hi... i knwo this is kind of paraniod...
but i just got the mini for a month and a half...
suddenly.. today.. out of nowhere.. my engine light is on! does anyone know why.....i will go to the dealer on monday to see what happen.. hopefully nothing major! does anyone has any idea why?
anything would be great

i am so so so scared :.....(

Is it safe to drive .. when the light is still on? or i should just keep it in the garage?

 

Usually it should be safe to drive (just don't go joyriding with it until after you take it in).

BTW, first thing to check would be whether you closed the gas cap properly. You are supposed to tighten it until it clicks.

 

well i put the gas in last sunday....

paraniod fotoboi :(

 

If it is the gas cap, it may take a while before it resets. Or the dealer can do it. Or it might be the O2 sensor or stuff like that.

It's a warranty thing, but not a tow type of thing unless it's the oil or water light. It IS just the service engine light, right? In orange?

 

Software flash for the emissions system is my bet.

 

I have the same problem with my engine light. The car seems to be running fine, but the light goes on for a few hours then goes off again for a few hours. I will be calling Mini today (obviously it started 7 pm on a Friday night). Did you ever find out what the problem was with yours?

 

stop by a pepboys or schucks or such & have them do a quick (and free) fault check. The most common reason for a check engine light's people failing to secure their gas caps after a fillup, which sets a p0455 serious evap leak fault. You should be checking in Stock Problems/Issues

 

That is a good idea, I'll take it to Pepboys. I tried the gas cap option already but it didn't work. I will write back when I figure this out. Thanks

 

Happens on my mini all the time. It will go on for a few days, go off, etc. It's not the gas cap as I've even filled up with it on and the light will not go off. Then one day I'll turn it on and there's nothing wrong. Most of the time CEL are related to emissions in my experience, so I just expect a sensor's jacked and will eventually fail on my car. Oh well...

 

evap system faults (like a loose gas cap), just like most other engine faults, will clear after a number of drive cycles without the problem returning. They will not self-clear immediately after you fix the problem (like tightening your gas cap). If the light comes on, get it checked, it's rarely a defective sensor and if it is a sensor, it's having a negative effect on your engine performance and possibly costing you extra fuel or performance.

 

I brought it into the dealer today and it was an air fuel hose that was cracked. They said that there was no way I could have done it while driving so it must have been a factory defect. They wouldn't even let me take the car home until it is repaired. They ordered the part from New Jersey and gave me a rental car. At least it will be repaired by Wednesday. Unfortunately I was going to take it on vacation through the Sierra's this week. I guess that will have to wait until next time.

 

my engine light came on the say I picked up my vehicle 7/19/08. Took it back and they reset it. Next day light came on again and took it back to dealer and they still have it and haven't a clue as to why this is happening!
I got to drive my new Clubman for a few hours and that was on my way to dealer for service. HELP

 

My CEL went on about 3 weeks ago. The car still ran normally. I brought the car to the dealer for them to read the code. A few days before going to the dealer the CEL the light went out. The code must store in memory as the fault was 276A (cat converter). They are replacing the cat this Friday. My car is a May 07 build, Cooper.

From what I have heard from friends CEL going on is common problem with many cars now.

 

The CEL can come on for many reasons, if it comes on & you don't have a scan tool of your own, stop by a shucks/pepboys/.. or some other auto parts store, most will check it for free.

The most common fault's a P0455 (or similar) large evap leak fault caused by not tightening your gas cap after filling up, but it could also be something serious.

 

Have the dealer do a smoke test on the exhaust system. They found a crack in mine that was a defect from the manufacturer. It caused my engine light to go on. 2 days later the cracked part was replaced and I haven't had any more problems.