Any MINI is susceptible to suffering faults, some more so than others. Below are some of the more common ones to look out for, along with potential fixes.
This page is a work in progress.
More faults and fixes will be added with time - there are many to include!
Body
Body rust
The MINI saw vast improvements in rust prevention compared to the classic Mini, however there are still some places to monitor.
Under the door seals on the body of the car are almost guaranteed to have at least surface rust, unless the car has never been wet or has previously been treated. If surface rust has been left untouched, more serious corrosion may be present, even to the extent of small holes.
The bottom of the doors themselves may also show signs of rust, though this is less common than the sills.
Rust can sometimes be found in the rear of the car, either around the boot handle or the bottom of the tail lights, however this is usually only seen in overseas climates.
In the cases of minor rust, as much should be physically removed as possible (e.g. sanding, wire brushing) and then treated with a rust converter or similar. The area should then be painted with a rust preventative coating, and optionally finished with some body colour touch up paint. For more serious cases, professional advice is best to be sought.
Failing logos
The black colouring can fall out of the winged badges on the body, either in sections or in one piece.
For the wheel centres, a clear plastic coating can begin to peel from the logos, or otherwise the logos can detach and be lost all together.
In all cases, the badges and logos are best replaced with new examples. Examples of both can typically be located for sale online (be careful to note if genuine MINI or a cheap copy), or alternatively through MINI or BMW directly.
Electrical
Gauge displays
The screen displays in both the speedometer and tachometer can fail, usually remaining backlight but not displaying any pixels.
Typically, the fault is not the LCD panel itself, but rather caused by internal components on the gauge circuit board failing.
Speedometer
The speedometer (behind the steering wheel on Australian cars) is a relatively straight forward fix. A working second hand gauge unit can be sourced from another car and swapped on a simple ‘plug and play’ basis. The odometer reading is retained in the memory of the centre tachometer unit, and so the car’s original odometer reading will be feed to and displayed on the new gauge.
Tachometer
The large tachometer gauge (centre dash for Australian cars) is more complex. This gauge maintains memory of the car’s odometer reading and feeds it to the gauge behind the steering wheel. As such, any changeover of a second-hand unit will result in the donor car’s odometer reading being displayed.
To retain a car’s original odometer reading, it is possible for a second-hand unit to be reprogrammed with the receiving car’s details, provided the car’s original unit is available to a technician (e.g. Howards Instruments).
Note that this information is confirmed relevant to earlier production R50 cars. For later vehicles fitted with the Chrono gauge pack, other arrangements may apply.
Speakers
The foam edge of the speakers deteriorates with age. If a speaker sounds crackly or is not working at all, it is likely to have begun falling apart.
Replacement of speakers with aftermarket alternatives is an achievable DIY project. As the original speakers have mounts built in, it will be necessary to prepare separate mounts for the aftermarket speakers. This can be achieved by either separating the original speakers from surrounding plastic and converting them into mounts, or by purchasing specially made spacer/adaptor plates (e.g. Aerpro APS243 Speaker Spacer).
Wiring adapters will also need to be prepared. Some aftermarket speakers include a wiring kit, to which additional ends can be added so that they plug in to the car’s original wiring loom. Alternatively, specially made plug adapters can also be purchased, though be mindful that there are different types of plugs, so it pays to double check before purchasing (e.g. Aerpro APS28 Speaker Plug Adaptors).
