I have had my 2005 JCW now for a couple weeks and love it so much but I still continue to have a problem with the coolant. I can't seem to find a leak anywhere and there is never anything on the ground under the car. I drive through the week to work (an 18 mile round trip) twice a day and do a little more driving on the weekend. I have not seen any spots in my driveway or where I park at work so I am wondering if my car is "drinking" the coolant. I have to add coolant every few days because I can notice the car getting warm and check the reservoir and sure enough it is bone dry. Is there anything I can do on my part to figure out what is going on?

 

What color is your oil?

 

The was just changed 500 miles ago with Castrol 100% Synthetic but I have not actually looked at the color.

 

If it's Milky there is coolant in the oil, which woul mean an internal leak

 

I just went out and checked the oil and everything looks fine. The color is a light brown and the level is where it should be.

 

Steamy exhaust? smell sweet?

 

It is not impossable that a flush had been done and the system never correctly blead ...
If you have done this twice it may just be purging the air.

Lots of "how tos" on a good fill system.

... any white smoke ... you could be pushing water into the cylinders and burning it, the oil would still be good

 

There is no white smoke but I did notice today a little bit of a sweet smell when stopped in traffic but nothing overkill.

 

Where are you located ?

A pressure check may be in order.

 

The Coolant could be leaking out and dripping on something hot causing it to burn off before you were able to spot it.. Evaporating coolant smells sweet.

 

I am located in Eastern NC so the closest dealer would be Charleston, SC at about 4 hours away. If I have to make the drive I definately will.

 

I wouldn't go to the dealer for this ....
Check with some local MINI folks and see who they may recommend

 

Any local MINI people in Wilmington NC?

 

Have you checked your thermostat. Mine was slow at first didn't see anything on the ground. After searching NAM for coolant issues I found the housing was dripping coolant. Look at the right rear corner of the head withthe engine running if thats it you will see it.

 

In re: Drinking coolant. Don't. Causes renal failure.

 

I will take a look, and I appreciate all the help you guys have given.

 

Tastes like koolaid

 

Also look on the heat-shield, below the overflow tank. If it's dripping, it will evaporate there, leaving whitish deposits.

 

*UPDATE*

I have not had time to get by and get a pressure check so I have just been refilling the res. Now that I have tried to find a leak or what not when I first get out of my car after a drive I can hear a small "hiss/bubbly" sound coming from the front of the car and it definately smells sweet. When I raise the bonnet I can see a tiny bit of moisture on the backside top of the radiator so I am thinking there is a leak that is burning off on something right there. Will a pressure check help determine the problem.

 

With similar symptoms, I had a cracked thermostat housing (06 MC). Complained to the dealership, and they had MINIUSA flatbed it to Atlanta from Birmingham (Trussville).

Thankfully, it was covered by warranty and I didn't have to fork over for the tow!

 

If it is the thermostat, I hear replacing it is farly easy.

 

T stat / housing is easy...
first gotta get the air box out of the way ... then just 3 bolts (you will need an extension.)

 

My 2005 MCS had a coolant slow leak problem, only I didn't notice it because it came with the car when I bought it used. The fan kept coming on a lot, etc. Then I had a CATASTROPHIC FAILURE and what happened was the coolant completely went out, and the engine blew a gasket, etc. Evidently there is some sort of problem with the earlier models of the engine, I'm not technical enough to know what it is, but MINI completely covered everything since I was still under 50K. BUT it initially started with the coolant leak unless I had known about that (which I didn't because I don't know jack about cars), I really couldn't have stopped it because I was on a highway trip and it all came out.
Valerie

 

P.S.
If you want more info on what exactly they had to fix, PM me and I'll get the repair sheet out to tell you -- it was huge, it took them about 3-4 days.

 

**UPDATE**

I want to say thanks to everyone that chimed in on what to look for on the car. After a pressure check I found that the car was definately not correct. The dealer towed it in (158 miles) and replaced the radiator and everything is back to normal. I was only without my car for 6 days so to me that was not that bad.