So, I picked up my new 07 MINI S today and 30 miles or so into driving home the engine light came on. It was the yellow "your car is not performing as well as possible, keep monitoring the situation light" not the red "your engine has died, stop driving" version but still... kinda bummed.

I called my dealer but they were closed for the day.

Um... is this normal?

Oh... and the sunroof didn't work when I first went to pick it up, they hadda drag it off to the service department for some sort of software change.

 

Check the gas cap .

 

Not normal, call your dealer in the morning. Check you gas cap, perhaps the PDI guy/gal did not put the gas cap down correctly. I presume you have a full tank and did not gas up your MINI on your drive home.

Intersting, the PDI should have caught your sunroof issue, did they do a fast PDI, ask your MA, I would first thing in the AM.

When you get square post some pictures, sorry you have had a bad 30, most first times are much better.

 

Thanks! I actually forgot all about the gas cap thing. The car was filled up, but going through the whole bells n' whistles bit he showed me the gas cap and put it back on and told me to make sure it clicked or whatever. I'll check it in the morning.

As soon as I determine it's gonna be ok I'll take a pic. I do have one pic of the odometer at 7 miles ! (this is my first "new" car) so... there's always that!

 

When we buy used, our anticipation is something will go wrong or some scratch will appear anytime. It is used. But when we buy new, that little voice inside is still talking about the monetary decision we made which makes those little imperfections in a product look huge. You have a warranty, they'll fix it one way or another. At least you HAVE a warranty.

By the way, what's the deal with the gas cap? I never got pre-flight instructions on that.

 

As I understand it....
The fuel system is kept at negative pressure (vacuum) in order to detect leaks and prevent the discharge of unburned fuel vapor. The excess vapor/air is pumped into the engine air intake. If the gas cap isn't on tight, the vacuum won't hold and your engine light will warn you. Most cars will shut the warning light off after 2 or 3 consecutive starts with vacuum.

This is standard on all newer cars, even economy ones.

 

I had this problem on my first fueling. I called the dealer and they said make sure and click the gas cap 3 times to ensure a solid fit. It will reset itself after 72 hours if that is the cause. In my case it was.

 

True - I have to keep reminding myself about the "bathtub curve". With most complicated devices, the number of failures over time usually starts off high, then drops down to almost nothing and stays there for years, until everything starts to wear out and the frequency of failures rises sharply again. (If you look at a graph of failure frequency versus time, the curve looks like a bathtub, hence the name).

You can think of your first few days/weeks as a "break-in period" or a "shakedown cruise", and it will help you deal with the little things that go wrong. Once it's sorted out, it will probably stay trouble-free for years.

 

I had a problem on my sunroof on a hot day where it didn't open until driving a bit, that cooled it down enough to open a few minutes later.

 

Hey that happened to me a coouple of days ago....

 

I had a similar problem with my new Mini after about 300 miles. Everyone told me to check the gas cap, however the "Gas Cap Light" was not on. I took it to the dealer and they wound up replacing both oxygen sensors. Seems a bit odd since they usually last about 100K or so. The service manager told me that they may have gotten a bad batch. I had a 2006 Coupe that I bought in St Louis, MO.

Hope this helps.