My car when in for its 24000 service with the check engine light on. After doing the service and diagnostics, they can't seem to find what the problem is. The computer says its the oxygen sensor but they replaced it and the light still comes on. They upgraded the software to no avail. The service manager told me he has to contact MINI USA to see if they had any other cars with this problem. The car drives perfect so what could it be.

 

catalytic converter? O2 wiring from the sensor up? I assume they replaced all of them? The diagnostics should be able to determine which sensor or the cat by running tests. I was able to do it myself on my 99 VW with an OBDII software are great directions off the net. I am sure Mini's should be able to do the same.

 

Um, that ones easy, dealer dont know how to do his job.

Very hard to find good mechanics these days.

 

They did all the diagnostics on the car, and replaced the O2 sensor but the light still comes on. The diag says its the O2 sensor but they replaced it. So what could be the problem? Maybe gremlins.

 

and partially support the "service manager not knowing what they're doing" theory.

 

The dealer did NOT do the diagnostics on the car! They read the code. Any car owner with a scan tool could do that. There is no code that tells you to replace the oxygen sensor. There is a code that tells you that the computer is getting an abnormal reading from the oxygen sensor and then there is a diagnostic procedure that must be followed to determine what is causing the problem. Sometimes the problem is a defective oxygen sensor, but it could also be hundreds of other things. You need to find a mechanic that has the ability to follow the diagnostic procedure and determine what is causing the problem. Many mechanics try to by-pass the diagnostic procedure and just replace the part indicated by the code. Often they get lucky and the problem is fixed, but it is only luck. The problem is that it is hard to get paid, either by the factory or the customer, for the time it takes to do the diagnostic procedure. Flat rates are based on replacing parts. Just imagine your reaction when you get a bill from a mechanic for 2-hours of labor to replace an oxygen sensor. The average customer would have a fit! The mechanic would need to explain that it took 15-minutes to replace the sensor, the rest of the time was spent determining that it was the proper part to replace.

Modern computers and "codes" have not eliminated the need for good mechanics although many people would like you to believe that they have. It is not as easy as just getting the code and replacing the indicated part. The mechanic still has to do his job, which is diagnosing the problem.

 

with our 03 mc we had the issue with the air bag light, took it to the dealer and theyreplaced the harness as per the sevice buletin. What they didnt do was clear out the fault which caused th elight to come back on. When we took it to the dealer for the same problem ( different dealer ) they said the checked eveerything and all was ok, the problem was they didnt clear the fault. Since that visit no light has come back on.

Maybe they just need to clear the fault ? And the 02 sensor was actually bad.

I agree with the people who have said its hard to find a good mechanic these days, when I had a chevy van I actually used to tell them what was wrong and what I wanted replaced. That was the only way I would be able to pick the car up with the problem actually fixed.