I've got an 06 S with JCW from the factory, 12,000 miles.

Drive to work in the morning car is fine.
Get in later to go to lunch, and
1) power steering is gone
2) A/C Cooling is gone at idle, but shows up again when driving.

Take the Car to the dealer, works fine.
They replaced the Alternator and I drive away. Everything seems fine. 15 miles later I turn off the car for 30 minutes. Come back out, and the steering is gone again.
I also notice now that the Radio doesn't turn off automatically when you turn off the car and get out.

When I get back to the dealer, it's now also throwing an Overheat Warning.

They keep it overnight and then replace the battery. Said it looked good the first time, but was bad when I brought it back.

Take the car the 3rd time, and drive back to work. Stop to mail something. Come back out and it's doing the same thing again. No power steering, no A/C when stopped, radio problem.
Go straight back to the dealer, and leave the car running while in failure. They take it to the back, and while reading the computer it starts overheating again.

They've had the car for 4 days now, with no progress. Latest theory was that the Head Gasket has an intermittent leak that is overheating "something"

Anyone seen anything like this before? The head gasket theory seems kind of strange, or at least I thought there would be other symptoms.

is there a computer that controls power distribution around the car? That was my personal theory...

 

Sounds like an extremely lazy and uninspired group in the Service Department! They are treating the symptoms, not the problem.

That seemingly unrelated systems (radio, PS, HVAC, perhaps temp sensor) are affected might point to a short/grounding issue. They should have got out the electrical diagrams and found every point where these systems could be affected by connectors, bundles, ground points, etc.

Did they even check the actual coolant temperature to determine if, indeed, the system was overheating? What if the coolant temperature was fine but, instead, the temp sensor was misbehaving? I'd hate to have the head pulled for a temp sensor issue!

My suggestion would be to pick your MINI up from the dealer when it is ready, and, if problems arise again, collect your service receipts and head to another MINI dealer. Ask for some recommendations for Service Departments with good diagnosticians.

You may find that "standalone" MINI Dealerships (those who do not share their service technicians with BMW or other marques) *may* have more in-depth knowledge (and commitment) than a "shared" service facility.

FWIW,

Theo

 

Strange thought... but do you have a sunroof on your car? Check the floor covering [carpet] for any signs of water, near the inner kick panels..... Seems kinda fishy that the problems are so intermittant.

 

Don't you love those wet wiring harnesses? How many have you done this year?

Steve

 

Interesting....

I actually just got a call from them. They've decided their is a short in the Motor harness. So they've ordered a new one, which is supposed to be in on Wednesday, and apparently will take literally all day on Thursday to install.

 

Yep, thank goodness it's under warranty.

Steve