It has been miserably cold here in the NE. I started my 2011 non turbo clubman this AM and the check engine came on and the car was running really rough as if it was not running on all 4. I took it to my local mechanic less than 4 blocks away so it really did not have time to warm up. He scoped it and no codes showed up. He then shut the car off. Went to start up and exclamation mark showed on the dash. He said that indicates that it was overheating. He felt the hoses and they were still cold. The antifreeze res was a little low so he topped it off. The car started with no problem and no check engine light showed. It ran fine all day. I have been keeping an eye on the thermostat house after reading the horror stories. No oil leak from what I can see. The check engine light came on shortly after I bought the car - codes were detected then - all plugs and coil packs were replaced and all has been well with the world. Oil is changed regularly - every 4000 - car has 54000 any ideas?

 

I'm driving an R53 in Arizona and as soon as our temps went from 110 to 40 my CEL came on. Took it to a local parts store to be read and it showed it was a bad O2 sensor. A few days later it was still on so I ran it to a private shop run by a previous MINI dealership mechanic and he told me before I could tell him what happened that it was showing a bad O2 sensor but all it was in fact was the drastic temp change. He said when the temps even out the light will go off so no need to spend money. A week later temps started evening out and the light went out and has not come back on. A new read and it shows all is good.

 

This is a delayed response, I realize, but my 08 clubman check engine light came on recently too. I checked the manual. It said try the gas cap. Simply unscrew it, let the air release then screw it back on. It seems to easy, but it worked. I had just filled the tank, so the gas station might have done something to trigger it. No more check engine light after that.

 

This is an update to an earlier post re check engine light. I ended up having to take my car to the dealer. They ended up replacing the spark plugs and the coil packs. They also reset the software. The dealer thankfully replaced the spark plugs and coil packs under warranty since they had been replaced less than 7000 miles ago at approximately 47000. Same issue - check engine light - not running on all 4 -replace plugs and coil packs - then they only replace 3 plugs but I paid for the 4th.

They were unable to tell me why they this had to be performed again. I buy my gas at a station with a high volume so the gas doesn't sit there. I use the right grade of gas. I follow all of the maintenance schedules and oil changes are done at 5 to 6K intervals.

I hope this is not a pattern. i wish it were the gas cap. Anyone have any ideas?

 

I had this happen on a Mini s vert I just purchased. It was a used 2010 with 52k on the clock and being I am also in NE i assumed it was due to the intake ..reading all I could find about yellow check engine light. Here is what happened, I get in the car to move it because as you know we have had an insane amount of snow ..so shovelled the driveway then got in car to move it and experienced shutter and engine idleing high and low almost to the point of stalling out ..I give it the gas not alot ..just enough to stabilize it for a minute or so. I shut it down , wait..then start it back up and it is running fine? okay so that is my experience with it for a few days it runs fine then I get in the car and the check engine light is on in the speedo. The first time it was the half full engine in yellow on the rpm gauge the second on speedo. So Now I'm concerned even though the car drives fine. I took the car into the Dealer and they told me the valves were really gunked up so I told them to do the carbon blast which I ws going to have done in the spring anyway, they did that but also replaced the intake with the new cold climate version(also something I was going to buy and have put in by an indy here in town) ....it seems that anyone in a cold climate the intake collects a small ice buildup...k and the next thing they did was an injector cleaning and a software update...lastly they installed the turbo heat shield update. I paid for the carbon cleaning and the rest was done under warranty/recall....the car runs like brand new and with an incredible amount of power I had no Idea the vehicle had. It is a new car to me so I had no Idea what the car was supposed to feel like as I have never driven one. So long story short I did not get the exclamation but I did get the engine light with same rough idle and my suggestion is to have them check your intake for ice ups or traces of water...it is a specific issue that is recognized.

 

The n14 engine has an updated manifold for cold weather cars. If your lucky to catch, it's warranty. If your over mileage, it's about $400 plus install. If you get a cel when it starts cold, let it run 5 min then restart. It'll go away. It's frozen moisture in the manifold.

 

Thanks for all that have responded. I do attribute a lot of the problems to the brutally cold temperatures we have been experiencing - weeks of below 0 temps. I am going to schedule the car for a carbon cleaning and also inquire re the revised manifold for cold areas which unfortunately at this mileage will be on my dime but since this is my sole form of transport and the dealer is almost 2 hrs away it is worth it to get it done. Again thanks all

 

If you have 60k miles or more, you'll need a carbon cleaning. Also, if your check engine light came on, then a code was stored in memory--it may be that your local mechanic's tool couldn't see the code. For a reference we charge $349 for the carbon cleaning--about half of what the dealerships charge.

Edit: I just saw in another thread that you have a non-turbo, so forget about the carbon cleaning--you won't need it.