Okay, bought a 2007 MCS in January...love the car except a persistent CEL is driving me nuts. Code is a P2188; System too rich at idle. I've searched the posts high and low for a fix, and haven't been able to find anything. I'm running the correct octane, I've cleaned the MAF a couple times, Sea Foamed it, looked for vacuum leaks, etc., no luck. Brought it in to the local Mini dealer, but unfortunately the code had cleared before I got it there. The code is usually preceded by 'rough' idle; RPMs up and down, then the CEL appears. A few days later it'll disappear, run great for a week or so, then reappear.

Everything on it is currently stock...no aftermarket CAI or anything. The major issues typical of this year have been fixed; new fuel injectors, timing chain, tensioner, etc. My warranty will be out in a few months, so I'm anxious to find a fix so Mini can foot the bill. I've been documenting the occurrences, but I'd really like to go in the shop and be able to tell them what other owners who have experienced the same CEL have had done to their vehicles to remedy it.

What's the typical lifespan for O2 sensors and/or MAFs? Is that a direction I should be going in?

Thanks All!

 

Unfortunately, I will not be much help to because I also have a 2007 R56 with an ALTA CAI and Invidia Q300 catback getting the same P2188 CEL.

I have been to the dealership and a reputable MINI mechanic and nobody seems to know what is causing this CEL. BMW even covered the carbon cleaning job at the dealership but It still came back. I just tried to clean the MAF sensor and now waiting to see if the light will go off. The MAF didn't look too dirty though. Next step would be to go back to the stock airbox.

Like you MudSwettinGears, I have had all those major issues taken care of and experience the same symptoms. Any additional information regarding this issue would be very useful. I would enjoy this vehicle much more without having to look at that little yellow light. Thanks.

 

You may try checking the "PCV" hose that runs out the back of the valve cover to the back under the air box. Had a similar issue and found that there was a crack in that correugated plastic hose that would allow a leak. Would cause me an intermittent CEL and same code. May not be your problem but is always worth a look.

 

Thanks for the responses y'all...I feel your pain Danimal! I hate when that light comes on...without that light it would be the perfect car! Please post up when you find the fix, and I'll do the same (notice my optimism).

Thanks for the input jeremiahclark...I'll check mine out after it cools down, hopefully it's something that simple!

 

Mud: Will do. I like your optimism!

jeremiah: Thanks for the tip. I will check that out as well.

 

After having the cel on for a solid month...brought it in to the shop today and it was diagnosed as a warped/leaking valve cover. Valve cover and gasket replaced, no return of cel yet.

 

You may have a cracked valve cover. I did, they are only plastic and they have a new design so the old one was obviously flawed. Can you hear a small vacuum leak in the engine bay?

Oops, I should have read the last post .

 

Haha...no problem...good diagnosis on your part, though! Unfortunately it looks like I'll be visiting the dealer again...cel came back again after only one day. Before the return of the cel, my ride was running like a dream. I'd forgotten how quick it was. Now it runs like hell again.

 

This might sound like a shot in the dark but I had a problem when I had a bad tank of gas from a station I don't normally frequent (Shell 93 V Power)Car ran like crap.I decided to run the car to empty and refill at my local Shell.I could'nt believe it but my car responded and ran great again.I swear some stations are running higher percentages of ethanol.As you know and others here MINI and ethanol don't mix.

 

You might be right, it's worth a try. I used to go to different Shell stations for my fuel, but have recently been using the same one for the past couple months; my cel has been on much more after using that one particular station. Hell, it's worth a shot. Wish I hadn't just filled it up yesterday though.

 

I might also mention that I thru in a bottle of Techron Plus at which I do anyway about every 3-4000 mi. My '07 has been running great other than the "bad gas" fill-up that 1 time.Hope yours is a simple fix too.

 

Did they replace your HPFP which is a common problem and would throw a CEL?They are warranty extended to 100,000 mi.Mine has never needed it but its nice to know they will fix it at their expence

 

Yep, it was replaced about 8k miles ago...hopefully it's not going out again. I don't think it's the HPFP, though...the car ran awesome right after I got it back from the dealer, then the next day it was running lousy again.

 

can you do a boost leak test on a MINI through the intake to the turbo? i know on my audi a4 I did this to find vacuum leaks. i bought a little kit from some site for like $8, its pretty sweet, im almost certain i could use it on my MINI. i know it suggested that you take the engine oil fill cap off the valve cover during test though on my audi, doub that would find a leak in the valve cover then though. so might try it with it on. just my .02 . good luck

 

It's not that uncommon to replace the HPFP again.Some people have had theirs replaced for the third time.Did you have your car scanned for any other codes?/or have you ever had a problem with carbon build-up which is a very common issue on the R56 '07 and newer?Hope you find a remedy for this as these cars are awesome when they do'nt need the finicky fixes.I guess I really lucked out to this point as mine has'nt run into these issues,but my antennae is always up.One thing I do is run it on the thru way hard (pending theres no cops watching or lurking)to burn whatever crud is on the vital parts.....

 

6 speed - Good idea! I'll look into it. I've got 2 months left on my warranty, so I'll be a permanent fixture at the dealership until they fix this. But if they can't , I'll keep your test in mind.

Minimize - I'm assuming the dealership scanned for all codes...I wasn't able to scan for Mini-specific codes myself. I'll ask about the carbon build-up...I'm pretty **** about putting high octane in it, as well as running the techron treatment thru every few fill-ups, but there's no telling how **** the previous owner was or wasn't. I still think it's an o2 sensor...but I'll let the pros figure it out (at least until the warranty is up).

 

Here is a picture of this boost leak tester. The white thing gets Put into your intake where the MAF sensor clamps on. And you plug your air compressor into the fitting on the white piece also. Set the compressor to 0PSi and slowly crank it up and listen. The little brass piece is a PCV valve plug I think. Idk if you would need it for this car.

And the white piece has a handy dandy gauge. Don't want to put higher than your car runs when fully boosted. So like 13-15 PSI for you

 

Nice! Do you remember what site you bought it from?

 

Lmao. No clue. Been two years. And there is no brand names on it

 

http://TurboBoostLeakTesters.com/ found it

Looks like $21-$25 plus shipping