1st Gen R52 Cooper Convertible Keeping Back Window Clean

Discussion in '1st Generation: 2002–06 R50, R53 & 2004–08 R52' started by patchelect, Dec 21, 2013.

  1. patchelect

    patchelect New Member

    Oct 25, 2013
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    Does anyone have a secret to keeping their back window clean? I drove about 200 miles last night in a damp atmosphere with equally damp roads and by the time I reached my destination my back glass was beyond opaque. Light was having a tough time getting through! I wish there were wipers or at the least washers that were available. I know all about the station wagon effect but it seems to me that the Mini is a dirt magnet!
     
  2. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    My MINI has a wiper & a washer. Yours does not?
     
  3. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    It IS a dirt magnet. I bought and had a JSart rear spoiler extension installed at MOTD a few years back and it has worked well for me...not perfect, but at least all the crap seems to not stick on the window as readily as before and I no longer need to use the rear wiper as often anymore. The extender cost about $100 and has a very sticky pressure tape along one side that is moulded to the outer edge of the rear spoiler...a simple install
     
  4. patchelect

    patchelect New Member

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    No I don't have a wiper or washer. I guess it was an option that wasn't installed.:sad:
     
  5. miniconcarne

    miniconcarne New Member

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    I don't think Cabrios came with rear wipers..and I have no solution either.
     
  6. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    Yep no wipers on those. Sorry if I caused cornfusion. :crazy:
     
  7. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    Maybe lots of RainX on the back window might help?
     
  8. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Nothing will keep it clean especially in a cabrio. Just use lots of Rain-X or Aquapel or drive with the top down.
     
  9. rum4

    rum4 Club Coordinator
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    yea just drive with the top down and you won't knowif the window is dirty or not
     
  10. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    No need to look back and see who's behind you, they are in second place.

    Every drive is a race.:D
     
  11. Angib

    Angib New Member

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    I haven't had a 1st Gen Convertible but my former 2nd Gen Convertible was not much different. I tried adding front and rear mudflaps to see if that reduced the rear window dirtying problem, and it did - on salted roads I went up from maybe 1 minute of driving to 3 minutes of driving before the rear window was useless....
     
  12. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Spray bottle of glass cleaner and a glass cleaning cloth live in my boot.
    You learn fast in a MINI cabrio that this is necessary equipment, and you use it often. Buy lots of glass cloths... They get dirty fast, and you don't want to have to wash just one.
     
  13. GokartPilot

    GokartPilot Well-Known Member

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    +1 GP's and Verts have this in common.
     
  14. patchelect

    patchelect New Member

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    I understand all the "fixes" but this past weekend I needed to drive on several legs of 1-200 miles at a time. Even if I DID stop to clean the back window it wouldn't have helped. The roads were awful and damp. Even my windshield was dirty more often than not.At least rain does offer a bit of relief.

    But on another note,

    MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE.:D

    And if you celebrate another holiday, then best wishes for that one too!! :wink:
     
  15. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    I feel your pain. One time I washed my Mini and went for a drive an a hot sunny day. I drove through some grass clippings someone had blown into the road. The Mini sucked them up like a vacuum and it all stuck to the back. Maybe I should have slowed down.

    MERRY CHRISTMASS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
     
  16. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    The back of my MINI gets dirty just sitting in the garage. I should rename my car Dyson because it sucks up everything.
     
  17. Angib

    Angib New Member

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    In winter when our roads get heavily salted (we can have daily freeze-thaw cycles), I used to carry a spray bottle of water in addition to the squeegee that lived year-round in the boot (oops, trunk) of my Convertible. I found that often the rear window would dry in a dirty condition and so the water got it so the squeegee would work.

    One solution? Buy a Roadster. Probably the only genuine function of the spoiler on a Roadster (well, other than being embarrassingly tacky) is to keep the rear window fairly clean. Since the spoiler is in the disturbed wake of the roof (or, even more so, of the windscreen when the roof is open), I doubt it has any significant effect on preventing rear lift.
     
  18. patchelect

    patchelect New Member

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    Back in the day I used to own a Dodge pickup with a slant six. The distributor was mounted on the down side of the slanted engine, right next to the front wheel. Whenever it would hard rain or I hit puddles, water would get into the distributor and the engine would miss like a mofo. I needed to open the cap, dry out the inside, and continue. While it was a royal PITA, I learned to live with it, as I will learn to live with the Mini back light problem.
     

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