A little background, the timing chain was replaced in october 2011, under factory warranty.

2 weeks ago I had problems with it overheating on me under normal driving conditions, coolant was waaaay low, so I had it towed to a local shop and under an extended warranty plan we purchased when we got the car, the thermostat was replaced, completely covered (NOT under factory warranty, and it is not the MINI extended warranty. It was through an acura dealer)

Driving down the highway going about 75mph yesterday the car showed a low battery warning and started beeping (gong-ing?) at me. I checked my scangauge and it read 11 volts, and was slowly dropping...10.9...10.8...so on. Then it threw a high coolant temp warning so I pushed a few buttons on the scangauge and it read 263* F water temp. Oh snap! Put the clutch in and coasted to the side of the road, WT dropped to 218* (normally runs 220*). I limped it down the road a little ways to a vista point parking lot so I wasn't on the side of the highway and I rolled down the window and it was making a pretty nasty clicking/grinding/ticking noise (hard to explain it) so I shut it down and coasted into the parking lot.

Called AAA and had it towed to the nearest dealer where it's sitting awaiting a diagnosis. It *should* be covered under the extended warranty, but i'm curious if anyone has come across something like this. I'm completely stumped by the voltage reading. I did have to start it briefly after I got in the parking lot to back it up into a position the tow truck could hook up to it and it cranked without a problem. It sounded like **** once running, but it turned over no problem.

There was also coolant sprayed all around under the hood near the tank, but I have no idea if that was related to the cause, or a result of it overheating.

Thoughts?! Obviously I'll have to wait for the dealer to call for a full diagnosis but I'm curious if anyone has heard of something like this. I'd try searching but I have no clue what keywords to even start with?!

 

snapped belt?

 

Forgot to mention, the shop that replaced the thermostat also said the belt was showing wear, so I told them to go ahead and replace it. That I paid for out of pocket, and I had them do it then because I was just about to go on a trip and I wouldn't have the time to do it myself before I left. I wanted to be sure I wouldnt have problems.

That sounds like a possibility though, I'll be PISSED if thats what it is considering I was on my way back on my trip that I had it replaced for so I wouldn't have problems.

 

Have you check the alternator for output voltage?
With the voltage trickling away while running, its usually a tall-tale sign the alternator (or voltage regulator) is dying.

Honestly, you'll have to wait from the dealer.
The coolant could be related to a water pump, thermostat or some other failure.

- Erik

 

Very much interested in outcome of this as well.

 

Something I have noticed is these batteries seem to need some help at times when hotter outside due to the aux water pump and fans using power every time the cars are shutdown and that amp draw just isn't good for maintaining a healthy battery charge, I have put mine on a charger and it seems to always below the 75-80% of charge and requires hours to get to full, just my observation, probably normal, yet puts the alternator into high output hence the worn belts being frequent.

 

MINI of Marin called me yesterday, the belt shredded itself. Two weeks old. I'm LIVID.

The shop that replaced my thermostat two weeks ago said it would be a good idea to replace the belt as it was becoming worn out. Since I was about to go on a week long vacation in the car of upwards 1000 miles, I decided I'd go ahead and do it. Normally it's something I'd do on my own but since they had it all pulled apart and I was 2 days away from leaving I spent the extra $150 to cover my *** on it just in case.

RETURNING from said trip I break down (in vallejo, ca for those that know the area) because of this NEW belt. The new belt I had them put on to prevent EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.

The shop told me they'd fix it for free but I have to pay to have the car towed from the dealer to them. Honestly I think they should foot the bill for the tow back up to them. I already had to pay for them to do the original work, then paid to have the car towed to the nearest dealer (MINI of Marin), and I have to pay the labor fee the dealer charged to diagnose the problem.

What do you guys think? Should they cover my second tow? With both tows, the original work, and the dealer labor costs I'll be out almost $400. For a $33 belt.

On the plus side though, I'll finally be getting the aux water pump recall taken care of first thing tues morning.

 

Did the orig. place actually change the belt or did they just say they did?
If they did and the new belt just failed, they'd probably only replace the cost of the belt alone and not the labor. That sucks big time.
Do you know why the new belt failed? Was it something the orig. shop did to cause the fail?
Bad deal all around and you're probably going to be out the $$$$.

 

talk to a manager about it after the holiday, if they wont cover everything associated, you could possibly try and chargeback the credit card you paid for it on (if you didnt do cash)

 

Its certainly within the realm of possibilities that the mechanic didn't get the belt on properly. Of course it could then fail quickly. I once had a new Passat that required A/C warranty work and the VW dealer tech put the ribbed belt on wrong. When I got the car home I inspected their work and found the belt was off by one rib on one pulley. I drove it to a different dealer to get it corrected and never went back to that first shop again. Keep us posted on whether that belt had been changed by the first shop, etc.

 

Yeah i'm not entirely sure they replaced it. Supposedly it's a very reputable local BMW/MINI shop but that was my first encounter with them. I'm definitely going to bring up the question of whether they actually replaced it at all, and see if they will reimburse me for some of the towing costs. The only reason it's going back to them right now is because they did say they'd replace the belt again(?) for free this time, and I don't want to pay the $200+ the dealer quoted to do it.