[NEILGUNN]

Hi - Happy New Year to everyone ...

My MINI-ONE has developed an annoying fault when the weather turns cold - the drivers door jams and will not open from either the outside or the inside - this necessitates a 'Dukes of Hazard' entry via the passenger side which is very emabarassing in public places!

Has anyone else had this problem and how was it cured - I am starting to get hacked off with the annoying little faults this car has - not quite the build quality I expected from the 'sales pitch'.

Thanks for any advice,

Neil

[dietcokeplease]

Neil,

Just thump the door handle gently with the base of your fist. You should hear a 'click' from the mechanism and the door will open. Also try spraying some lock deicer with added lubrication into the keyslot.

[Mini Man]

Quote:

Originally posted by dietcokeplease
Neil,

Just thump the door handle gently with the base of your fist. You should hear a 'click' from the mechanism and the door will open. Also try spraying some lock deicer with added lubrication into the keyslot.

Thumping the door or using lock de-icer won't work - and is impossible anyway if you are locked inside, as I was. I suspect an electrical problem, it just has a mind of its own sometimes.

When I got the problem both driver's and passenger's doors were locked, the handles would not release outside or inside. It has been OK since Xmas, but I am not just keeping my fingers crossed, I now carry an emergency hammer gadget as insurance against being locked in again.

[NEILGUNN]

Hi!

Now I am confused ... advice so far is ...

1. Thump it & lubricate
2. Electrical fault

Just to explain further ... the problem only happens when temp is less than 0.0degC. The 'remote' and the key will both unlock the car but the handle will not work (either from inside or outside).

I will ring my local dealer tomorrow and see what they say ...

Neil

[robinboyes]

Neil

I have had the same problem with my passenger door jamming. However after booking the car in, the problem corrected itself. I suspect cold weather and freezing of the mechanism, as when I took the car anyway to be checked out they couldn't find anything wrong!

I rang to cancel because the fault had ceased only to be told to bring the car anyway as there was a recall on the radio! aparently in cold weather something happens causing the battery to go flat. So I drove out of the dealers with no explanation of the sticking door, but a new radio!?!

As a note, today I reversed into a wall (to my horror!) half expecting to be rebooking for body repairs. The car seemed to bounce off the wall with some gusto! However there was not even a scratch, all due to the rebounding bumpers. so if you ever do have a minor bump you can rest assured that your bumpers do exactly what it says in the brochure

[Mini Man]

Me too Neil.

Let us know what the dealer advice is.

[m1les]

Sounds like maybe an ice problem? The doors will not open unless the window drops slightly. An earlier thread suggested a silicon grease along the rubber seal of both window and doors. It might be worth a try, if it doesnt work at least it is one less thing it might be.

[Mini Man]

Quote:

Originally posted by robinboyes
Neil

I have had the same problem with my passenger door jamming. However after booking the car in, the problem corrected itself. I suspect cold weather and freezing of the mechanism, as when I took the car anyway to be checked out they couldn't find anything wrong!

I rang to cancel because the fault had ceased only to be told to bring the car anyway as there was a recall on the radio! aparently in cold weather something happens causing the battery to go flat. So I drove out of the dealers with no explanation of the sticking door, but a new radio!?!

Thats the first I have heard of a radio recall, I just searched the forums for anything related to radio+recall and nothing came up, although there are plenty of problems relating to flat batteries. Did you have a problem with your battery going flat?

Anyone know anything about the recall for radios - perhaps it only affects specific models/radios/build dates?

Quote:

As a note, today I reversed into a wall (to my horror!) half expecting to be rebooking for body repairs. The car seemed to bounce off the wall with some gusto! However there was not even a scratch, all due to the rebounding bumpers. so if you ever do have a minor bump you can rest assured that your bumpers do exactly what it says in the brochure

MINI bumper cars - Great fun, as there is a heavy frost this morning it must be pretty slippery out there - anyone fancy a go at bumper car racing? see you in Guildford Park & Ride car park in 1/2 hour, it should be like an ice ring.

[Mini Man]

Quote:

Originally posted by m1les
Sounds like maybe an ice problem? The doors will not open unless the window drops slightly. An earlier thread suggested a silicon grease along the rubber seal of both window and doors. It might be worth a try, if it doesnt work at least it is one less thing it might be.

I don't think it was ice that caused my problem as I had already managed to open the door and get in. I was locked in after I had driven about 1/2 mile. If the glass had been stuck to the rubber with ice then I think would have heard the mechanism attempting to lower the window.

Actually the inside door handle was completely free i.e. I could pull it but there was no mechanical 'feel' as though it just wasn't connected to anything.

[rascal]

My car went in for a tailgate rattle to be sorted out over Xmas (they did a good job - nice and quiet now!) and ther was a message on the dealer's screen when I took it on for them to check the radio fault (mine had already been done).

I can also confirm that the front bumpers work v well too! Not a scratch on them when I rolled into a car that stopped in the middle of a roundabout!

[liam.byrne]

Another shocker for so called BMW 'quality'. I collected my sparkling new Mini Cooper this afternoon and have driven it about 10 miles from the dealer's showroom. About an hour ago I went outside to lock it up for the night and, you guessed it, the driver's door won't budge!
Great, from what I read of other mugs' experiences, I will have to tackle it with a blowtorch or a hammer in the morning.

Is this what I have to expect from a motor which has cost me nearly 14 grand?

I will give the dealer a blast tomorrow and keep the Forum informed of the outcome.

Incidentally, I bought one of the 'old' Rover minis about 18 months ago,the one that was designed in the 1950s, and so far it has been absolutely problem free.

[Mini Man]

Quote:

Originally posted by liam.byrne
Another shocker for so called BMW 'quality'. I collected my sparkling new Mini Cooper this afternoon and have driven it about 10 miles from the dealer's showroom. About an hour ago I went outside to lock it up for the night and, you guessed it, the driver's door won't budge!
Great, from what I read of other mugs' experiences, I will have to tackle it with a blowtorch or a hammer in the morning.

Is this what I have to expect from a motor which has cost me nearly 14 grand?

I will give the dealer a blast tomorrow and keep the Forum informed of the outcome.

Incidentally, I bought one of the 'old' Rover minis about 18 months ago,the one that was designed in the 1950s, and so far it has been absolutely problem free.

Sorry to hear your experience Liam, thats really appalling -I really haven't had that many problems with my Cooper, most have been fairly niggly. But I put that down to it being one of the first batch. I believe that BMW should not be releasing cars with all these problems. By now they should be getting it right. Are they just ignoring the build quality at our expense - this is my first experience of BMW and I am feeling less than impressed. I too have had new Rovers in the past and usually had one or two minor problems, but at least they were sorted out straight away. I had an original Cooper S for many years and don't ever remember it letting me down.

If BMW are not careful they will start getting a poor reputation. The same has happened with Mercedes with their rush to crank up production following the take over of Crysler.

I hope thats your only problem, once you can get in and drive it really is a wonderful car.

[R1]

Quote:

Originally posted by liam.byrne
Incidentally, I bought one of the 'old' Rover minis about 18 months ago,the one that was designed in the 1950s, and so far it has been absolutely problem free.

It took them 40 years of development though!

[Mini Man]

Quote:

Originally posted by R1


It took them 40 years of development though!

Well BMW did at least learn something from Rover, at this rate it will take BMW 80 years to get it right.

[Minty]

I also got 'stuck' inside my car.

The door opens fine from the outside, but from inside, the handle feels jammed.
I am sure it was to do with ice in the mechanism. I went for a 'quick' drive, with the fan on full blowing out onto the drivers door. Sure enuff, when i got home the door opened fine.

I would suggest a bit of WD40 or somthing like that in the mechanism, it should disperse any water in the lock.

Stephen

[liam.byrne]

An update on the permanently locked driver's door situation, as promised.

I took the car back to the dealers. The kept it overnight because they had ordered a new part, a door cable, which was not in stock. The cable in my car, apparently, had a "kink" in it, and had to be replaced.They told me that a number of new MINIs supplied by them had experienced this problem. Anyway, the car is back and seems OK.

Incidentally, I was loaned a MINI as a courtesy car. Being a cold mucky day, I switched on the rear windscreen wiper. Sadly, the fluid had frozen and the wiper mechanism immediately broke as it struggled to clean the window. Something to keep an eye on!

[Mini Man]

Quote:

Originally posted by liam.byrne
An update on the permanently locked driver's door situation, as promised.

I took the car back to the dealers. The kept it overnight because they had ordered a new part, a door cable, which was not in stock. The cable in my car, apparently, had a "kink" in it, and had to be replaced.They told me that a number of new MINIs supplied by them had experienced this problem. Anyway, the car is back and seems OK.

Glad that has got it sorted Liam. I wonder if the "kinked" cable can be causing these other realted problems with the door refusing to open.

Quote:

Incidentally, I was loaned a MINI as a courtesy car. Being a cold mucky day, I switched on the rear windscreen wiper. Sadly, the fluid had frozen and the wiper mechanism immediately broke as it struggled to clean the window. Something to keep an eye on!

Was the wiper frozen onto the windscreen? On a cold/frosty morning I always check the wipers are free by lifting them off the screen, but sooner or later I will forget the rear one, if you can break it just by switching it on that is very bad.

[Major Clanger]

My Cooper was occasionally refusing to let me in. I found if I tried the handle a few times, eventually it would work.

BMW stripped the mechanism down and greased it etc.

No problems with it since.


New MINI tries to stop bloke from getting in. Fails. The End. Its a MINI adventure!

[NEILGUNN]

Hi!

The dealer has now replaced the door handle and reassures me that should 'fix the problem'.

I await the next hard frost!

Thanks for all your suggestions of help,

Neil

Update on 13/1 - still no frost to test the new handle!