IMPORTANT NOTICE - When Jacking a MINI Be Careful of Lifting blocks!!!

[gromit]

Used a floor jack in my driveway today to attempt to lift the front of my "S" to get to the oil drain plug. The lifting block, despite being securely upon the lifting point of the floor jack, rotated out of the vehicle frame causing the car to fall onto the jack. You can see the results below. My side skirt is trashed. Further inspection of the lifting point on the car showed it has a center pin which when pushed in secures it in the frame. This pin was not fully depressed causing the failure.

I was following the first rule of jacking a vehicle (never put anything you value under a vehicle being lifted until it is on secure jackstands and is well chocked) so I was not injured, just surprised and angry. I plan to make this a warranty issue as this part should not rotate out of the frame as it did.

The part that failed is shown in the frame as I was so aggrivated I put it back in its original place after inspection and could not remove it again using my hands alone.

Bottom line...Be Careful! If I had put my head under the car at the point that his had happened my hat size would be significantly reduced.

[gromit]

Here's the part that failed. I gave it another try and yanked it out using only my hands. The center pin which was not fully inserted is shown. I'll post a pic of the parts that go into the frame as well.

[gromit]

You can see why the pin is important...

[Smokey 4]

Good luck with the warranty claim. I have tinkered with many cars in my life, restored many a VW and Mopar but this one makes me think twice before I attempt any thing. Doesn't have anything to do with the car itself, just don't want to muck it up, the damn thing looks great just sitting there!

[Sejanus]

You are absolutely right about being careful. A friend of mine's father-in-law was killed when a car he was working on at home slipped off the jack and crushed his chest.

[MoMini]

Gromit,
Glad to hear you were not hurt. I have actually worried about this very thing. Here is what I've done to ensure that this doest not happen and may be of use to others.
Cut a small block of hardwood (oak) so that it fits into the lifting block and rests against the holding pin. The wood block extends below the lifting block about 1/8 inch. The wood block then serves as the lifting point for my floor jack.

[BruceK]

Gromit, first off, I'm glad you weren't hurt. And I'm sorry to see the damage to your MINI.

Thanks for letting everyone know about this problem. I hope your warranty claim on this is treated fairly.

[noahe]

Visually, I don't quite follow here. The METAL lifting block just sits against the unibody, and a pin holds it in place? So the whole damn block just pivoted off, and the car dropped?

When you make your waranty claim, be sure to tell them of the physical danger to yourself. Were you using the factory jack? Emphasize that you are lucky to be standing there even yelling at them. Then demand they repair your car.

[gromit]

Quote:

Originally posted by noahe
Visually, I don't quite follow here. The METAL lifting block just sits against the unibody, and a pin holds it in place? So the whole damn block just pivoted off, and the car dropped?

When you make your waranty claim, be sure to tell them of the physical danger to yourself. Were you using the factory jack? Emphasize that you are lucky to be standing there even yelling at them. Then demand they repair your car.

noahe-

The "lifting block" (not sure what MINI calls it, probably better term is "lifting point") is PLASTIC. Otherwise your first paragraph is exactly as it happened.

I was not using a factory jack, none was supplied with my "S". I was using a common floor jack as found in just about any garage or NASCAR pit. Not as nice as the NASCAR ones though. I am hopeful that having a fit at the dealer will not be necessary, I have been treated fairly by Towne MINI in Buffalo so far and will be surprised if that changes. I am more concerned that as fellow MINI owners begin to change over to winter tires this problem may repeat itself with much more severe consequences.

[gromit]

Quote:

Originally posted by MoMini
Gromit,
Glad to hear you were not hurt. I have actually worried about this very thing. Here is what I've done to ensure that this doest not happen and may be of use to others.
Cut a small block of hardwood (oak) so that it fits into the lifting block and rests against the holding pin. The wood block extends below the lifting block about 1/8 inch. The wood block then serves as the lifting point for my floor jack.

MoMini-

Brilliant solution! I wish I'd thought if it.

I am quite concerned this problem may strike someone else as winter begins and many owners begin to change wheels to a winter combo.

gromit

[noahe]

Is it a function of their design... I.E. if the car was lifted on all four lifting blocks evenly at a garage on a car lift, none of the blocks would want to pivot as the car lifted. But if you're only lifting up a wheel, or one side of the car, the car naturally tips onto the remaining 2 wheels, and the block can squirt out of the side of the jack, if the tiny, single pin does not center it properly?

Because not very many people own car lifts (one guy does, I saw it here on MINI2) and just imagine this scenerio at the side of the road, or changing winter tires as you suggest.

[gromit]

Just got off the phone with Adam Orzechowski, Asst. Service Mgr. at Towne. Their regional guy is coming on Wednesday and will make the decision as to this matter being a warranty item or not. I will report back more info as it develops. I fully expect it will be handled properly.

[Bad Ess]

Gromit; The manual shows the female side (With the pin.) of your assembly as the jack attachment point for the Cooper. I think the other piece is just a fashion cover that is to be removed before lifting. Note the spring clip inside it.

[gromit]

Both the pictures above are of the same piece, one of the top and one of the bottom. It's not a fashion cover, it is the lifting point (unfortunately).

Still no word from the regional guy at MINI. I'll post when I hear something from them with regards to warranty.

Quote:

Originally posted by Bad Ess
Gromit; The manual shows the female side (With the pin.) of your assembly as the jack attachment point for the Cooper. I think the other piece is just a fashion cover that is to be removed before lifting. Note the spring clip inside it.

[gromit]

Called Towne MINI in Buffalo, spoke with Adam (Svce Mgr).
Adam told me that Regional Service Rep. Steve Tanderub had denied my warranty claim.

I asked why and was told it was because I had not used the MINI provided jack to lift my "S". After a moment's disbelief I reminded Adam the "S" has runflats and *NO* jack. This is not going well. I asked if I could speak to Mr. Tanderub and was told he is in a meeting. I asked if he had a # where he could be reached and was given the general MINIUSA toll free line. I left a request that Mr. Tanderub call me. I'm not holding my breath, but I look forward to his call.

I then called MINIUSA and spoke to Aaron who was very reasonable but understandably noncommittal. I explained the serious safety issues posed by jackpoints failing while a car is being lifted and confirmed he was aware that the "S" does not come with a jack. I further explinned that many "S" owners would soon be doing oil changes and switching over to winter tires and, while I hope my incident is a "one in a million" thing, the potential liability is quite high should a lifting point fail and injure a customer. I further noted that the center pin was not fully inserted in the lifting point at the time of the incident, as it should have been during assembly. I advised Aaron of my previous conversations with Adam and my attempted conversation with Mr. Tanderub. It was also noted thet no one has personally inspected my vehicle yet.

Aaron asked for a couple of days and promised to get back to me. I agreed and gave him direction to this post on MINI2. Perhaps someone from minidivision wishes to click on my link below and email me with some assurance that this will be taken care of, under warranty and without further headaches and anxiety on my part.

I will continue to post updates on this as thay occur.

Thank you to those of you who have posted and emailed me in support on this issue. BE CAREFUL lifting your MINIs!