now that the new MINI has been around for like 5 years, has anybody suffered any RUST problems??

 

I have notice 2 small spots on the bottom corners of the hatch. They were caused by rubbing on the bumper when one of the hidges was in the process of getting ready to snap in half.

I'm going to sand out the rust, prime and paint the areas as soon as it stops raining here.

Mark

 

Thread moved to Beneath the Bonnet

See this thread about rust in the door sill area

I haven't seen rust reports elsewhere on the car, but since I can't rule it out, I'm going to leave this thread on its own instead of merging it into the thread I linked above.

 

Like I said, mine has rust on the bottom edges of the hatch, my doors and sills still look like new. I think we should leave this thread on it's own, so others can report other rust issues.

Mark

 

Another place to look is at the base of the "hole" where the tail lights go in. I saw one car, with tail lights removed that had rust in there

 

i have problems on rusted screws. i found it on rear wiper and most recently.. when i accidentally folded/moved my side mirror. the passenger door latch was rusted too. i hope those are the only spots rusted... im really disappointed.

 

Behind the taillights could be a trouble spot:

 

Yes, my driving lights are rusted through (a 2004 MC). They work but need to be completely replaced. There was so much crumbling rust inside them I had to vacuum up the garage after changing bulbs the other night.

 

I preserved and protected my R53 with Waxoyl Professional from Switzerland.

The only corrosion that I had was on the rear suspension trailing arms and around some of the edges of black sub-frame parts after 24,678 miles on my '06. The power steering fan cage (for lack of a better word...) was also affected around the edges. The body was clean - thank goodness - I do keep it garaged, but the factory applied protectant in the bonnet cavities and throughout was starting to get flaky, like it was drying up.

I drive daily in the absolute worst environment possible, Vermont. In the winter, the salted up, snowy rallye dirt tarmac with frost heaves is torturous and spring the dust and summer rain can get overwhelming. I wanted the absolute best protection possible. My zero stop light and non-existent traffic commute really is like a rallye stage, so it is fun despite the weather .



I documented the full application process here >> http://www.tsrennsport.com/weblog/?p=381

 

I've got a little rust starting behind the tail hatch handle. I had to replace one of the license plate light bulbs recently and found some corrosion in the housing, which prompted me to remove the handle and look more around carefully. The openings in the hatch are starting to rust at the edges. I'll need to address that in the spring. Best guess is that the gasket which seals the handle to the hatch is either leaking or absorbing water, leading to a moist condition in that area. I'm not thrilled, but it's a 2004 model with 75,000 miles driven through a bunch of tough winters, so I'm happy enough that those are the only spots.

 

This gives you an idea of how well Waxoyl 120-4 atomizes and fogs inside the rear hatch. The overspray is fogging out of the open bumper hole on the left!

I agree, address the current corrosion and stop any more from starting.

 

I found this gem the other day. My MCS is an '02, out of the rust warranty, so I guess I'll be looking into the cost to repair. Any ideas? Do you think this just needs a sanding or will it need to be cut out?

 

Mine did the same thing except I caught it sooner and did not have to do any work to the visable (when light is installed) taillight surround - see photo above, I may have few more in my gallery.

My fix involved wire brush and a drill, POR15, and merely touchup paint for the visable lip under the light. Looks pretty good IMO. Search the net for POR15, the stuff stops rust. The only thing I would do different if in your shoes is to have the rear portion professionally resprayed since it goes down the outside on the visable body. To much there for the nail polish size touch up brush.

 

Rust is like dental problems , the earlier you catch it the better . The door sill area has been well documented and should be checked frequently . It is a easy check so you would not have any excuses for letting that one get away from you . The tail lamp area does appear to be suspect as well and is harder to check but worth the effort to help keep your car safe from rust issues.

 

i have rust issues on my 06 base cooper. i have a list actually:

1. door latch on passenger side, rusted scew on rear wipers - replaced under warranty by bill jacobs MINI - where i bought it

2. yet again another rusted screws on both side mirrors, i accidentally found it when i fold the mirrors on accident - replaced under warranty by knauz mini

3. just yesterday i have my hood latch replaced by patrick mini coz yes it is rusted.

i do wanna give props to patrick mini kudos 101% for great service! i came in yesterdary expecting them to tell me they will order the part(that's my experience with the other 2 dealers anyway. so -50 pts. for knauz mini for telling me they will "order" the replacement screws for my side mirrors. honestly?!)but to my utter pleasant surprise they replaced the part right there and then. i was soo happy i consider kissing the guy who assist me.

i want to ALSO say that bill jacobs and patrick mini definitely has redeemed themselves to me coz i had bad service experience with them prior to this. patrick mini actually did not replace the rusted door latch i came to them first but when i went to bill jacobs they replaced it. i must say the patrick mini guy who assist me today was NOT the guy who gave me bad service. i actually see the bad guy assisting other customer. im glad he did not assist me this time. im sure he'll BS me once again.

having said that i found another rusted spots which i hope would be replaced under warranty:

spots on the undercarriage is scaringly rusted. the one connecting the exhaust to the body is my big concern. i think i also saw rusted screws AGAIN on my license plate. what is up with the screws MINI is using? HONESTLY!


also my brake rotors are rusted badly all four of them. can i ask the dealer to replace all of them under warranty?

 

I had a nasty rust spot on my boot (see pics). This was caused by the boot latch issues on my July 2002 build car. The latch was eventually replaced under warranty, but the alignment never was right and still required a heavy slam to close the boot fully. Eventually, this caused the paint to crack just above the trim that covers the release/license plate lamps (the trim piece was also replaced under warranty as were the plate lights that eventually fell out due to all of the slamming). Well, with all of the salt and general road spray that covers the boot in all kinds of weather, rust sure enough set in. This "spot" appeared very suddenly...but of course probably was simmering there for a while in the paint crack.

I've just had it fully sanded down, patched, and painted....and it looks as good as new. Which is pretty good for 109,000 miles.

At the body shop, the boot hatch itself was properly aligned (which had never happened at MINI service, unfortunately). It now closes much better than it has before. Hopefully without the need to slam the thing, the paint won't crack now nor will bits fall off.

Before:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...m/P1070436.jpg

After:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...m/P1070439.jpg

btw, I suspect that the tail light rust mentioned above is also partly caused by the amount of spray that the rear end of the car receives. It penetrates any opening and brings with it any of the nastiness from the road (which is salt and sand up here in New England at least).

 

I have paint bubbling just below the tail lights on my 2003 Cooper.

 

For the past year or so I have been wrestling with an intermittent functioning boot release handle. I finally got fed up with it and ordered a replacement. Upon removal of the malfunctioning handle not only did I discover a corroded electrical switch (causing the malfunction), I also found multiple areas of rust around the holes that house the retaining clips for attachment of the handle to boot...

Point of the story... if any of you have a Mini that has been having the issue of a malfunctioning boot release, it would be wise to remove the inside trim panel of the boot. Remove the 4 torx screws holding the handle in place (from the exterior), disconnect the wire and evaluate the electrics of the handle and the check the body for rust. Perhaps, I can post photos once I have gotten around to repairing the paint on the boot.

 

I do now!! I'm spending 800$ to have it cut out and weld In metal... lol

 

I have an 09 Mini with 72k miles on the Odo and I live in central Florida where it rains every day for months in the summer. The only rust I can find is light speckled surface rust on the bottom of my muffler, control arms and my rotor hats. No tail light rust and no hatch rust. Maybe I just got lucky but minis seem to be pretty well protected vs other cars I've had. I don't even have a garage lol.