Good morning Gang,
I took my wife's '07 S in on Monday morning as she complained about the yellow check engine light being on for a week. Of course the light wasn't on when I drove it up to the dealer, but they assured me the computer would still be able to spit out a code. Well, they called me later in the day to say they would like to keep the car as the code popped up for an 'intake malfunction' and that Mini told him to replace it. He said they should have the part the next day. Well, it's now Friday, and we're still waiting. When I questioned the delay, he said that apparently there was a design flaw with this manifold in that it held water, and would then freeze? He says they have redesigned the part and since it's not a common problem the part is hard to come by.

Anyway, any advice on what questions I should be asking, and is there anything I should watch or listen for when we get it back? The car has less than 13K miles, and my wife did say she thought it sounded rough running before this happened. Thanks for the guidance.
- Rob

 

You're not alone. That problem is also mentioned in this thread http://www.motoringfile.com/2009/01/...our-experience.

Seems to be a common problem in extremely cold conditions.

 

Hi Rob,
Your dealer is correct. Water condenses in the throttle valve then freezes when its -20 °C or so. It happened to me 3 times last winter before a fix was finally found. Mine was replaced after a cold snap last winter (along with 8 other MINIs at my dealer the same week). There has been no recurrence of the problem since then and no other noticeable effects from the part change.

 

andstillgoin: Thanks for the link, interesting to see how many others are having issues. Appreciate it!

grodenglaive: We had an unusual cold snap here in CT, so I'm not sure how often we'll experience this issue even with a replacement. What part of Ontario are you in, I'm originally from Windsor. Are you running snows or all seasons on yours? My wife is complaining about the factory run-flats in the snow.

Update from the dealer:
So, he finally admitted today that he has 4 other cars in the shop for the same issue. His problem is they don't have a replacement made for these yet (?) and so the manufacturer is making him do 10 - 15 hours worth of tests and reporting back in between each one. He basically told me I'd be in the loaner for a bit. I told him we're not complainers but just expect the issue to be fixed correctly and to take his time. They are great communicators, at least they initiate the updates!