Hello, this is my first post and I am interested in learning more about the Mini community. I am active on Nasioc and own a 2006 Subaru WRX. The car in question is a 2008 Mini Cooper. It is my mother in-law's car. The problem is that the heat is no longer hot all of the time. It gets hot when the engine is under load but cools down dramatically when coasting. My first thought is that the thermostat is bad. I don't know if there is a engine temp I can access somewhere to confirm that it is a bad thermostat. Is there anything I can do to verify it is the tstat? I would be looking at doing the work myself assuming it isn't too difficult. Any input is appreciated.

 

To eliminate the thermostat you would need a engine temp gauge or a advance scanner you can hook up to the OBD II port and monitor the temps. It could be a thermostat but the car would warm up VERY slowly if it were say stuck open. If it was stuck shut then it would over heat.

Does the car have auto climate control?

 

It does not have auto climate control. It seems to warm up in a relatively normal amount of time. But the heat is colder than room temperature while idling. It will get to what i would consider 'full hot' within about 10 seconds when the engine is under load. The heat also heats up when decelerating and downshifting to keep the revs up.

 

I can't help with you problem but I can say "WELCOME TO NAM!"

 

When my thermo went bad the car overheated. Your issue seems very odd. Hopefully someone can help out. Welcome aboard.

PS. I'd try nabbing a scanner like mentioned above, it'll be the only way to get actual temps.

 

Is the radiator full?

 

Sounds to me that the coolant level is low , therefore it takes high revs from the engine to circulate the coolant through the heater box.

 

I had the same problem, turns out I had a coolant leak, no cooalant = no heat. I also had a thermostat issue that got replaced as well so I would have it checked out.

 

I had the same issue. Mine was thermostat. Was -20 Celsius when it wouldn't heat. Brrr.

I thought there was a recall on some thermostats. Check it out.
Welcome to NAM.


Stephen

 

Thanks for the replies, and thank you for the welcome. I have not checked the coolant level so I will do that first and report back.

 

Same thing happened to me. -10 degrees and no heat in the morning makes for a rough drive to work. I have one ordered to be replaced next week.

 

The coolant was low. It was just covering the bottom of the reservoir so I topped it off and now it has piping hot heat! Thanks for the input, 1st thread is a success.

 

Don't forget to look for the leak!