MINIs must be running some serious pressure in the cooling system, which of course raises the boiling point. I guess the pressure and heat in the cooling system is nothing compared with that around the cylinders or the turbo unit, so it shouldn't be a problem to engineer it properly. Since my last post in this thread my car has gone through an Australian summer including some days of slow-speed (ie little cooling airflow) driving in 105-110F days, all with no problems at all.

 

I was freaking out this morning as I was looking at the coolant temperature rise to 225 226 and was thinking man is my thermostat stuck? Then on return trip from walmart realized using the MAX AC dropped my temps to 180 or below.
Played with the MAX AC button on/off and see temps rise quick to 217+, and then below 180- with MAX AC on.
Geez. But apparently after reading this thread 220+ is "normal".
I had checked the temperature a few times a year ago and it was reading like 177… So I never checked it again. Figured it must have had a 180 degree thermostat. Apprarently I had the MAX AC on which I normally do.
So I guess things are starting to make a little sense after reading this thread.

Also to share I had a 04 Neon SRT4 and I didn't like that it ran around 195 to 205. I think it had a 195 stat in it, dont remember for sure. I remember wanting to put a 180 degree stat in it. But after finding out 220+ is normal for these, I guess 195-205 wasn't bad. (I lost that car a year ago to an accident :( ).

 

I am confused how max A/C helps your coolant temps? Doesn't add load to your engine? I know that max A/C causes a rise in IAT due to the heat exchanger putting more hot air into the engine bay. I always see 222 coolant before i hear my fan come on, and 226 oil temp usually.

 

On max ac the elec fan goes into hi mode and cools more. Also the dme see that max ac is on and adjusts the "Thermostat" to allow more flow

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it was also explained earlier in the thread.
whatever tells your computer full load appears to let the thermostat or whatever open all the way.
i notice just turning AC on does nothing. it has to be MAX AC.
pretty bizarre stuff.
alternatively 1 person he raced his car "full load" and during his race was a lower cooler temp like 180. but then cruising home was higher temp 215+.
I wish i new a way to trick the computer to thinking full load if i am not using the max ac.
i wasnt familiar with the previous comment acronyms? what is dme? and the other one?

 

Dme = digital motor electronics. Aka ECU. aka ENGINE COMPUTER aka. Brain.

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Why trick the computer? It will do absolutely nothing. Good or bad..

 

I posted some time ago with the experience like others of 212 temperatures until a stronger load makes the engine cool off. I have noticed for the past year or so that then tempertature rarely goes above 180 and often runs lower. I read posts about the mechanical thermostat, so I asked my dealer. He said that the engine is ok, and that my temp guage is faulty, though he did replace the thermostat and housing. It still does the same thing. I would not care, except the fuel mileage has fallen off by about 2 mpg.
Any thoughts?

 

Get a Manic tune. Your car will love you. Coolant temps around 180 degrees all day long. The increased longevity and savings by not having to replace the thermostat and water pump and perhaps even the motor will more than pay for the tune and I can do the tune for you.

 

Where can I get this tune in Asia(Singapore)?

 

This morning I noticed the water temp fluctuate between 220 and 225 for the entire drive to work which is about 40 mins. Then out of the blue it dropped to 215 for a couples secs (while sitting at a red light) and then to 218 and then back to 220 as the light turned green and I started to pull away. Following that it jumped to 227 to 229 (while driving) for a few secs and then back down to 225. I know for a fact that my MCS runs and maintains 225. It has maintained that since day 1.

What brings me to this is after leaving Golds Gym I went over a dip in the parking lot (bare in mind my car is lowered) and smacked the front end (heard the front fascia scrap) on the asphalt [I have done this many times before as I figure I just reached a point of damaging the radiator], so now I wonder if I busted something to the point of it leaking due to a crack in the underside or something happened to one of the small pipes attached to a certain silver block on the driver side just behind the radiator (it definitely transfers water, but I'm not exactly sure what I am looking at it or what it is called). I'll find out if it's low on coolant when I head out today. Guess I'll need another pressure test by the dealership. $$$ just out the door.

Nothing can be said as this is probably my own doing, but since I hit the asphalt I was looking at the temp for my entire drive whereas if I didn't hit the asphalt I'd probably not notice the fluctuation if there was or wasn't one. *Note: You can refer to my sig to see what has already been replaced.*

 

Honestly, I would just monitor it. Get under the car and see if there are any visible leaks. Coolant looks kind of like snow and salt when it dries (splashes of a white residue). Check the coolant reservoir and see if it is low, and just wait. The biggest thing is you don't want the engine to overheat. From my personal experience, I had a crack develop at the return line in on the reservoir and the same thing happened, at first I would see some quick burps to slightly higher temperatures then as time went on I would see higher temps. Good luck man and let us know what happened. Also, don't go to the stealership for a pressure test, any shop can do that and for much cheaper.

 

Don't worry about it. If you actually broke something, you would know. There would be clouds of steam. My water temp on the scangauge is sometimes all over the place. Especially when it's really cold.


To bust something you have to go through the bumper cover and the radiator support.

 

Spend too much on this forum and you'll get too paranoid that your MINI will explode next. Doesn't sound like much harm was done except scraped bumper. No big deal here...

 

That's a bit more reassuring, thanks. That's true I do have to go thru all of that extra material, but I'll confirm later today and then post back.

It was cold this morning... 20 degrees today. It was warmer yesterday, 37 degress. I live in MD and so it been as cold as 3 degrees.. So I'll take the cold into consideration.

 

Glad I found this post. Was driving around today in 28F-30F degree weather and saw the temp around 220ish. Thought I had a bad thermostat or clogged radiator. Good to know this is normal for these little engines. 2009 MC

Remain Calm...the Mini won't explode!

 

accidentally unsubbed. yeah i see those temps between 215-230 as normal.
turn max ac on and it drops to around 180.

 

My MCS runs at 222F back a week ago when it was in the 40's to 50's and now that it's warmer I'm seeing 226F, never seen it above that though. I can confirm that the temperature moves around from 212F to 226F but don't know why it does this. It is considered normal for our Mini's.

 

I've hit 250 F on the track without limp mode. Did find a cooked spark plug shortly thereafter... not sure if it was directly related though. Also replaced a faulty thermostat housing as well. Again, not 100% sure it was related to high temps.

 

Seems to be all well and good *Knock on Wood*. [No Coolant Leak] Temps fluctuate between 218 and 225. As I said at normal speed I maintain 222 to 225; when stopped it drops to 218. Pretty normal! Just strange how the ECU is controlling it this way, (to me that many degrees different is strange) but enough said. Thanks to everyone that replied and commented on my posts.

 

Running it in sport mode also kicks on the fan and runs it cooler. Drops to 195ish.

 

My 2013 JCW runs @ 195 (per scangauge) all the time just for comparison.

ISAMIN

 

I put an UltraGauge on my 2010 R56 Justa in 2013. It reads the factory sensor for coolant temperature, via the OBD port. Since then, I normally see 210-220 F - rarely dips below 200 F or goes above 222-226 F.

Recently, I noticed 170 F and started investigating.

I learned about MINI's 2-stage thermostat, the Max AC temp drop, the heavy load temp drop, and for some (>2013?), the Sport Mode temp drop.

I also discovered a lot of MINI owners reporting thermostats that leak, stick or otherwise fail and that replacement is not cheap nor easy.

For a week, I watched my temps climb to 215-220 F, then rapidly drop back down to 170-180 F - usually staying there, no matter if AC was on or off, no matter if I was diving like I stole it, or like an old lady.

At no time did I see any Check Engine Light or other warning icons, no signs of leaks, coolant level remained normal, and no performance issues.

Believing there was a problem, I took it to a modern, well-equipped shop with a good reputation. Looks like a dealership, but it's not. (Nearest MINI dealer is 3 hours away, one way.) They found no codes with their scanner, confirmed my actual coolant temp was approximately the same as reported by my UltraGauge, and recommended replacing the thermostat.

For about 5 days after replacing the thermostat ($640!), operating temps appeared to be normal (210-220 F) - but then I started seeing the coolant temp drop again after warm up, just like with the old thermostat.

I emailed the service tech at the dealer where I bought it, and he said "Typically when a thermostat is failing, it will set faults and turn the check engine light on. My technician didn’t seem that concerned the temperature was off by 10-15 degrees, although he thought it was weird."

After reading this thread, I'm thinking normal is about 210-220 F, so my 170-180 F is more like 30-50 F low.

The car is now back at the independent shop because I am having them flush out the 'universal' HOAT coolant they mixed with what was left in the block from my OEM coolant, and they are going to replace it with MINI coolant. Said he would investigate the possibility that the thermostat they put in was defective or otherwise failed.

Still not sure I have a problem, much less a solution.

 

They do have a thermostat it's in a housing like my R60. Thermostat, thermostat sensor & temperature sensor are all in this housing. Don't believe what you hear from an idiot, you'll figure this out when you blow the engine.

 

Don't worry about the housing till your engine light is on in speedo and throws a p0597 code. My R60 just did this recently and had to replace it. When I take mine to the track it usually hits 240 without limp mode and normally runs at 225.