[jksgoh]

Hi guys,
I've read quite a bit on the whole rust problem with the minis, but havn't been able to find anything on reemerging rust after it has been fixed (if there is a thread could some one link it to me?)
Anyway, this has what has happened:
Brought my car in januaryish to get the rust on the door sills fixed, they approved it and did it all under warranty. came back looking fine.
4-5 months down the track, i look again under the rubber door sill and what do you know, rust has appeared again! has anyone else had this problem of reemerging rust?
I was wondering are the rubber sills meant to keep water in or out? because when i lift the sills up water flows out (both before and after it was replaced when i had the rust fixed).
Also, if the car is properly galvanised what is the reasoning for it to rust ? Should it not prevent corrosion even in a damp environment (ie under the wet door sill)??

[sef]

Rust and Mini's just seem to go together... I've got to get mine done soon... I guess it's what you would call an unwanted optional extra...

[Dave Elliott]

I have an 02 MCS that the local dealer has approved rusty repair on the sills. I have been meaning to get a quote from the panel shop but haven't had the time.

My 7 year (rust) warranty is going to run out in December, so if the rust is going to reappear in 4-5 months I'd better get it sorted out soon so that the re-appearance is also covered.

BTW, the rust warranty has been extended, do you know whether this applies to the older MINIs?

There is a thread where someone reckons the door seal design is flawed, however I have not heard of a revised one.


Cheers,

Dave

[jksgoh]

Hi dave,
well the impression i got was that the older minis still only had the 6 years warranty, could be totally wrong though!
But either way, the work done to fix the original rust should have its own guarantee, so hopefully if it does reappear its within that time.
Im just wondering why, even after they "fixed" it, it would go and rust again....

[Dave Elliott]

Having worked on the classic Mini for over 30 years I know that rust is very hard to get rid of. Even though an area is cleaned to remove all visible rust and show bare metal, rust can reappear. Most times, once a part of a car is infected with rust, the only permanent way to stop rust reappearing is to cut the metal out and replace with new.

[PGN-1]

Has BMW stated any official information how it has bettered the corrosion resistance on -07 Mini?

[JG.26]

I would think having the rust treated by your dealer under warranty would be a complete waste of time as a) its doubtful they would do a thorough job and b) it will come back again. Has to be one of the worst design faults on the 1st gen MINI I have seen. When I took my rubber seals off the water poured out literally. Only solution is to fit redesigned seals to drain the water away but even then the seam along the sill is quite exposed. Only solution I found was to drench the sills in waxoil on a hot day followed by plenty of grease inside the rubber seals and then reapply every few months. If you wash your car weekly like I do then basically that area is permanently wet