Here is the solution and answer to all the problems, says no one ever.

This is really the answer MINI USA and the field engineer advised my dealer, this is the said "tool/machine". A full week to come up with this, good call MINI USA.




At this point I honestly don't know what to think and will let my concerns be known to MINI USA and the powers that be. I place no fault on the dealer for this mess or solution, they have been excellent. Here is the actual TSB/Service bulletin for the the procedure, it's an old BMW TSB (found this info over on a BMW forum)

 

Wonder if MINI is going to provide a set of these with each new F56?

Wynn's Aircomatic Ultrasonic Cleaner (P/N 211-0300).
Wynn's Airco clean (P/N 211-30208)

Should certainly take of the problem (temporary).

 

And the problems continue. Opened the trunk/boot yesterday and found this...




No wonder my car smells so bad. Back to the dealer, again.

 

Holy $#!t. Have you figured out where that "reservoir" came from? I'm heading out the the garage to check mine.

 

I have no idea but it was a holy $#!t moment indeed. First thought was get the water out but then I decided to grab my phone and video it before hand so I had some real proof of the issue.

Car smells like holy h##l today. Just not my day/week/month/year with the Mini.

 

Well, thankfully mine is dry. I have some gear stowed there (towels, rope, plastic trash bags, jacket, emergency items and the like, so am very happy to find them not soaked.

I cannot imagine where your water came from. Is your car parked outside?

 

Always garaged when at my house. It must have happened while the dealer had it for the past week. It was not there when I dropped it off.

I let it sit/run with full AC to try and dehumidify for about an hour. Helped the smell just a little, but it's still not pleasant. The only positive... I've come up with a name for my car: Stinker

EDIT -- Just put my dehumidifier in the car (the one I keep in our basement - lol). I've had a fan in there running since yesterday but hopefully this idea will help the smell/humid condition.

 

Funny, the wife calls ours Lil' Stinker. Guess it's one of those undocumented features they engineered into our cars.

The dehumidifier should help your car with the moisture. Unfortunately carpeted items take forever to completely dry. Good luck and keep us posted with actions by your dealer.

 

Dang - sorry to hear of your troubles with your F56 :(

 

It definitely helped. It's a 35 pint/day unit. When I emptied the bucket it was about 1/3 full after 12 hours. Smell cleared up a little as well. I'm sure it's not 100% dry but better than before.

Dealer service manager reached out this morning, very professional and sincere. He said it's a 50/50 deal: either they left the boot open by mistake or it's a possible leak. Either way he said he will remedy the problem. If it's not a leak he said I owe you something good for our mistake. The dealer really has been excellent with all of these issues.

Me too! My R56 had no major issues to note and I recall when I owned it reading this very forum about the horror stories of others problems.

Regardless, I just want my MINI problem free of these issues. I have no intentions of leaving the brand or bad mouthing MINI to anyone, it's how the dealer and MINI USA/BMW act to resolve the problem at this point. Hopefully my letter of complaint to them regarding this opens some eyes not only for me but for others with this issue.

 

Just a guess. What does a car contain that may smell like vinegar or acid?

How about battery acid odor getting into the outside air vent system?

 

this was my thought also. originally thought the smell was due to a car wash soap, or the like collecting, in the outside vent area. soap did not have this smell, but thought maybe it was collecting somewhere in the vent drain system and causing the stink when air was being introduced from the outside. living in the south, i rarely use recirculate as this will cause a mold build over time unless you alternate the vent and recirculate feature.

I closed the outside venting on the dash (recirculate inside air only), to eliminated the potential of venting polluted outside air, and smell was still present. so, the contaminant causing the smell is being generated inside the car's vents and is likely still associated with the redesigned evaporator or the drain lines.

 

And back to the dealer yet again. After voicing my concerns to MINI USA I'm being asked to take the car back to the dealer, tomorrow to be specific, and let them preform some tests. This should be good -- can't wait to see what they come up with this time. Again, no offense to the dealer as they are basically being told what to do by MINI USA and the field engineers at this point. Will keep you all posted.

 

Noted today that got a whiff of the vinegar smell miday after car was parked for three hours. First indication that this problem will worsen over time and not remain a morning only aroma.

 

Hello guys! I've been having this issue with my June 2015 Built F55. My dealer in Dominican Republic, says i should be having it because mine has the evaporator with new design. But we all know that fix didnt work. So... Whats next? I'm so concerned that it will get worse and no solution. How cant Mini address this? I'm so dissapointed :(

 

Sorry for the update delay. Got the car back last week from the dealer. There is not a TSB number present but the work order shows "redesigned" the cabin air filter box per MINI FSE, checked condensate drain for leaks/issues, none found, A/C working properly at this time, desanitize the A/C system and vehicle with WYNNS device.

When I picked it up the A/C was indeed working, car had a slight chemical smell from the desanitize process -- I was told it would before entering. I was told the by the dealer the redesigned cabin air filter box is the next TSB coming for this issue. I don't know what exactly was changed as the work order notes are very vague.

Maybe this fixes the issue? Only time will tell on the A/C issue.

But not so fast on another issue... Fast forward a couple of days and I find the water in my trunk again. I noticed a musty smell in the car so I decided to look in the trunk only to find the same pool of water. Took a new video of the problem, got it all the water out, ran a fan and dehumidifier once again. Car is back at the dealer. Maybe one day I'll get to keep my car for more than a week at a time without back and forth dealer trips.

 

Our dealership alluded to the same fix as you received. Redesigned cabin filter in the works too. We shall see if that fixes it when they finally get the TSB from MINI.BMW.

Holy Moly on the water issue again. Cannot imagine where it's coming from. Has cCar been in the rain or been run through a high pressure car wash? Is surrounding carpet wet in the storage area (above the water level in the "cubby")? Maybe the rear hatch area drain drain troughs are blocked somewhere and water is backing up into the boot.

I'd try running a hose over the rear end of the car hatch area and see if water is running into the boot..then move to one side of the car and the other until water appears. Hopefully you'll find the trouble spot.

Rely on the dealer's mechanic to do something like that would be a stretch.

Really sucks to hear about your issues.

 

I'd tell 'em I want a different car. Tell 'em you smell lemons when you get in it.

 

Sorry to hear of this. Wonder if the hatch bump stops are adjusted too far out, preventing a proper seal and allowing water into the trunk area? Probably not, but hey I'd try anything at this point. If they can't resolve this, they'll be putting you in a new non lemon fragrance vehicle. Best of luck.

 

Never been in a car wash under my care -- I hand wash my car every 2 weeks in the driveway. The carpet is indeed wet, all the way around actually. I can't even determine which side the water if coming in from. The headliner around the boot is dry. Dealer said they would be spraying the car with a pressure washer looking for the leak. Was told it may take several days to chase this down.

I was not going to even mention this, but I already have in regards to the A/C issue. Since it's been at the dealer for the same repair 4 times under my state law I filed it. However, I had to give MINI/BMW an opportunity for final repair, which is what the above repair was. The sad part is the response from MINI/BMW was basically this: we want you to be happy, we will fix the car/not replace it because you still have 3 years of factory warranty remaining. I was flat out told they would not replace/re-buy the car at this time. I did not ask for a re-buy, simply a replacement of equal value. The lemon law process in my state is very specific so I'm still playing along with the rules. Basically next time the car needs service/repair for the A/C issue I would have to go to arbitration with MINI/BMW to get the vehicle replaced and from the sounds of it MINI/BMW is willing to roll the dice on this if necessary. I assume they figure worst case they lose the hearing and are forced to replace the vehicle, best case they win which then forces me to seek legal recourse.

Thanks! I honesty thought MINI/BMW would have replaced the vehicle but they are standing firm at this point. You could be on to something with the hatch bumps but if they are adjusted out to far they "moved over time" as in the past 13 months I've not had this issue. Hopefully dealer finds the problem and I can stay shop free for a couple months.

 

Just so you know, there are attorneys that specialize in Lemon Law claims. Without one, you are likely to get stonewalled by the manufacturer. They do not want to buy back any car for any reason and will use any excuse or tactic to preclude this from happening.

Lemon laws are pretty straight forward and an attorney specializing in these cases will usually cut through all the BS and get to a resolution more quickly than the average consumer going it solo.

Their fees are quite reasonable and they get results.

Easy to locate a local one using Google:
https://www.google.com/search?q=Lemo...utf-8&oe=utf-8

They usually offer a free consultation before proceeding.

A friend hired one an got a great outcome with a new Jeep he bought.

I love our car and will put up with the smell as it's only on start up (so far) and only lasts a short while. Hoping BMW/MINI gets their $#!t together and figures out what the problem is and fixes it. How is that every other car made can have a clean smelling AC and MINI can't?

If my boot was turning into a swimming pool after a rain (I assume the water appears after the car has seen rain), and then have the smell too, I may start looking for a Lemon law attorney just to be safe. If only for a consultation and options to proceed.

 

I may consider this at some point, however, I've done all the necessary prep work for a potential lemon law case; followed the GA state requirements exactly as described by the law and even extended my "good faith" willingness to work with the dealers/manufacture several times.

End of the day, you are correct, the smell in the car is awful at this point. There is only so much desensitizer can do it mask/help the smell and my frustration factor is at a boiling point with the smell, constant back and forth trips, and one thing after another on this particular car. I am honestly on my last "good faith" fix the car attempt before moving forward with the lemon law case and/or an attorney. I just want my car back, odor and problem free. Not much to ask for considering the $32K price tag.

Thanks for the information and everyone here chiming in and offering advise -- we have a great group of people here and I appreciate each of you as fellow MINI'ers.

 

Car is back. Resolution on the swimming pool in the boot, not 1 bad seal, but 2. Trunk seal and vent seal both replaced.

Time will of course tell. MINI USA called about 2 hours after I got the car back, said no replacement vehicle for me since all issues have now been fixed. I got a good chuckle out of that.

 

Hopefully its fixed now.

 

Hope so too. I've lost much faith in the MINI brand over all of this and I honestly don't know that I'd purchase another MINI again, sad, I know as I really do love the car. Maybe I will re-gain my faith in the brand if we can go problem free for awhile. I know for a fact I will not keep the vehicle beyond the standard warranty -- too many issues to trust it beyond that point.