Greetings all

Just a few words on the outcome of the intake cleaning etc..

The dealer and MINI agreed to refund the cost of cleaning the valves.

Took a bath on the tradein of the MINI, (bad news when the Dealer pulls up a screen from Consumer Reports and the valve issue is everywhere, Not one but three Dealers).


I am very surprised at the general response from the group, the majority seems to think that the issue is a consumer issue.

"Drive it like you stole it" Not sure, how that effects the carbon buildup!

"People think that maintenance is dealer problem" That one threw me for a loop, no amount of maintenance could have prevented the issue.

"Low grade gas" Interesting, any Shell or BP reps want to wade in?


A loyal group indeed!

 

It's a design issue that can be made worse by following Mini prescribed maintenance schedules and made even worse by a lack of maintenance.

 

I would say it's partially a consumer issue. Driving habits definitely affect the severity of the problem. Not warming up the car and short trips are what make it the worst. At 50K miles my valves had barely any buildup and it's most likely because it's mostly a track toy now and I made very long trips in my MINIs daily driving career.

I do love the MINI but this is probably the worst performance issue the N14/N18 has. What probably holds MINI engineers back from a proper design is the almighty dollar. No budget.

I work with diesel engines in my career and they have some of the best crankcase breather systems imaginable. Too bad most of them are way too huge to fit in our engine bay. The catch cans out there are a band-aid and for how much they charge for them (especially for the N18 platform) you might as well clean the intake ports/valves by hand. However, I think it's delusional to say it's Joe Blow's fault he has bad carbon buildup. Joe Blow has carbon buildup and it's all his fault! That's B.S.