Hi,

I'm a new MINI owner in Brooklyn--just bought a 2002 Cooper. When I bought it, the CEL was on, though the previous owner was very specific about what it was and how much it would be to clear it and we negotiated a consequent price decrease. Of course, that all turned out to be completely false (his description had nothing to do with the code that is being given). Stupid, I know.

It's throwing a P2096 code. I don't see any signs of running lean. I took it to MINI of Manhattan who cleared the code and said everything was fine. I showed up to pick up the car and the CEL was on again. After researching here I found that unless you clear the adaptations the code will just come back on the second time you start the car, which apparently they didn't know. Before I take it back to the dealer and pay them more and hope that they figure out the proper sequence, I wanted to see whether anyone on the board in NYC area either (a) has the Technica or other tool and would be willing to do the sequence with me or (b) knows a place that understands these codes so I can get it addressed somewhere other than the dealer.

Many thanks for any thoughts!

 

The issue causing the code needs to be fixed....not just cleared.
A two hour drive down to philly will get you to helix, a independant mini centric shop woth a good reputation. Unfortunately, a 10+ year old car might have numerous issues...and figuring out WHICH item is causing the code without fixing them all could be a pain.
A few mini's have had this code, with no apparent issue or performance issues...kinda known ss "one of thoses cars..."...knew a mechanic that got one (an independant mini shop owner...could not fix it...went to the dealer...they had no clue...eventually he said it went away after some other seemingly unrelated items were fixed/worked on.
Good luck....and it looks like you got screwed....you never buy a car with an issue, and if you do, you need to discount it by two or even 3 times the cost of the expected fix...cause if it was really a simple fix, they would have done it before they sold it, had a clean car, and made more $$.
good luck, driving/owning a mini can be a great and a rewarding experance, but mini ownership can have pitfalls since it is such a unique car, and the first year of production, the 2002's even more so.