I have went over couple of the thread regarding engine light and engine sputtering, but my situation is a little different. My MCSa is about 2 months old @ 2K today. The car has been running well with only occussional studder with cold start.
This morning when I start my car there was a lot of vibration (sputtering?) then the check engine light came on with warning message indicating emssion malfunction (on navi screen). I had fill my car with a new tank of gas last light so I figure may be my gas cap was not properly tighten. So I shut off the car and went to check my gas cap and it seemed fine. Restart the car and the vibration is gone but engine light reamained on, restart again with same result. So I called my Mini dealer and told that I can bring the mini in right away for checkup. That's why I am now at the dealer and posting this using their network
Any suggestions? Thanks

 

Mine came on this morning as well. I had plowed through some very deep water last due to being caught in a flood. I suspect moisture got to where to is not supposed to be.

I called and scheduled an appointment for Tuesday. I am not concerned about the light as the engine is running fine and I cannot discern any difference at all in smoothness or power.

My case will probably be a false trigger.

 

Well, mine cleared itself yesterday. I guess whatever got wet dried off enough to fix the issue.

 

Yes mine came on two days ago after a fast run and when I decelerated to a stop light. Reset itself on its own today. This is the second time that it happened in 950 miles. I am not worrying myself about it , probably just a part of the run in scenerio.

 

Seems to be related to moisture collecting on something that should not be getting wet. I talked to my service guy and he feels it is probably nothing, but is going to hold my appointment open for me just in case.

 

Update: It turns out that there was some misfiring and that's it. I was told that I probably got some air into the fuel line because I was letting the gas run a little too close to empty.
Note to self: the mini does not run on flumes

 

Well, it is never a really good idea to let any car with a fuel pump in the gas tank to run low, as the pumps do depend on the fuel for cooling.

 

Well that cant be the cause in my case, we have a severe drought in my area for the past four months. Little or no rain. I read in the mini2 forum that the same problem exists todayin the UK for new R56 cars . They say that two software mods will be available soon to fix the problem.

 

I think we need to quantify which "check engine light" everyone is seeing. According to the manual there are 4 different ones.

There are two with just an engine outline. One flashes, the other does not.
Then there is the one with the engine outline and half filled solid in either yellow or red. They all mean something different.

Mine was the solid outlined one, which seems to be the least severe. Ok to drive, just take it easy.

 

Mine is solid yellow engine outline. no flashing

 

It it is just the outline of the engine and not flashing, then it is indicating some type of emission warning, but still safe to drive. Sounds like the O2 sensor reading being oversensitive, which has plagued a number of folks.

That is what mine had, which cured itself. Although mine is not an MCS, so there could be more to it for the MCS.

 

Mine (yellow outline) came on today while in bumper-to-bumper blizzard conditions. I called my dealer and he is unconcerned. Says it is a software upgrade issue most likely. I did not notice any change in the performance or sound of the engine.

 

Ambient temperatures seem to cause it as well. It is all covered in a software upgrade which contains a rather long list of fixes/changes.

I do know one persin who got the upgrade and it caused the intermittent operation of the windshield wipers to stop working. I would rather live with the intermittent CEL than without the intermittent windshield wiper function.

 

Mine came on last night on the way home from work and was still on this morning. Been in the 20s and snowy here since Sunday. Otherwise, the car is running perfectly fine. My brother has a code reader and is going to check it out tonight.

 

Just bring it back to the dealer for the program upgrade. It is a common problem.

 

Yeah, if my bro can't reset it I will. Just trying to save myself the 2 hour drive at this time of year. The snow has come a little early this year and I hate it.

 

MCa w/3300 mi. drove about 2 miles today in 30 deg. weather.Shut engine off for an hr.Started up & drive about a mile & noticed solid yellow engine light on big speedo. Engine running smoothly as usual.
So this is a common problem and all I need is a software upgrade? Unfortunately dealer is 200 miles away. Anybody gone for months with cel on, or will it go away on it's own? Haven't contacted dealer yet.

 

Mine comes and goes, on its own, all the time since the weather started getting cooler. It is getting warmer here, so it will turn off again tomorrow, is my bet. The engine has never missed a beat.

I am only going to do the software upgrade if they can gaurantee I will not lose my intermittent wiper function.

 

off topic but......has any one got the "increased emissions" message? cause that generally accompanies my CIL, and usually around an 1/8 tank of fuel.

 

BINGO! The light went off as predicted. I think I have this down to a science.

I never get an actual message. Did not know that was even possible.

 

i got the "increased emission" message in the bottom of my NAV screen, maybe specific to that feature? but ive only got the message twice and if memory serves me, i needed a trip to the gas station. i was just wondering if any one else had got the same thing?

 

It seems, that would be a feature of Mini's with the NAV option.

 

What was the temp when it came on compared to when it out? We've been stuck in the 20s here since Monday. I think my MINI is chilled.

 

hey, same problem here....i drove about 2 miles in 25degree temps today, ran into a store with a friend still in the car (running) and when i came back out a minute later light was on. car doesnt rally feel different. my only concern was that i planned on taking a 300 mile round trip this weekend and my dealership couldnt schedule an appt till monday morn. should i cancel the trip?

--E

 

Romi seems to turn hers off at around an ambient of 60F, or so, but only after she has been parked for more than 4 hours, or so.

She turns it on when it gets below 45F, or so.

Yellow is just a 'heads-up' kind of thing. According to the manual and everything I can gleen from the dealership, the car is ok to drive with a yellow CEL.