Vehicles Affected: MINI Cooper & Cooper "S" (All models 2007-2014)

If you have wet carpet on the passenger floor, or have a damp mildew smell in your vehicle. Check the passenger floor board or carpet for water saturation. 

The carpet pad on the generation 2 Mini Cooper is almost 2 inches thick. So a lot of water will hide under the carpet before you will notice a problem. 

During this rainy weather we are having in Arkansas we have had several cars brought to us with unusual electric problems ranging from head light, wiper, or headlight malfunctions, to complete battery drain issues. 

What we have discovered is water migrating into the vehicle, under the carpet, and then flooding various expensive electronic control modules. (See photo 1) 

These control modules are located under the passenger seat, and drivers and passenger side foot well. Unfortunately water and electronic components don't get along. And the water seem to win the battle every time. 

To properly dry the carper we recommend removing seats and pulling up the carpet on the passenger floor. 

Mini Cooper passenger floor board water leak causes: 

• Passenger side wind shield cowl cover seal deteriorated and not properly sealing to the windshield.
• Battery cover plastic hatch cover broken or missing.
• Sunroof drain tubes clogged with debris.
• Improper windshield installation (not enough adhesive on glass to seal out water.)

Most of this you can inspect yourself, and it will all make sense. If the battery cover hing is broker and the cover is missing during a 3 inch rain you can bet that 3 inches of water will end up in your car. (See photo 2) 

The windshield cowl seal is the soft rubber seal that is part of the cowl cover. Any water that gets behind the cowl seal will enter the passenger compartment once water level raises. 

The actual drain tube will handle some water entering the compartment but not the volume of water when the battery cover is missing, or the seal is broken or cracked. (See photo 3) 

Other Areas That Can Leak: Mini Cooper clogged sunroof drains: It very important the keep sunroof drain tubes clear and capable of flowing there maximum water capacity. 

The sunroof seals are only designed to repel large volumes of water. Any excess water that enters this area around the sunroof opening is channeled into the drain tubes to be dumped out under the vehicle. Any over flow will end up inside the vehicle. 

Consider Where You Park: Parking your Mini Cooper under tress that shed leave and pine needles are the primary cause of clogged sunroof drains, and windshield cowl drain tubes. (See Photo 4)