The windshield on my 2002 MINICooper S developed two cracks in it's windshield. I purchased this car in Sept of 2002. The first crack developed after owning the car about 4 months and MINIusa would not replace the windshield. Now a second crack has developed 3 months later.

- Sunland, CA, USA

I need to complain about the windshield on the MINICooper 2002. One week after I got my car, I was driving along and all of the sudden a chip appeared. I never saw or heard anything hit it. I have since gotten about 10 chips in my windshield. Ever since I got the car, my windshield has creaked and made a lot of noise as if it were shifting around. This scares me so much! then, I had an appointment the following afternoon to get one chip fixed when the windshield creaked loudly and a crack went right down the middle. I honestly am afraid sometimes that my windshield is going to fly right off of my car!

- Gaithersburg, MD, USA

Stress fracture of windshield absent specific impact from outside source. Numerous posts on internet forums, including the manufacturer sponsored MINIowner's site reveal an increasing number of windshields developing apparent stress fractures. My personal experience and that of others is that the windshield of the MINIhas a propensity to crack under normal operating conditions. Dealers often deny warranty claims, pointing to the smallest of imperfections as "impact sites" and passing replacement costs on to owner's comprehensive insurance. This, despite no history of specific impacts with any objects while driving. Again in my particular case, the fracture appeared overnight while the car was garaged.

- Portsmouth, VA, USA

I own a MINICoopers 2002. I had a cracked windshield in January of 2003. I am sure this was due to a manufacturing defect. My dealer saw otherwise. MINIusa needs to address this flaw in their design. My replacement windshield was not covered under warranty, as it should have been for such a defect.

- Hellertown, PA, USA

Windshield crack. There are numerous other owners reporting similar cracks in their windshields. MINIhas stated they had a problem with the glass cracking due to improper installation in previous builds and currently have a survey for the dealers to perform an inspection on any windshield replacements conducted under warranty. This survey is explained in this bulletin si M 51 02 03. The problem is that they only inspect those windshields that do not have evidence of stone damage. On the attached web sites you will see an over abundance of cracked windshield posts that the dealers are calling stone damage related. Thereby insuring that these windshields are not included in their data and also that they are not replaced under warranty. I have no chips but a large number of marks from debris hitting the windshield. I call them strike marks. The easiest way to describe the damage is that it is similar to a glass etching procedure. The location where the debris has struck the windshield is slightly discolored, yet no glass is missing. In my opinion this is the result of two items: The windshield is very steep and the glass in the windshield is substandard; too soft and too thin. MINIuses their windshield as a structural member in the construction of the vehicle and therefore it is under constant stress. I do not think these strike marks are sufficient to cause a stress crack per SE, but if that were so (as MINIargues), then my response is: The windshield is not just too soft, it is too weak. Given the number of strike marks on a windshield it is highly likely that a crack that might appear for reasons unrelated to chipping will either cross a strike mark, or will run across the nearest strike mark. These strike marks are a weakened area and will attract a crack. The following urlS are provided for your attention: minicooperonline.com www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?S=&threadid=21475 https://ol.miniusa.com/oemainlogin.asp

- Fairview, NC, USA

The windshield of my 2002 MINICooper S cracked while sitting in a parking lot. It was fine in the morning but there was an 8" crack when I hopped in for the drive home. I'm guessing the heat (90 degrees F, windows up, sun reflector on dash) caused a contaminant within the window to cause stress, which in turn became a crack. Judging from the MINICooper message boards on the internet, there are hundreds of windshields cracking for no apparent reason, and MINIusa has issued a bulletin to it's dealers to warn them of defective factory windshield installations. [tis message number: Si M51 02 03 subject: Windshield stress crack survey situation: The production process for installation of the windshield was improved in April 2002, and these improvements resulted in a significant reduction in the number of stress cracked windshields.]

- Chapel Hill, NC, USA