I'm pretty familiar with BMWs, but MINIs, notsomuch. She drove her car up to VA from FL last week, it's a 2002 Cooper.

First, the airbag light is on. No idea why this could be... my only guess is that it was somehow disabled. I ran an OBD scan on the car and it came up with absolutely nothing. Not a big issue since nobody plans on crashing, but I'm just wondering if anybody has any insight as to why this could be?

Second, oil light is on. Checked the oil, perfectly clean and at the exact level it should be. When the car is in motion, the oil light turns off. As you slow down/stop, it comes on again. At first I thought it was because the computer wasn't reset at the last oil change, so I looked up how to reset it. I did so, and the problem was still there. She told me that it didn't come on until she had her oil changed at some idiot Walmart in the idiot state of Florida. What could they have done to screw this up? Would an incorrect oil filter cause the light to come on?

Now, I opened up the steering fluid container. Completely dry, I mean completely. Couldn't see a single drop of fluid in there, she is a *******. So that's another thing, where can I get steering fluid for this thing? My friend had an M Coupe and I recall that some of the fluids were only sold at the dealership. Is it the same case with the MINI? Also, could this cause the oil light to come on?

Thanks in advance for your patience and help.

 

I'm no expert but I'll take a stab. From what I've read on the forums, the power steering pumps are very prone to failure, especially on the first couple of model years.

I think that I have read that the Cooper has a spring or something in the filter area that needs to be transferred when changing the filter. I have seen some comments about this getting discarded when a filter was changed. If you do a serach on oil filter you might find some more information on this. Good luck, hopefully others will chime in with more information.

 

Welcome to NAM.

FIRST thing you need to do is stop driving that car with the oil light on. You are damaging the engine. I bet at the last oil change the tube & spring that need to be transfered from the old filter to the new were trashed along with the old filter. Get that fixed ASAP!!!

 

Mini's have electric power steering, and there is no power steering pump or tank. You might want to have the owner's manual handy before poking around.

 

Gromit, they do have a power steering fluid tank. Every MINI does. Electric/hydraulic steering. The electric motor runs the hydraulic pump. It's in your manual.

 

There is also a oil bypass valve that tends to stick. If that is the issue the light will only come on when the oil is warmed up and when the engine is idling. I had that issue with my '03 Cooper, and the dealer said there is no problem driving the car, as long as the light goes back out when you give the car some throttle.

 

Hmm, guess I'll take the whack on that one.

 

There are two different versions of oil filter for the '02. Chances are the Walmart guy didn't use the right one. Call a dealer with your VIN and get the right one ASAP. Don't drive until you do. The power steering fluid is available at MINI dealers, DON"T use the red stuff you commonly see in stores. There are equivalents listed in the manual. The airbag light comes on in my '02 if I don't have the seatbelt buckled and takes awhile to go off, or it could be a problem with the SRS. If the oil light started comming on after the oil change chances are very good it is an oil filter screw up. Good luck.

 

That could be the issue. I'll open it up tomorrow and take a look. Can someone post a link to what these parts look like so that I know what I'm looking for? Assuming they were discarded, about how much would they cost from the dealership?

Exactly, the light is off when the car is driven but when it's idling it comes back on... I hope that's not it because I really don't wanna deal with the dealership. Is there any way I could fix this myself?

I'll definitely get it from the dealership, thanks.

Thanks again for the help everyone (and miniclo for the airbag light issue).

 

Like others said, it's a missing part in the filter. The light goes on because the oil pressure drops.

You can fix it by draining the oil, taking the filter off, putting the spring/part back in and reattach the filter, then fill her up.

Fx.

 

The power steering rack is sucking all the fluid into the boots on the end of the steering rack. Common problem with the older 2002 MINIs. The oil light is coming on for one of two reasons. one- the center plug was thrown out during the last oil change. or two - the oil filter housing has crude oil in it, and it will need to be replaced. The air bag light is problably on due the seatbelt and side airbag connections under the seat. I heard they cover that airbag problem - only if related to the side airbag connectors for 10 years / 100k. ask your MA for sure.. But it's what I heard.

 

Will filling the car up with steering fluid fix this issue? Or is there something else I have to replace/fix?

Also, where's a good place to buy parts for a MINI online? The stealership wants $30 for steering fluid.

 

There is no other fix for the rack than to replace it....Sorry. Some of the better auto parts stores locally carry the fluid, the correct name is Pentosin CHF 11S. I think it is pricey any where you go. All you need is one bottle after the rack replacement.

 

I bet that they used the wrong filter at Walmart and maybe discarded the sleeve and flange that seal up against the filter element, causing the oil light to come on.... Get one from the dealer and/or take a pic and I can tell you if it is right.

Chad

 

Anyplace that sells the DOT spec fluid stated in the manual. As has been said elsewhere, MINI and BMW do not make auto fluids. They are made by other manufacturers to the correct DOT standard. While MINIs may have hydro/electric steering, they don't use "special" steering fluids.

 

Anyplace that sells the DOT spec fluid stated in the manual. As has been said elsewhere, MINI and BMW do not make auto fluids. They are made by other manufacturers to the correct DOT standard. While MINIs may have hydro/electric steering, they don't use "special" steering fluids.

 

Anyplace that sells the DOT spec fluid stated in the manual. As has been said elsewhere, MINI and BMW do not make auto fluids. They are made by other manufacturers to the correct DOT standard. While MINIs may have hydro/electric steering, they don't use "special" steering fluids.

 

I'm still in the searching/looking phase of my MINI but I beleive they use synthetic oil? If this is correct make sure that Wal-Mart put in synthetic-as well as the right filter altough it sounds like it wasn't correct. Ask around some other MINI owners in your area to see if the are using indi shop after their warrenties expired. I have an excellent local indi shop were I have all the work done on the volvo's I had and the Benz I have-he's half or more than the dealer. He was the MB head tech when they had a dealer here and went out on his own after they left.

 

I had the same issue with my 2002 Cooper S. The dealership (Rassmussin in Portland Oregon) said that MINI had extended the warrenty on the Airbag light issue. My service advisor said it could be a number of problems, but all were covered by MINI.

This was about 3 weeks ago. I have an 02 with 58k miles, so it is defintly past the std warrenty. You may want to take it to the dealer and see if they offer the same.