Hello, let me start by saying that I know little-to-nothing about cars. 2 weeks ago, I took my 2009 Mini Cooper into their dealership for service. I paid $800 where, among other things, they changed the engine's temperature sensor. Yesterday, the car died. Turns out, the engine wasn't receiving coolant and now I'm told I need to replace the engine (around $8,000).

Would any of you fine people be able to tell me if the replacement of the temperature sensor could have potentially caused the malfunction. I suspect that it is the dealership's fault, but I don't possess the requisite knowledge to say for sure. So, in short, would you say that it could be related, or are the two entirely unrelated?

Thanks in advance for your time!

 

Ok what all did the dealer do when you paid 800? What did they tell when about the motor after it died? That I Just want getting coolant? Did any engine lights come on right before it died? What did it do right before it died? Make any noise, act funny?

 

Sounds like they replaced the thermostat. If that is the case and the thermostat failed to open when the engine heated up, could have damaged engine. Did the car overheat? Did you notice the temp guage?

 

I'd say second opinion at a non-dealer Mini shop is in immediate order. An expert should be able to quickly determine what happened so you'll know how to proceed. My instinct says that there was some negligence during the first repair that has lead to this point, but it's hard to nail down from xxxxx miles away!

 

Scooter24: I took it in when its check engine light turned on. The dealer noticed that the coolant was low, ran a diagnostic test, and it came back with a coolant problem. My guess is they assumed that it was a faulty temp sensor and replaced that instead, with there perhaps being a leak in the coolant tank.

PercyClub: Yes, that was my understanding. The car definitely overheated, but I received a temp warning less than 2 minutes before it broke down. I was en route to a repair shop.

ST3ALTHPSYCH0: I agree, but every repair shop I have ever taken it to has indicated that they do not know how to repair a BMW/MINI engine. How would you proceed in procuring an expert? I suppose I could start calling around in hopes that I can find someone who could help.

 

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NOSLO, I'd say it works like this:

"Hey NAM, please help me find a non-dealer MINI mechanic within 100 of <insert location here>."

I mean I don't mean to be a smart aleck, but it's that easy.... unless there's simply no mechanics in your extended area.


EDIT:

Just learned of this resource: http://www.minirepairshops.com/

 

Going to move this to the Gen2 Stock Problems/Issues.

We usually suggest that a new member search the forum relative to a problem they have. Sometimes there are hundreds of threads and sometimes none. The only question that is stupid relative to your car here is one that you do not ask.

 

St3ALTHPSYCH0: Thanks for the resource, I was able to take it into a mechanic for a second opinion.

Turns out, MINI did not replace the thermostat, they only replaced the sensor that is inserted into the top of the thermostat. He thinks that Mini missed a problem with the thermostat and that they should have replaced it (along with the temp sensor) when they noticed a coolant engine fault.

Would anybody be able to point me to some resources indicating that it is common practice to replace the entire thermostat when replacing the temperature sensor (manuals, blogs, anything that could help). I tried to work things out with MINI, but they are adamant it wasn't their fault. I'm likely going to have to take it to court.

 

It's common sense to cover all your bases. And if they failed to look at all possible issues and took the easy way put just to say it is fixed is an issue and they should cover the cost of damages.