OK!!! sSoO after the 4th time of taking my mini to the dealer, and taking photos, and a little research on my part we found out what the problem was. I found that not on the 04's or 06's but only on the 05's they have had problems with the thermostat housing. The only tricky thing on my MINI is that i wasn't pooling up in the same spot every time! Sooo if you are having any kind of clear/pale blue fluid leak you might want to have that checked out! Thank you to every one that helped me with it, because i started to think i was crazy for a second!

 

Dreading ahving to do the work on this when things warm up, tracked down the other common leaks no sucess. So its about all thts left

 

This doesn't preclude the possibility that you are crazy.

 

I know I'm crazy.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but is the BMW-recommended fluid special in anyway other than the pale-blue color? (Phosphate-free, Alum. safe...)

Also, my car's build date is Aug. '05, but as a MY'06... so do you know when the changeover was?

TIA!

 

umm i'm not sure, but i did call and ask them about it, he said he should be calling me tomorrow, i aslo called to see if they replaced the same part or if it was an updated/different part number...ill let you know if i hear something!

 

Thanks for the updates.....Les

 

I hope your car is fixed, tommy. I'll check mine out. Thanks for sharing

Kevin

 

I was getting a very light radiator leak in the front right on my 2005 MCS. The dealersihp identified it was the thermostat leaking and replaced it, I'll have to check to be sure its not still leaking.

 

I too was having the problem on my 05. One of the dealers here replaced the Thermostat housing, and afte driving the car home and parking it in the garage, when I went to leave the next morning, still had the same leak. Called the other dealer (my usual place for service), and they said that not only should have housing have been replaced, but the thermostat as well. Took it over to them, dropped the car off, and 2 hours later they called and said I was ready to go. The thermostat itself was still leaking, so it was replaced and everything has been good since then.

 

I know this is a few months late,but here is our story:At MINIs in the Mountains,Way Motorworks noticed a slight coolant leak while installing a pulley on my wifes '05 Cabrio.The level has gone down about 4 oz. in 4K miles.She took her car in because of that,and the "mysterious"oil leak on the ground a few days ago.Our SA said"it's probably the thermostat housing leaking and your passenger side motor mount.We see that as common problem with the '05 S models." Yes,that fixed it,but what does it take for a recall?!Should we all take our '05 S models to the dealer and have those changed before the warranty is up?