Hi guys,

I just got (yesterday) a MINI Cooper S with 45k miles on it. The car drives excellent. My problem is that the check engine light is on (half engine signs on the display in the center of the odometer above the horn). This is my first MINI. The check engine light on the speedometer (center of the dashboard) is off. I have read here that it means that the engine is in "limp mode". I still have full power and the car doesn't show any issue beside from a light delay when pressing on the gas pedal followed by a burst of power from the engine.

The MINI 4 years/50k miles warranty expires today. May be a dumb question, but should I take it to a MINI dealership instead of taking back to the dealer I purchased it from (Chevy dealer). I'm asking that question because with the warranty expiring today, I wanna make sure I'm making the right move.

On a side note how safe is it to drive it like that to the dealer?
Any know issues with 09 MINIs with comparable mileage?
What else should I be looking for?

Thank you very much!

 

take to mini dealership first, THEN try the dealer you got it from.

-B

 

Thanks for the reply. Taking it to the dealer is no longer an option at this time (warranty is expired).
But here is what happened:







While driving home yesterday night, the check engine light disappeared all the sudden. Now I'm confused!

What do I do?

1- Is it gone for good?
2- Should I still bring it to the dealer? And say what?
3- Keeping in mine that I had no stored codes while the check engine was on and still don't have any after the light disappeared, should I assume that the OBDII just reset itself?

Any input will be great!

Thanks!

 

If you've had service done at the MINI dealer in the past and have a good relationship, there is a good chance they will look past the fact that you're two days out of warranty. A good service department values the relationship over the strict language of the manufacturer's warranty. It's at least worth a phone call.

 

Just an update.

05/08 Dropped car at dealership. Car was there for a week.

05/16 Picked up the car from dealership. No check engine light but noticeable tickling noise from engine.

05/17 Check engine light back on.

05/22 Dropped the car at the dealership for the second time. Been there since. Will call them tomorrow to see what's going on. Been driving a loaner car.

I bought the car on 04/29 (35 days ago). The car has spent 20 days out of those 35 days being repaired. We'll see.

 

Sorry to hear of all your issues. I hope all goes well tomorrow? If you got it form the dealer maybe you could ask them to pay your 1st months car payment for all this time away from your MINI. You also should keep documenting everything in case it is a lemon. I hope not though. Good luck.

 

Thank you for your reply Braminator! I love my mini and I do miss it. This is just ruining the fun. I'll try getting them to pay for the first month payment. Never know! I just hope it will be fixed right so I don't have to drive it worrying about something going wrong. I have been keeping all documentations up to when and at what mileage incident have happened and emailed the dealer about them. The lemon law in Massachusetts is kind of a bit confusing as to what qualifies a car to be a lemon. It says at least 3 repair attempts and or more than 11 business days in repair excluding days for which the dealer was awaiting parts that he ordered. If anyone can shed some light into that, I will really appreciate it.

I wish I had bought the mini at a Mini dealership. I would have still have a mini to drive as a loaner and not an Hyundai Sonata (got the car at Herb Connoly Hyundai).

Well we'll see.

Thanks

 

wrong post

 

???

 

sorry clicked reply to the wrong post! supposed to be on daily mini "waht did you do" post!

-B

 

No problem!

 

I called the dealer's service center today and I was told they had to go pick up the car from the mini dealer they had sent it to. They told me to come pick up the car around 4pm which is in less than an hour. I asked what the problem was and was told a turbo hose was leaking and they fixed it. Hope all is good!

Well, we'll see!

 

Went to pick up the car. This time I got a bill of work from Herb Chambers Mini. The issue, according to them, was a vacuum leak in the turbo not allowing the wastegate to open.

I know the half check engine light means reduce engine power, but I was seriously doubting that I had reduce engine power. The power was just great. Now I know what full engine power is. Wow! I am rediscovering or discovering my mini. I can clearly hear the wastegate opening. The funny fact is that I actually bought a mini that had reduced engine power and was more than impressed with the performance, LOL!

According to mini, the tickling noise form the engine is fine. I may be paranoid but I'm still on the fence about that. I will post a video of the engine running hoping that you guys can help know if it's normal or not.

Thanks again for all your input.