The upper right hinge on the rear hatchdoor of my 2003 MINIsheared in half causing the door to spring off and almost hit me on the head. It also poses the risk of the rear hatch door flying off while the car is in motion posing a hazard to other drivers and pedestrians. BMW charged me $700 dollars to replace the hinge and refused to admit responsibility for this defective design. When I checked on the internet it appears that this is a know hazardous defect. The following are emails exchanged by me with BMW which quote some of the internet threads on this issue. See e.g. www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/stock-problems-issues/86679-please-lube-rear-hatch-hinges-2.html and www.minicooperforums.com/forum/showthread.php?T=2245. Moreover, the service manager for MINIat the dealership admitted to me that this is a common problem. Email: The issue is not the life of a vehicle part but of a design defect and safety flaw. Hinges on the hatch lid should not break off endangering owners under normal conditions. The lid almost fell on my head. This seems to be a common problem and my dealer confirmed it. Are you going to wait for a lawsuit. Moreover, a $700 price tag to replace a $30 dollar hinge is outrageous. These hinges should not fail with normal use and that is all it has been subjected too. If you look on the internet you will see numerous complaints about this problem and my guess is that you have received them as well. This has completely ruined the MINIexperience for me and I will not be a repeat owner with that attitude. Please read them. As you can see you have a serious design flaw that you are ignoring and passing on to the customers. If I do not receive some satisfaction with this I will file a complaint with the NHTSA. On August 28, 2010. The rear hatch door of my MINIfell off when being opened because the hinge broke in half. This could have been serious but fortunately no one was hurt.

- Montauk, NY, USA