I hope someone out there has a thought on an issue I've been having with my 2003 Mini Cooper S with around 60,000 miles on it.

For the past two summers, the air conditioning has been intermittent. The lights for the fan and temperature remain on but no air blows -- cold or hot. Sometimes it goes back on by itself after a few minutes of driving. Sometimes slapping the passenger side of the middle column (where the controls and radio are) makes it come back on. And sometimes it stays off for a day or two before spontaneously coming back to life. Our local supermarket speed bumps sometimes turn it on if you hit them just right, too. Since the dealership is 100 miles away, taking it there is no use since it turns with no warning and we can't leave it there overnight. Besides, we took it there twice while it was still under warranty and they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Has anyone seen this behavior in their Mini? Summer is coming and Texas gets HOT.

Thanks.

Lisa
Austin TX
2003 Mini Cooper S

 

Perhaps you should post thin in the 1st gen Stock Problems/Issues thread, you might get more replies.

 

Had this issue in my 05, from what it sounds like you have the auto a/c controls like I do, and I took mine to the dealership and the controls need to have a ground wire installed in the unit. Or atleast thats what it said on my service summary report.

 

My AC (w/auto) seems to have died also.

I had a short, mysterious fluid leak a while back that I thought was power steering fluid, but I have not had any problems with the steering. The A/C, on the other hand, is as cold as an MCS engine bay.

 

Does anyone know about a TSB regarding his issue. It was in the 80s this week and the air conditioner wouldn't come on. I was about 20 minutes into a 100 mile drive with no AC, when it just came on spontaneously. Once I stopped and turned off the motor, it took several smacks to the console on the passenger side (with a sandal we keep in the car for that very purpose) to get it to work again after driving for an additional 15 minutes. This cannot be normal. Thanks.

 

It is definetly not normal, take it to the dealership and have them pull the service bulletin for the issue and they should fix it becuase it is a known issue.

 

Have the car checked right away by a competent mechanic!
Same exact thing was confirmed for my '05 MCS with 55K miles. Unfortunately the problem went undetected long enough for it to take the A/C compressor with it .

Yesterday afternoon I suddenly lost my A/C. I talked to my independent mechanic right away and he said to bring in the car today. He did the same exact tests Frenchie described in his post and low and behold the fan's low speed is not working. The engine fan is only working at high speed, therefore, the engine is running hotter and the A/C compressor was also running at max pressure. This problem eventually killed the compressor (As confirmed by the A/C test gauges when turning on the compressor the high side pressure gauge barely moved and hot air coming from the dash vents).

I am upset that the dealer did not detect this issue when I last took the car to them in mid-December. Would have been a perfect opportunity to replace the engine fan as they replaced the clutch and it would have also been covered under warranty.

So now I am looking at a new A/C compressor and new engine fan. This will be at least $1,300 repair bill But what can I do? I need the A/C. Yesterday we had temps in the low 90s

So I left the car this morning with him. He has a new replacement engine fan in stock but needs to order the compressor. If he can get a hold of the compressor, he'll have the car ready this afternoon, if not, it will be ready tomorrow.

The way I look at it....$1,300 still beats buying a new car with warranty. I love this car and keeping it in tip top shape is well worth the money IMHO

By the way, my friend tech told me that the low speed engine fan is a very common failure in these cars (He does at least 3 per week, that is why he keeps the part in stock) and the fans tend to go south by the time the car reaches 50K-60K miles, so keep an eye on it if your car has the factory fan still in place.

 

You have reported no air flow from the vents: this sounds like the classic aspirator fan failure, especially if you smack it or hit a speed bump and air flow returns. I would try replacing or removing and cleaning / lubricating the fan located inside the car! Good luck and I hope this helps.

 

i am having a similar issue but my air always blows.. when i put on "hi" the heat works perfect. and it blows at all the different wind levels. but when i turn it to low and turn on the a/c it just blows normal air. and the wind levels are all normal.. im not sure if the refridgerent is out or what.. anyone know whats goin on?..

 

You have heat becasue the heat comes from the heat generated by the engine. Can you hear your a/c compressor kick on when you turn the temp. to low? If so then you just need the system recharged with the refridgerent. But also if thats the case have all the seals checked JIC there is a leak.

 

Since this has been an ongoing issue with the car since way before the warranty expired, and the dealership has records of this, shouldn't they be honorable and extend me the service for free? (Am I allowed to use honorable and dealership in the same sentence on this website?) Thanks.

 

I'm having the same problem as Lisalev...vent fan sometimes does not come on until I find a large enough bump in the road (regardless of air control selection). Once it's on, bumps will cause the fan to actually increase in speed as well. It's been doing this for about a year now. It seems to be an electrical or loose connection issue as far as I can tell. Anyone find a definitive solution and is it DIY?

Mine is an 03 MCS with auto a/c.

 

Resurrecting the thread. 2003 Cooper S with Auto A/C. Lately the AC fan has been acting up. Sometimes it works just fine, other times it isn't working at all (until you hit a bump or something like that), and sometimes the fan will speed up and slow down randomly (usually in the space of several seconds). When the fan is running, I get cold/hot air based on the temperature setting, so it seems the compressor and heater cores are OK. Is there a way to diagnose the blower resistor or do I just have to drop the $80+ for a new one and hope that's it?

 

I had same issue, it took the dealer 2 hours to find the cause. Seems the very small gauge wire that carries the fan power was stretched to the point that the conductor broke. The outside of the wire looked fine, but inside the connection would break with engine vibration and bumps. Fix was super cheap and easy, 2 hours of diagnostic time was NOT. :-(