My MINI recently started lighting up 'service engine soon'. When I consulted the car manual, it made it sound like my car's engine is in serious trouble and should be taken in immediately. Is that true? Do I have to take it back to the dealership? Please help a confused MINI owner- my MINI is too young to die!!!

 

Stop by an Autozone and have them read a code for you (take about 5 min.); as long as its not flashing you're in the clear for a little while. We can help you find the source of the problem if you can't get into the dealer.

 

You'll know when your in SERIOUS TROUBLE.

You car will feel like you ran into a brick wall... and you won't be able to exceed 2000RPM.

It's noted as "Limp Mode" (i.e. lets you limp to your nearest dealer)

Thank god I have yet to experience this... ((knock on plastic keys of my keyboard))

 

My engine light has been coming on lately also. I took it to the dealership the first day it lit up, they reset it and told me it was the Oxygen sensor...and said bring it back if it acts up again. (no power loss or anything so its no big deal for now). But recently its been acting up again, so luckly they will replace the sensor under warranty

 

You really will need to go to a dealer at some point in the not too distant future. Especially if you don't want to pay for the repair. And, if you delay visiting the dealer and your delay causes more problems, then you could be acused of abusing the car and all bets are off at that point.

 

Thanks guys.
I'm taking it in today!

 

Don't totally freak, but at a minimum get an OnBoardDiagnostic II reader (odb2) and read the code.

If your gas cap is loose, you will trigger this light to go off... see if it is loose, if so, tighten and then after starting the car and driving (think it is six times) the light should go out by itself. Sometimes other codes can go out by themselves also.

You could trust the dealership, but I am learning from others that that is a risky proposition.

Search here on NAM for obdII code p0136
- if this particular code is being generated, MINI even has a fix to stop triggering the Service Engine Soon light from this code because it CAN (not always) trigger the SES light when it should not.

Do your homework, check your sources, get second opinions, and make your best shot, or .... just hand over the keys to the 'experts' at your dealership and see what happens...

Good Luck!

 

However, if the dealer screws up, you have a recourse to escalate to MINI/BMW regional for getting things put right (on their nickel). If you take the car to an independent mechanic and they mis-diagnose (or worse), you run the risk of MINI/BMW giving you the middle-fingered salute. If the middle-fingered salute happens, you have to pay the cost of getting the car back to a baseline (and it will have to be the dealer that does the repairs....) before MINI/BMW will consider covering any repairs under the warranty (they could choose to void your warranty for non-dealer repairs).

 

Yeah but pulling the code can make a world of differance too, I had an SES light pop on, pulled the code called the dealer got an appointment, the light went away kept the appointment, the light came back I pulled the code again; told the tech when I dropped the car off that I had an intermittent O2 sensor circuit issue and a code for the precat sensor, all he had to do was verify my sensor was faulty and replace it the dealer only need to have the car in the bay for 1/2 hour which helped them service more cars, they knew I was aware of what exactly was going on and in turn didn't need to get overly detailed with their explinaton, all they had to say was we checked it was a faulty part you have a new one, enjoy the ride;which to me is a good thing cause I don't need an explination of what an air filter is and they know that(the treatment I got at Jiffy Lube with my last vehicle, a week after changing it).

 

Knock on carbon fiber!

 

Well, I took my car into the dealership today and it turns out they wont be able to see my car until the 26th.
I dont want to take it to some random auto place because i refuse to pay money for this when everything is under warranty at the dealership. Anyway, seems I have a week to do some more research on this

 

Wow seems like a long wait. All I said to the service manager was that if he could quickly scan my car to see what the engine light issue was. So he jumped in and pulled it into the shop...took no more than 2 minutes.
I'd go back and say that your worried about your car and if he could just pop the hood and do a quick scan. Its not like they have to reserve a slot. I always go first thing in the morning when they open.

 

they scan from the hood? i scan from under the parcel shelf...

i say just take it to Autozone, or just buy a cheap scanner. $70. and it can
erase the DTC.

 

I bought my MINI in January 05. In the summer of 05 the check engine light started to come on once in a while. I called the dealer they said if I did not notice anything wrong, then it was probably nothing.

Then in November or so I had my first (10,000 mile) scheduled service. They found nothing wrong and reset the check engine light.

Now it is summer again and the light is coming on occaisionally again.

I have to wonder if it is related to the air conditioning.

 

They may very well scan from the parcel shelf. By the time I gave him the key, walked around the show room once, the service manager was back at his desk and said he was finished! lol
My previous Honda Accord was scanned from the underneth the hood.

 

On the MCSa (3/2005 build), the OBD-II scan port is on the left hand side, right under the parcel shelf (kind of mirror image to the bonnet/hood release on the R.H.S.). Presumably, the location is the same for the rest of the MINIs, but I am only speaking from my personal experience.

 

Got our new Mini in May...not long after the Service Engine Soon light came on. Our MA just had us bring it in and they scanned the code...no appt necessary. Came up at gas cap fault...reset it. Came on again after we filled the tank up again. We drove it around for several weeks before taking it in since the light wasn't flashing and no performance issues. They checked it and found the Charcol Canister had a crack in it. They replaced it and all has been good since. As with most cars, the check engine light is almost always associated with emissions control and not a serious engine problem.

 

It sounds like you might be generalizing based on your personal experience. My only experience (I consider myself fortunate that I have had only one experience with a CEL) with a CEL was on my 2003 Corvette coupe - it was for a transmisison shift function (3/4 shift) in the automatic transmission.

 

Depends on how bad the dealer thinks things are, they can get info from the OBD or they can tap intot he ECU, if I understand it correctly, but I know they have the equippment to easily do both (I've seen them wire it up at Knauz, but not sure just what for); I'll let the BMW techs clarify if I'm wrong, but SES lights are generally dealt with from the driverside under the dash.