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1st GearNew members: make an initial post and introduce yourself as you shift from Neutral to First Gear. Current members: meet some of the new members.
Just replaced my 2001 PT Cruiser with a 2011 Clubman S. I play drums in a jazz group a couple times a month, so the extra space is definitely necessary.
I'm in Seward, Nebr., and I understand that the car was originally sold at MINI of Omaha, so it's not far from home.
I'm thrilled to join the Cooper Club and very pleased to find a community like NAM to help me get my feet wet. Nice to meet you all.
Thanks for the welcome, everyone! I'm beginning to feel at home in the car. Now I need to start learning what is different about caring for it. I've never had a turbo or synth-oil motor before. Any common traits I should know about? Things to watch regularly?
Just keep your eye on the oil level. I typically check every time I stop and get gas. Some do more often. It's also good to change the oil regularly, about every 5,000 miles. Just remember to enjoy it and fix things when they arise.
My friend who recently bought a 2010 Clubman S had noticed his engine temperature light on and when he went to check under the hood is radiator fluid was empty. He refilled it and then while returning to his car he noticed it had leaked all over the ground. Come to find out it was the thermostat. The thermostat is made out of a plastic material and had been the source of the leak. After bringing it to get fixed the mechanic had said he replaces these very often in Minis. To add to what PelicanPats.com had said, also check your coolant. The thermostat itself is around $100 but it is much more to have it replaced by a proper mechanic. Better to be safe then sorry.
Definitely keep an eye on the oil level and learn to read the dipstick. It can be tricky because the lower bulb tends to drag oil up the dipstick tube making readings a little unclear when the dipstick is reinserted. There are ways to mitigate this.
I agree with the comments about the coolant level being a warning sign of the thermostat housing developing a leak.
Don't shut the car off hot right after driving hard. I always drive at a normal pace for at least a couple blocks before shutting it off. You don't want tons of heat in the turbo cooking the oil. Some people add a heat shield over the turbo (the NM titanium one is good) or a heat shield that sticks onto the inside of the hood in order to prevent the hood scoop from warping from turbo heat.
Make sure your turbo oil supply line has a heat shield on it. It's a metal clip-on shield with about 3"x4" foil and cloth section that wraps around the line. This helps protect the line from heat. The OE line has a rubber oring in it that can crack and leak.
Change the engine oil and filter every 5-6,000 miles with full synthetic that meets the MINI requirements. You can manually reset the computer's oil change warning using the buttons near the odometer and the turn signal stalk.
I find the brake pad wear sensors to be annoying because they warn you to replace the pads quite early when there's still life left in the pad, so every time I start my car I have to clear the warning off the GPS screen if the sensor has been tripped. Its easy enough to just look at the pad life through the wheels, so you can either join the two wires together or install a new sensor and then zip tie it out of the way. Do it next time you change pads. EBC Redstuff pads seem to be the most popular aftermarket pad with less dust than the OE pads. Flush the brake fluid every 2 years.
A lot of people go with non runflat tires. I like Continental DW for a dry/wet summer tire and Continental DWS 06 for a dry/wet/snow tire. They're an ultra high performance all season tire with much better snow performance than typical all season tires but not a real snow tire. If you're going to run all season tires, this is a great choice. There are lots of great tire choices out there.
If you ever replace the shocks Koni FSD are the way to go.
You probably noticed there is a lot of space under the rear floor. There is also a second glove box above the first one, at least in my car. Push on it to open it. I bought a glove box organizer for the primary glove box and it is handy.
What kind of driver are you? Did you buy the car for commuting and gas mileage? Do you enjoy canyon carving? Will you be looking for more power or better handling? Leaving it stock?
Last edited by neonsteve; May 16, 2016 at 01:50 PM.
It looks like you might be missing the screw-on portion of the car's antenna. People remove it for looks or put a shorter one on. I think it's for AM reception but not sure.
Something of interest is that there's only one backup light, lower bulb in the right housing. The lower bulb in the left housing is for a rear fog light if so equipped, like mine. It runs at the same brightness as a brake light.
Wow, that's a lot of stuff to look into. I hope I didn't pick a car that is over my head in general maintenance details. I'm a low-maintenance, "leave it stock" guy, although I've never really had an enthusiast car before. This car is my daily driver, but I love the feel of driving it.
There is some kind of flat metal plate mounted over the front center part of the engine. It wasn't there on the 2012 Clubman S that I test drove before buying this one. Could that be a heat shield for the hood scoop?
NeonSteve - yes the antenna is missing. I might get one of the short replacement ones someday, but I don't use AM radio much at all. I did notice the difference in tail lights, but since it is original it didn't bother me.
Yep, it has the NM shield. Thanks for confirming that.
You're going to want to look under the shield to see if your turbo oil supply line has the clip-on heat shield. If you remove any of your NM heat shield screws, I suggest threadlocker for the screws as I lost one after it backed out by itself. Thankfully NM sent replacements.
PS, there are a couple aftermarket turbo oil supply lines that don't have rubber orings inside, but it's still recommended to run a heat shield around them.
If we/I are throwing too much info your way just let us know. I tend to do that.
Regarding my comment about not shutting off the engine hot, there is an auxiliary water pump that circulates coolant for a little while after shutting off the engine. I believe it circulates coolant directly to the turbo, so that does alleviate some of the concern. The radiator fan can also stay on for a little while after shutting down. You can see it here
There was a recall on the auxiliary water pumps a couple years ago for a fire hazard and they were replaced. Not sure if the 2011 was included.
