Since late last October my outlined yellow engine light has come on no less than nine times. After the second occurrence (the first went out after a couple of days) I paid a visit to my local factory service shop & had a faulty ignition coil replaced, along with the before-cat O2 sensor which they told me was what triggered the light. A week later the light came back on, I made an immediate visit to the closest factory shop (on my way out of town for a couple of days) they replaced the O2 sensor again saying the first one might have been defective.

Light came on two days later while I was returning home, went out a couple days after on its own. On and off again a few times 'till last week when it stayed on so I paid a visit to my local shop, had the O2 sensor replaced AGAIN, this time with the caveat they wanted it in for an extended visit should the light come on once more as they suspected something deeper than funky sensors now.

Light came back on yesterday AM, scheduled return to shop tomorrow.

Not had the cold-start problem since the updated cam cover & engine breather were fitted early in 2008, FWIW. That was all fixed under the original warranty.

Costs? I bought into a 3rd party extended warranty late in 2007 while my S was still under factory coverage, and boy am I glad I did. Last year service visits would have cost me upwards of $6,000 without the coverage (broke a timing chain guide early on; replacing that would have run close to $3,500. Then the sun/moon roof broke, so add another $2,000. Then the coil / sensor incident, another $600 but on that we're not done yet either. I only pay $100 deductible for each visit when not for the same cause as before.)

I don't understand why MINI won't sell updated parts to qualified service pros, that seems like not only bad business practice but perhaps illegal also. I'd be getting in contact with my state's attorney general were I in a similar situation.

 

Since posting earlier I've found the "newset" part number for the manifold for my 09 clubby, thanks to Peabody of Mass the number is, #11614584240, cost is around 350.00. Here's hoping it's covered under my extended warranty!

 

^Good luck, Gerry. All I can say is that my MINI never had this issue again after I got the manifold replaced.

 

Contacted Mini, they state they have NEVER heard of this issue, that the manifold is operating correctly and IF they were to replace it they would still use the stock one as there isn't a history of the malfuntion in their data base...WTF???
So my 09 has 95,000 miles on her, runs strong, and the only problem I'm having is with this icing issue, does anyone know where I should place a drop light with a 100 watt bulb close to the engine to help keep the ice from happening while it sits outside at work?

Any help would be great!

Gerry

 

^ That's unbelievable! I learned about this issue here on the forums. My 2009 MCS was bought in Nov of 2008 and the icing issue happened literally weeks after I got the car. The first time the temp went below 25 degrees F, I got a CEL and very low power.

I'm not sure what to recommend, Gerry. Maybe posting the state you're in? Somebody might know a good MINI servicer I found a good aftermarket MINI servicer for when I'm out of warranty (I have until Nov 2012)...that is, if I still have the MINI by then. I hate to say it cause the car is so fun, great mileage, etc. But I've had a load of quirky issues since Day 1.

Best of luck! Please let us know what happens.

 

I'm in Northern Vermont, and there's no Mini Dealership here as of right now. There IS one opening in March in Burlington at the AutoMaster site, and they have said they would be MORE then happy to "plug her in" for me. But no mention about the upgraded manifold system. I'm sure I'm going to have to pay for this out of pocket if I want it done.

 

Similar problem to me just happened. It's a 2009 Mini Cooper S with about 42K miles. I live in NY and it's been in the 20s for a while.

I was headed to my parents this evening (20 degree weather with some snow). I started my car, spend about 3 minutes checking the tire pressure, and then took off. That's when I noticed the Check Engine light was on in the Speedometer area. There is no light/warning in the Tachometer area.

I checked the gas cap and that wasn't the issue. Oil level seems to be at minimum, so I don't think that's the problem. The coolant level is about half an inch below minimum, which is obviously a little low but I don't think that's the cause?

I THINK I've noticed a few times in the last couple days that there is a SLIGHT power decrease for a second while I'm cruising at consistent speed. It's very subtle (so little that I almost wonder if it's in my head). I also took off the oil cap to check that out. It smelled a little like gas (though I could be wrong because it's the first time I've sniffed my MINI's oil from within the engine). Maybe I just had a bad tank of gas? I fill up with Premium 93 at the same gas station ALWAYS.

I've heard of issues with Fuel Pumps, Intake Hose, and Throttle Valves. But most of those seem to have the side effect of NO engine power, or a sudden decrease.

Nearest MINI Dealership is 2 hours away and I have an appointment for service with them in two weeks. Should I just wait until then? Or should I take it to the local BMW (non MINI) and hope they can at least read out the diagnostics to hopefully come to a conclusion?

 

I would keep the MINI appointment, but asking closer BMW dealer to pull codes (free maybe?) would give you piece of mind.
If it's the "yellow" engine light its reduced engine power. The "red" light I believe is more grave and you shouldn't drive at all.

 

I have noticed the slight bogging down a little more and it also seems to be lower on power with hard acceleration. It also stalled on me one from a normal launch. Roadside Assistance will be towing it 2 hrs to my dealer for me.

 

That's probably the safest option, considering that you're still under warranty.

There are SO MANY conditions that will touch off the yellow, outlined CEL & most are (reasonably) safe to ignore for a short while.

Half-solid yellow light is cause enough for a detour if you can still drive it safely (that's what I saw several times during the worst-running intervals with my cold-start problem).

Anything RED though means SHUT IT DOWN.

 

Got the light today and went to the dealer. Waiting to see what they say....
We noticed that the fan was staying on for long-longer periods after driving short distances. The coolant temperature was bouncing up and down 4min post start up and the car would not idle one time but it recovered. A new squeak (rotational bearing possibly?) noise feature exposed itself yesterday as well. 8700 miles and it is at the doctor getting looked at.

 

Add me to the list of problems.

Driving a 07 Mini with 57k miles. Wednesday night it drove fine without any problems. Start it up Thursday morning to go to work and don't even make it 3 miles before check engine light and total loss of power. Take it to Orlando Mini and they tell us the following:

Fuel Pump failure
Water Pump Failure
Outside Temp Sensor Failure
Airbag Module and or Seatbelt Sensor

All pretty major components for a vehicle not far from being out of warranty. The price is $2k+ plus we are due for brake overhaul which is understandable at this time. I called Mini USA and they won't offer any assistance as I've read on here and other forums. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Also how hard is the fuel pump to replace? Ive replaced others before on other makes that are located under the back seat and they were a straight forward replacement.

 

Got the flashing yellow CEL on my way home early yesterday morning. Car lost power and now sputters and the engine jumps around in the bay most likely because it's only running on two cylinders. Just had the timing chain and guide rails replaced 4 months ago. Dealer that did that repair is 2 hours away and am probably looking at having to have it towed out there again. Mine is an 07 Sa....and I think I'm done with it. Not sure how serious or expensive this repair will be, but I'm guessing it will be pretty high. Can't deal with this anymore. Fun little car when it works, but this motor is an unreliable piece of ****. No other way of wording it.

 

I went to a local English car show a month or so ago, a Triumph had a bumper sticker on it "All The Parts Falling Off This Car Are Of The Finest British Craftsmanship" I need one.
When the MINI dealer fixed my 07, they warrantied the work for 2 years. Hopefully yours is covered.

 

I have a 2010 mini s and the outlined engine light came on( Yellow ) but I have had no power loss. Took it to autozone for the free check engine light test and it didn't produce a code and confused the guy testing it as well. Any ideas on what might be going on. Like I said it runs fine but light stays on. Confused in carson city nevada.

 

I have had problems with low octane gas. When I go on the freeway sometimes it will mis-fire and the outlined yellow reduced power light comes on (but now power loss). But if I accelerate at high RPM's up to about 90mph it will clear itself.
I had dealer scan it (Autozone scanner is only generic OBD II codes, not car specific). They told me I was getting "super-Knock" codes from low-octane (85) gas. Now I only buy the high octane Chevron or Shell.

 

BMW changed several design elements on the S's engine in 2010 having to do with carbon accumulation in the cylinders (stemming from their direct injection system, valve timing, and crankcase ventilation technology) so you might want first to discern whether your S benefitted from these changes.

How many miles do you currently have on yours, BTW?

There are MANY things that can cause the outlined yellow engine light to light up but few - indeed, if any - are really serious.

If you get a half-solid yellow, or worse half-solid RED, it's time for a visit to a dealer (who has the proper hardware & software after all) to suss out what's causing the problem.

My 2007 S spent most of November this year in the shop once more while they tried to figure out why the CEL had come on once again. Latest incident marked the tenth, maybe eleventh time in just over a year.

Latest surmise was:

Post-cat O2 sensor getting fed weird data from the pre-cat sensor replaced in January (for the fourth time in two months);

Maybe the high-pressure fuel pump (replaced early in 2008 when I had the half-solid yellow frequently);

Maybe excess carbon once again in the cylinders (as the valve cover's built-in PCV bits apparently had failed some many miles ago which caused oil to be allowed into the pre-heater, thence into the engine wiring harness. Extended warranty company didn't want to pay out on the valve cover as they defined that as part of the emission system (not covered) or collateral damage....)

I took advantage of the dealer's generous trade-in offer to move into a 2013 Clubman out of their lot inventory.

I'd wanted a Clubman back in '07 when I ordered my 2nd S but they weren't available at that time. Instead I added the luggage pod & roof rack which incidentally will fit my new 2013.

After some 275,000 miles in MINI'S since my first BMW/Cooper in 2002 (not counting my 1965 Austin Cooper 1275-S!) I'm willing to stick with the brand awhile longer, yet couldn't justify another S (had 2: 2003, 133,000 miles, then the 2007 traded at 97,000) due to current financial circumstances and a strong feeling that the S engine is prone to potential issues that I'm unwilling to live with for the extra adrenalin from driving one daily.

Good luck with yours & please get back to us here when you know more. We all benefit from learning what others have discovered about theirs.

Jan 25/13 UPDATE:

2013 Clubman's not immune to CEL issue.... Seems there's a software bug with lean mixture signaling. My new Clubman's affected, BMW/MINI'S 'aware' of the issue & 'working' on a fix/update but no hint as to just when such might be available.

Driveability's not affected, no power loss, but a big loss of confidence in a new vehicle that I'd hoped would put an end to one problem I lived with for over a year on my '07 S.

PITA to drive 90 minutes round trip to dealer periodically just to get CEL re-set & assurance that it's not something more threatening this time.

 

My 2009 MINI S started fine in -5F with Yellow light; had to pull over after several blocks to look up the icon in manual - lol it was freezing! Turned out to be in "limp" mode so I could get it to service. Went to local Tires Plus (dealer - No Way!). It's the Intake Manifold - outlet too close to bottom. New part (from dealer [groan] $480. MINI redesigned outlets to be on TOP of manifold (from 1 on bottom to 4 on top) to fix this. I had a good mechanic.

[sidebar] To add to my woes the water pump (which is plastic!) had a crack and was leaking AND the Thermostat Housing also was leaking. Add another $1000 baby!!!! At least the new water pump is now metal!!

Now my MINI purrs very nicely. Some remorse in getting this but It Is Still A Lot Fun To MOTOR.

JANK

ps- mechanic told me when he took the intake manifold out a significant amount of water was in there. the new redesigned manifold addresses that issue. gosh, I also got to bring the parts home to show my wife. yeah that impressed her! lol

 

Live in Alaska and was having the yellow half engine light, trouble with cold starts, and running at way less than full power. The fix was indeed to replace the manifold with a new design where the return line is not at the bottom of the manifold, but closer to the top. Apparently condensation/moisture was collecting near intake at the bottom of the manifold and freezing, thus causing the above symptoms to occur.

This is a known problem with 2009 and earlier models. Basically a faulty design that may only show its ugly face in colder temperatures (consistently below freezing). The fix was just about $1000 with part and labor. Used a local shop specialist rather than BMW as the latter seemed to drag their feet with an initial incorrect diagnosis and fix that just didn't do anything but waste my money.

 

hey all

i did a quick scan of this thread and it doesnt appear that this affects base models - i didn't go through every post but that's what it seemed like - are there any base/justa's with this condition?

 

Got this light this AM in my '11 MCS. I was trying to pull out of my driveway in snow, with some wheel spinning, and ended up stalling it. Then the light came on when I restarted. It was 28* this morning and the car hasn't been used in 2 days since there was a sleet/snow storm. Maybe condensation build up? Car runs and drives perfect, my commute is only 2 miles, I shut the car off when I got coffee briefly, car didn't get fully up to temp, restarted, light still on... maybe need to drive some more? Like I said, car drives fine. weird. no CEL. does the half power light reset itself or should I d/c the battery?

 

Half-power (CEL light half outline, half solid yellow) needs attention. I only saw this early on with my '07 S & never after the updated valve cover / breather valve retrofit.

Outlined CEL may go off by itself once 'conditions' improve. I'm dealing with that on my '13 Clubman (not S) now, even after last week's replacement of everything from the intake manifold forward after factory techs' inspection. CEL comes on when it's below 20F, usually - save for THIS MORNING when it was 16F - goes off around or above 25F.

 

I don't have any warning lights on in the speedo cluster. only the symbol on the tach where the mph would be.

 

I can't recall ever seeing a CEL symbol of any kind in/on the tach display window; mine have all been in the speedo array....

Again, the yellow outlined symbol is less "critical" than a half & half, or worse a symbol of any kind in RED. You're gonna have to wait for comments from other forum members.

 

I've got a half and half and have no idea what's causing it. Also noticed today that the main fan was running as soon as the car was shut off, with the aux fan for the turbo coming on almost 15 minutes later when I went back out to the car. Also recently put some gas in the car, but it unfortunately wasn't from a Top Tier gas company. So I have no idea what's causing this. I had it come on two time previously a couple months ago, but they both cleared themselves with no issues.