Consumer Complaint Detail

MINI / COOPER / 2003

Recalls
0 Injured
Investigations
0 Death
Complaints
No Fire
Components - Details
NHTSA Complaint Number: 004295346 Incident Date: Aug, 11 2004
Consumer's City: ABSECON Consumer's State: NJ
Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO Manufacturers Name: BMW of North America, LLC
Model Name: COOPER Model Year: 2003
Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No Component's Description: Visibility:windshield
Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No Persons Injured: 0
Vehicle's VIN#: WMWRC33473T Date added to File: May, 25 2021
Date Complaint Received: Aug, 25 2004 Complaint Type: IVOQ
Incident Reported To Police: No Purchase Date: Aug, 28 2003
Was Original Owner: Yes Anti-lock Brakes: Yes
Number of Cylinders: 4 Date of Manufacturer: -
Was Vehicle Towed: - Description of the Complaints: While driving my 2003 mini cooper, i noticed a crack in the bottom middle of the windshield. the crack began under the trim, moved up, turned a few inches up, and then spread toward the passenger side. two weeks later, i brought the car in for it's first scheduled oil service, where i asked the service advisor, peter wark of mini of the main line in bala cynwyd, pa, about the windshield. he proceeded to take the point of a small screwdriver and run it along the crack. about a quarter of an inch above the trim, and in a place where it would be almost impossible for a rock to hit, the screwdriver caught a small nick in the glass, about the size of a grain of sand. he informed me that that nick was caused by a rock, which caused the crack, which would not be covered under the warranty. he then told me about how the process they use of glueing the glass on causes the entire bottom few inches of glass to become very weak, and that anything hitting the glass in that area, even a tiny rock, would crack the glass. i found this to be unacceptable, so i called the mini customer service line at 1-866-ask-mini. i spoke to a "marty" who merely repeated over and over that he was "sorry they made that determination, but a rock chip is not covered under warranty." after receiving no help from the company, i had the dealer replace the glass. i feel that the repair should be covered because the way they manufacture and attach the glass causes weakness, and that could be considered a manufacturer's defect, which is the primary reason for supplying a customer with a warranty. i have video and photos of the crack and nick, as well as receipts for the repair. the crack was first noticed and spread august 12, 2004 and my service appointment was august 24, 2004.*ak