Hello all
I just bought my 2012 CMS all4 in August this year. I've had a few troubles with it already. It's been back at the dealer for 25 days and counting :(
The first problem I had with it was that one of my run flat tires had a tiny hole in it (nobody's fault). The first time I took it in they told me there was no leak but I insisted that there was because I was monitoring it and putting air in it myself...so they decided to keep it for another day and test it again n sure enough there was a tiny hole. So that was fixed

Then when I went to go pick up my car they told me "the unthinkable happened" and they noticed that one of my coolent hoses was leaking so they had to order the part which I had to wait for for a few weeks b/c it was coming from Germany. Did anyone else have this leak happen?

They called me the other day telling me that after they fixed the problem (replacing the hose) they were testing out my car Making sure it was ok and then they called me telling me yet again, "the unthinkable happened" and the Tire pressure warning light showed up. They checked the pressure and said that all 4 tires were fine. None were leaking. They called me back today telling me that, and i quote, "something weird is going on with your car". I asked them to explain and the service rep told me that they're not sure what is going on and they have to Get help to diagnose the problem. has anyone else had tire sensor problems?

Sorry about the rant but I just miss my baby and hope she's goi g to be ok.

 

Yep!



It took two trips to the dealer spread out over 8 months and the MINIUSA Regional Service Rep to sort this one out. There was an issue with the TPM Monitoring Units's wiring harness that, thankfully, was finally sorted. During the first attempt, they had tried installing some kind of "jumper harness" that was connected incorrectly.

My local MINI Dealer was FANTASTIC to work with. The fix was in the hands of the Regional Rep. I just wish whatever was originally wrong with the harness from the factory didn't exist.

Have your dealer contact the MINIUSA Northeast Regional Service Rep to discuss the issue. PM me if you need more info.

 

My TPMS warning light recently came on but upon visual inspection the front tire looked fine. I took it to our dealer they inspected the tire, reset the TPMS and informed me that they have been getting a lot of calls about this issue. Warning lights coming on but no issue. The service advisers have concluded that the change in the weather is causing this issue. After I picked up the car I went on a 1000 mile road trip with no issues either with the tire or the TPMP system

 

The change in weather brings your issue into light every year. However, my issue was not an issue with the tire, or the change in temp bringing on slight pressure drops. It was the wiring harness. MINIUSA replaced all sensors and the sensing unit itself, to no avail. Finally, they tracked it down to the wiring harness.

BTW - if you don't want the annual fall pressures drops, you could fill the tires with nitrogen. It is less sensitive to temperature variations.

^^^^
This is incorrect. Sorry!

 

If you can settle for 78% nitrogen, just use ordinary atmospheric air.

 

Unfortunately, it's the other 22% (oxygen and other trace gasses) that cause the pressure to fluctuate with temperature. So 100% nitrogen would probably be the purist's choice.

I seem to remember that a chain (NTW?) offers nitrogen fills. Of course, the question is how they can purge the tire of the other 22% when filling!

 

Please consult any reference on elementary chemistry and physics. Wikipedia will do, look for "Ideal gas law". Known simply as PV = nRT. You will find that all gases have the same temperature and pressure relationship.

Nitrogen is used to fill aircraft tires to decrease the possibility of fire at the extremely high temperatures that occur during landing.

The rate of diffusion of nitrogen through rubber is slightly less than the rate of diffusion of oxygen, so in principle nitrogen-filled tires might hold their pressure a bit longer than air-filled tires.

Bah.

 

Interesting and illuminating! I suppose the benefits of nitrogen in tires wouldn't be seen in typical driving with a passenger car. However, I can see that the reduced permeability and absence of moisture characteristics would be beneficial in some applications...perhaps an F1 MINI!

Thanks for this info!

Now, if nitrogen could only magically repair wiring harness issues...

 

I received a Tire Rack advert in the mail today and noticed a callout box on tire air pressure. I know it seems obvious but it stated:

"For each month that passes you Lose 1 psi, AND For every 10 degree Fahrenheit change in ambient temperature you Lose or Gain 1psi".

 

I have also experienced loss of pressure, but only in one tire. Came back late one night from a trip and limped over to a gas station from the airport. The tire pressure gauge said it was indeed low, so I filled up the tire and thankfully haven't had any issue since. It seems to be holding air now. While I was away on the trip, the weather did turn markedly colder.

 

It happened on our '13 CMSA4 also. We are having the coldest weather in 8 months, and after the car sat outside in the cold the other day there was a warning that the right rear tire was underinflated. I checked the pressure in all 4 tires and they were correctly inflated, so I reset the TPMS system and there has been no re-occurance.