I am about to take over a lease on a 2015 Cooper S-jcw, and then drive it all the way across the country. I'm a DIY guy, so I am looking for an easy way to put together a small tool kit for the basic fasteners. Besides a 1/4" drive metric socket set... do these cars use metric socket head capscrews? What sizes should I bring? Do these cars use torx fasteners? What sizes should I bring? What about access to spark plugs? Is it a 12mm thin wall deep? or?... I've searched and all that comes up are tools to jack up the car. I wanna be ready if I need to swap the battery or deal with a leak from a vacuum booster or the valve cover or replace bulbs or... etc. I am not gonna disassemble the car, just stuff to get it going/keep it going because you know how it goes, I'll be no where near a mini repair shop if a problem happens. Thanks.

 

How many miles are on the car now? I would MAYBE take it to a shop and have the oil changed before the trip. Other than that, should be more than capable to run cross country without issue. Maybe get a AAA membership if you are that paranoid... In all seriousness, you shouldn't have any issues.

 

About 20k, but I have zero idea how hard it has been driven. I am a "be ready" person. Of course it's gonna have fresh fluids everywhere before I go (even if it doesn't "need" em). And I am bringing a spare set of coolant hoses and a serpentine belt and will be perfectly happy if I get home and those items never moved the entire trip. And of course I also have AAA with the longest available towing package. But if something goes south and I am in the boonies out of cell range ... and I coulda fixed it with a little prep by putting tools I own in a bag? or it's a little something something I can patch up/improve/tighten at a gas station, why not be capable? So: if someone has tried this already and has a list of fittings, great. If not, maybe I'll TOFTT and make a list.

 

Do you want to have a way to plug a puncture and air up the tire. (Probably there's no spare).

 

guys: Thanks but I don't need the kind of advice you'd offer to someone who hasn't driven a car any distance if at all. Yes I have a puncture repair kit and a 12v compressor pump. Of course. I was asking about fastener sizes.

 

Green Slime Kit.
https://www.slime.com/us/products/au...fety-spair.php

 

Lol, seriously?
I had a 2000 Saab 9-5 that I bought for $3000 while I was in MA back in summer of 2010. After finishing my internship there, I drove it all the way to west coast in OR. I didn't even have a jumper cable in that car. The battery died once (I put the key in ON without engine running and was discussing with my wife where to go next for about 10 minutes) and I needed a jump start from a local. I had no problems with that car for about a year, then sold it at $3000. The nuts and bolts and everything metal seemed like it was melting corroded so I thought it was not worth the risk of keeping it any longer.

After this, I do carry a jump start cable in my other car 2014 Mazda CX-5, but not in my 2015 Mini. Tools? What are you trying to do on your way back? Do you think the radiator will blow and coolant leak everywhere? The only thing I carry is the stock spare tire replacement tool that's under the trunk area.

A lot of the screws on Mini are star shape screws by the way. They use standard metric, not US unit.

Edit:
I know for sure the star screw is T20 size for the door panels and some interior trim.
Lug nuts needs 17mm sockets.

 

Jumper cables: Yes of course (batts die - even on new cars).

Work I might wanna do? Change brake pads. replace hose(s). fix a wiring issue/lighting issue that is more than a fuse replacement. (Had a short in Range Rover at the dome light controller from a microscopic water leak - car had 15k miles on it.) Stuff like that...

 

I'm at 114K on my MINI. It's been all around the continental USA and southern Canada. I've yet to need a tool.

I can see being prepared, but...

 

A simple question of what kind of tools needed on the MINI turns into a lecture of why you don't need tools.

If I had been working on my car I'd fill you in but since I have coverage I don't really know the nuts and bolts of it.

For now I'd use the 800 MINI Roadside Assistance and relax.

 

yeah... and AGAIN that's great if you have cell service. We'll be in remote places a lot of the time. USFS roads, BLM roads. Not exactly rallying, but definitely blue highways/backwoods routes.

 

You left that tidbit of info out of your OP.

Why not take a look at the Realoem.com site and pull up all the fasteners used in the F series cars.

Something like this http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=11_6782

 

Mooch: That's good advice - shoulda thought of it myself. Thanks!!

 

Also - just for anyone who does their own work, I've always assembled a dedicated tool/first aid sort of kit for every vehicle I own. This started with my passion for old cars and motorcycles as daily drivers and long distance roadtrippers, but it pertains to finicky new cars as well. I don't bring 7mm or 11mm sockets on most motorcycles. I don't forget them on most cars, etc. Some use allen, some torx, and there are very few oddball sizes on fasteners because it saves them $ to do it that way. Then again, my last Ford was made in Canada and it seemed completely insanely random whether you were facing SAE or Metric fastener. And - I'm not pulling the crankshafts out or degreeing the cams, or installing camber kits or whatever... at the side of the road, so I don't need a lot of stuff. Just a fanny pack sized kit with the RIGHT stuff in it for small fixes (including a few of the right extra fuses/relays/breakers, etc).

 

Hi Conrad: I'm glad you have had such good luck. On our low mileage (52k at the moment) 2009 Clubman, after the factory warranty passed on duration not mileage, I've had to:
replace the thermostat housing
the water pump,
the vacuum booster,
the AC compressor,
the serp. belt,
two sets of brake pads and rotors and sensors front and rear,
a leaky valve cover gasket,
two batteries,
one alternator...and...
it's also leaking badly from the oil pan gasket but that's a really disgusting messy job I am hoping to avoid. I may even pony up the $400 it will cost a local shop to do ...

 

You can buy a tin box with a set of bulbs that may or may not be used in your car for an excessive amount of money from MINI.

 

Actually, it isn't luck. It's the difference between Gen 2 and Gen 3. When I was last at the dealership the Service Manager said their repair work was way off due to the low amount of Gen 3 warranty work.

I'm sure lots of owners have had problems, but that isn't the norm.

 

I didn't know current gen is considered "so few" problems. I had to drop my car at the dealer about 10 times during the last 2.5 years. Sure, it's fun to blast the gas pedal on the loaner car every time, and I get really good fuel economy with my own Mini if I'm gentle on the highway. At the end of my lease in November, if I decide to return the lease, then I'm going to get something more reliable but less fun. At the moment, I'd like to buy the lease (about $15000 residual at 61%) and drive it for couple more years.

For the OP, I think this thread will be a great help on what to expect from a near new Mini.

 

upstate NY. So far so VERY good! Even with this giant stupid carrier full of my kid's stuff... the Neuspeed kit is wonderful. lol: