lasted 10 years; when in 2/2014 it developed a serious crack. I paid SafeLite Auto Glass $365 out-of-pocket to replace it. Well, in April that one cracked so I called Progressive; insurance covered but I paid $250/deductible. Guess what happened next? That one cracked in May; they replaced on a Friday 11am ... that Saturday 3pm IT CRACKED TOO! So it was replaced... again @$250...
Needless to say I am soo p1ss3d 0ff right now because upon leaving my office today there was a new 12" crack out-of-nowhere and no sign of impact! How does a one-foot crack just-appear while parked for 8 hours in-the-shade? All of them starting beneath the wiperblade and go up a few inches then across the glass even longer.

 

I used to eat a lot of Wheaties. Now I'm loosing some hair, hearing is going south, growing cataracts along with some arthritis in my knuckles. Wonder would they take on that case. Oh yea, and 9 out of 10 doctors recommend Lucky Strike.

 

My windshield replacement costs got reimbursed under the case action agreement. In general I dislike case action suits but I sure thought this one was justified.

 

We just purchased an 04 Mini and the windshield is cracked. Reading from these post I can tell with certainty that all these cracks are stress cracks. the previous owner did not drive this car often and in fact it spent a lot of time as a garage queen. What do you all think the chances are of getting a new windshield from Mini? Should I just go to the dealer and tell them I lost the letter, lol

 

Zero. Terms of the class action settlement expired years ago.