I'm not sure if I remember whether or not it's supposed to get hot, it's the plastic panel cover right next to the accelerator pedal. There's two steel pipes that connect to what resembles a radiator core of something of that nature. When I removed the panel unscrewing two torx screws I touched the two pipes and boy is it Hot! Sorry I don't have a picture thanks to MobilGo requiring a subscription to use, nothings free!

Are these pipes supposed to get Hot?

 

I've never noticed my panel getting hot. I think what you are describing is the radiator for the cabin heater and associated piping. I'd imagine that they would get hot but how hot... IDK.

 

SI M 64 02 08
Heating and Air Conditioning

May 2010
Technical Service

This Service Information bulletin supersedes SI B M64 02 09 dated June 2008.
[NEW] designates changes to this revision
SUBJECT
Driver Footwell Area Becomes Hot

MODEL
R56 (Cooper, Cooper S)

SITUATION
The customer states that the driver footwell area becomes too hot once the vehicle warms up. Adjusting the climate control system has no effect.

CAUSE
The heater core pipes are poorly insulated.

PROCEDURE
[NEW] Follow the procedure outlined in the attachment to this Service Information bulletin.




PARTS INFORMATION



WARRANTY INFORMATION
ATTACHMENTS



Attachment - M640208 Procedure.
© 2014 ALLDATA LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions

 

That's it, if you touch it for more than a few seconds you will be burned, like being burned by touching a stove.

So my understanding is it's supposed to get hot as in you'll be harmed if you touch it for more than a few seconds, is that right? Is this a defect?

 

The tube is carrying 200*F+ coolant from the engine block to the heater core. It is gonna get hot (my guess is around 200*F).

 

back in the day the thermostat controlled a valve on the coolant line under the hood and would not flow into the cabin unless heat was called for. Kinda stupid to run that hot coolant inside if not used.

 

I just contacted Mini USA and the person I spoke with had no clue what I was referring to even after I gave him the service bulletin SI M 64 02 08, I read the sheet provided by peckerhead and still the gentleman didn't have a clue. He told me that the issue I'm having has the highest priority, it will be escalated to someone higher up and will receive a call back in a few days, lets hope Mini USA covers it without me having to pay a diagnostic fee!

Mini even keeps its customer service people in the dark when it comes to defects probably for damage control, I guess this is how Mini USA keeps things of a serious nature quiet. He questioned me extensively about how burned my finger is, lets just say my touchscreen on my Galaxy S5 doesn't work with my index finger anymore. Skin is dry and (white) dead just like when you burn yourself with the stove!

What I don't understand is that if it's because of a lack of proper insulation why now is it just getting hot, it should have been scorching Hot from the beginning. It never got that hot before, why now all of a sudden? Installing the insulation is a cheap fix for something that NEVER got hot before, there must be a defective part somewhere that used to close the heat from entering the heat core. Does the thermostat housing have anything to do with the heater core?

Now that I think about it I believe it started getting hot two days ago when I was running my AC at maximum for sometime, I'm sure of it! It seems from my research that this problem is not new to BMW, a BMW only forum has countless accounts of this issue with BMW cars. These Mini's are proving to be the most unreliable POS! Is there anything that doesn't go wrong with these cars? The entire car is a defect!

Thanks everyone!

200*F seems about right, not as hot as an oven just slightly less. The last two days my Mini has been running at 222.3*F on the freeway and 226*F at the traffic lights. My EGT's have never exceeded 1300*F even when driven hard.

 

This thread needs some serious attention, peckerheads included service bulletin information shows something different every time I revisit this thread. It's on transmissions now, before it was on cylinder head removal. Go ahead and see for yourself by refreshing the page and you'll see something different each and every time!

I need the information that was there the first time.

 

It is still the same for me on my phone. Currently I can't get any threads to display on my computer.

 

What are you smoking? It's still displaying the info about the heater core insulation.

 

Does Not look that way to me, have a look. Everytime I refresh the page it's something else, now we are on car stereo!

 

I can confirm. Every refresh is something new. Not the TSB images that go with that number.

 

Ha ha, that's funny. On the phone app it's the original and doesn't change. On the computer it does.

 

That's hilarious. I'm seeing the same thing. All I did was cut/paste from Alldata LOL.

 

Can you put it up one more time please? Also can someone do me a favor, I need someone with a Bentley Manual to verify if there is some type of control valve that might be stuck open to the Heating and Cooling system. If there isn't then it's been this way before and I just never noticed it until it got hot weather. I will never use my heater ever, not in SoCal!

 

I wonder if one could place inline shutoff valves on the 2 heater hoses? That would stop the flow of hot coolant into the heater core, but not sure if the MINI relies on this flow for something else.

 

Delete

 

I thought I would update this thread about the footwell area on the right side of the gas pedal. I had the thermostat housing replaced (updated dealer parts) and that panel next to the go pedal still gets hot, this is just the way it was designed.

I haven't experienced enough hot weather to notice it in 2013, with the warm humid temperatures we have been having I believe I just didn't notice it until now. What I'm going to do is either wrap the heater core pipes in exhaust wrap or use the proper size insulation foam part# 64 11 3 453 594, tomorrow I will give this part # to my local Mini dealer and see if the part # gets a hit.

Now I have a thermostat housing with only 3500 miles on it that operates perfectly, what's the going rate for a used thermostat housing?

Thank you for participating in this thread everyone.

 

Hey guys, I recognize this thread is old but its still relevant.

If Im understanding this correctly the heater core is supposed to be hot all the time in our cars? There is no valve? Just a change in air circulation (blower door)?

 

It can get hot down there as its very close to the heater core and the lines.

Wonder what 64 11 3 453 594 looked like?

 

Correct, there is no circulation valve. I've seen people who've used home pipe insulation on the lines to keep the heat contained, but it only cuts down minimally.