Hey guys,
I own a 2009 Mini Cooper S with 75,000 miles on it. It's my first Mini and was purchased used. It was in a minor accident (At my own hands) before that it had never been damaged and for the most part was mostly undriven. most of the damage was in the right wheel and steering components. The radiator took a small crack. All parts were serviced and replaced with OEM parts. The only issue so far is they claim an AC part is broken...insurance says they forgot to plug in the A/c.

I drive fast, often. I've topped it out on a few occasions and sometimes shift high. I've never redlined and I try to use only V-tech shell gas and Castrol synthetic oil only. I got the car out of shop this Feb and have just now started to notice a smell that has never happened before. Its hard to describe but it has a metallic smell and reminds me of ozone. Something makes me think coolant but I'm not sure. Turning on the heaters doesn't make the smell worse or stronger and nothing seems to be smoking under the hood. Even after running the car hard. Very recently i've noticed a slight shake when the car is fully stopped but its only happened twice or so. Otherwise everything is running fine. The Mini is responsive and runs everyday without problem.

Is this just carbon buildup burning off? or Do i have a leak? Did the mechanic shop mess me over?? Any ideas?

 

It's not carbon burning off. If it were coolant it would have a sweet smell to it. Maybe a failing cat?

 

Or it could be your AC leaking r134 if the shop is right and there is a broken AC component.

 

Wouldn't a failing cat cause a drop in gas mileage or other major signs?

I wish I could describe the smell better. Its very unique and faint and sometimes not there at all. The bonnet/hood scoop seems to be where it smells the most. Sometimes the hood gets pretty damn hot. I am seriously putting in a temp gauge asap. I hate not knowing how hot its getting.

 

Some scoops were known to melt, there is a campaign to fix them. I would just keep an eye on all your fluids. Hard driving does burn off some carbon but it's unlikely that's the smell. When did the a/c stop working?

 

After I took it into the shop. I think they just forgot to hook it back up. I thought I noticed a small amount of smoke today after running her hard but I couldn't confirm it. My friend who was passenger said it just smelled like hot metal as was probably ok.

There is a lot of pollen by my house and I often find my mini covered in a thin gloss of orange/yellow pollen. I noticed a decent amount of it under the hood today. Is there a chance I'm just burning pollen?

 

Have you invested in any heat shielding? If not, maybe you're smelling the hood scoop melting. If your fluids appear to be at normal levels, and there are no leaks, I'd start looking for plastic pieces melting/burning.

 

Could it be that the repair shop spilled a bunch of fluid/oil and now you are smelling it burning off?

Next time pull over, open the hood and see if you can tell where it is coming from.

 

Check your front brakes for possible binding or rubbing.

How's your fuel mileage lately?

 

I get good gas millage about 22 a tank, and thats with me going a hundred **cough cough** mph often. My girlfriend drives it during the day and has a light foot. More or less the car gets babied all week and then let loose on the weekends and nights so its not like its constantly being pushed.

I never heat treated it, where about should I be looking for melting? Is it any rubber pieces in particular or is it the entire scoop?