Well, it's happened again. In 2008, after 37K miles, our MINI's engine was gunked up with carbon. Under warranty the engine was taken apart and cleaned out. New redesigned parts may have been used. The plastic engine cover plate was replaced with one without the MINI logo.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...2-misfire.html

Fast forward to 2010 and 71K miles. No CEL yet, but there is carbon buildup again on the intake side. The dealer is saying that the engine has to be cleaned out at our cost ($700). MINI is not covering it and neither is the extended warranty (Fidelity Warranty) because no parts are broken and there is nothing wrong with the car. Apparently it's considered a "maintenance issue". The dealer is recommending owners have their engines cleaned of carbon on a regular basis. WTF?!

Anybody else out there have this come up and/or have suggestions how I can get this repair covered?

 

Theres a HUGE thread about this issue HERE.

 

Thanks, I posted on that thread 2 years ago. I'm mostly wondering if anybody has had any success getting MINI/BMW to cover the costs of cleaning out the carbon.

 

I'm a new addition to this same problem.

So far clogged injectors have been replaced under warranty...but problem + Engine light still comes on.

Now, I'm waiting for additional solution sunder warranty...I'll be in touch when & if I hear from my dealer about next steps.

Wish someone told me abouy this potential problem, and I could have started a regular reime of periodic additives + occasional revs up to 6-7K n 1st to try an dblow out any carbon buildup.

Hang in there..."Carbon Man"

 

Well long story short, I took the matter up with MINI/BMW customer relations and the dealer, Princeton MINI. They in turn took my case to the regional rep and in the end MINI/BMW agreed to make all necessary repairs under "goodwill". There was so much carbon buildup in the engine it had to be replaced with a reman unit. In the end my persistence paid off. The customer relations dept and in particular the service manager at Princeton MINI really went to bat on our behalf to get this covered out of warranty.

 

Another example of why people need to make use of SeaFoam at regular intervals with this car. Although it's not as thorough as taking apart the motor and cleaning manually...it's cheap preventative maintenance that works.

 

Thanks for the update Smackboy1. Good to see some feedback on a MINI dealer with a positive ending.

+1 on the 10 dollar can of Seafoam into the vac lines and in the gas tank.....From the mileage complaints I have been reading, seems like every 10-15K miles would be necessary. And Seafoam treatment is SOP for Mountain View MINI. I saw the work order.

Does anyone know if carbon buildup has a tendency to be a problem with the 2nd Gen MINIS which are more "city driven", or do driving habits matter not ?

 

FWIW our car saw mostly highway miles (150 mile round trip daily commute) and some suburban miles. Almost no stop and go city traffic. Almost never short trips less than 30 mins. Oil changes every 10,000 miles.

I don't know if Seafoam every 10-15,000 miles is going to be enough. IMHO an engine which has carbon buildup issues should be cleaned every 5-10,000 miles along with a visual inspection of the intake valves to ensure they are actually being cleaned. At 30,000 miles of carbon buildup, Seafoam doesn't really do anything to the coking on the valves. Princeton MINI uses MOC Products and recommends clean out every 10,000 miles ($600). It's pricey but if we had to pay for the repair out of pocket, they would have been in the $5-10,000 range each time.

 

a bad desing (not enough phase separation in the valve cover) is causing problems not covered under the "comprehensive service" offered with the car, causing potentially catastrophic problems that the customer is asked to pay? That sucks big time....

If anyone has to do a more comprehensive out of pocket cleaning, going to somewhere other than the dealer will save money. $600 is robbery. Especially since it should be free.

Matt

 

When I get home i spray some seafoam deep creep in the PVC tube. And let it sit. Every trip when I leave I spray more of it in there. After it warms up about a few blocks from my house I floor it first through fourth gear . Italian tune up style. And I've hit 53000 miles on the od.

 

I do Seafoam every 5K. Like going to church on Sunday. Religiously. Both on my MCS and the wife's 335xi.

It's true that 30-40K of carbon will not come clean even after repeated Seafoam applications, but an ounce (or 16) of prevention is money-in-the-bank. Start early and dose at regular intervals.

 

I do not put it in the gas anymore. The first time I did that it drove very badly for a couple of days, like the ECU was very confused about what was in the tank.

Jim

 

So since I'm at 60,300 miles and have never done a Seafoam, does this mean it would be pointless for me to start now?

(2007 MCS)

 

Ok, same question as the last guy. My 07 MCS has 39k on it...to seafoam or not to seafoam, that is the question...

thanks,
Hibsfan

 

My '07 MC has 63,000 miles on it. I Seafoamed it for the first time this past weekend, because I had started to notice some inconsistent idling. Since I did the treatment, the idle has returned to being completely stable.

Its not quite the same thing, since it doesn't seem like the carbon problems are nearly as severe with Justas, but I don't think its worthless, even with a significant number of miles. YMMV

 

I suspect that everyone who says seafoam doesn't do anything to high-milage carbon build-up is just guessing and has never actually done a before/after visual comparison.

Honestly, I want to find a way to put eyes on the back of the valves to do a before/after check myself (43k miles, never seafoamed it), but I have no boroscope and don't want to take the whole head off.

 

It's because Justa engines have full Valvetronic, not half and half like the S engine. That has to account for something.

I talked to my SAs about this issue, and they have only serviced one car (a transplant from back east) with this problem. It seems to be more a regional issue, one not so prevalent here in the Rocky Mountains.

 

No...it's because the Justa's don't have direct injection. There for they have fuel going over the intake valves, which aids in cleaning and cooling of the valves.

And I bet if you go talk to the tech's at your dealer you'll hear a different story than what the SA's told you. The SA's don't see very much

 

So for the non-mechanics (like me), how would I know if I have carbon buildup? Listening to the idle isn't much of an indication since the MINI has been noisy since day one. I've got a 2008 MCS

 

Im at 14,500 on my 09 MCSa JCW, and on my 3rd timing chain tensioner. I drive the snot out of this car at high altitudes, my motoring life is one huge Italian tune up, for I keep the Prince at mid-high revs I could toodle around town all day in 3rd gear The only time I shift into 6th is when Im at the track doing over 100 mph (the auto has very tall 5th and 6th gears) or if Im feeling a rare bit miserly. I run BG44K every 5000 miles, and use Shell or Sinclair almost exclusively. If I have carbon build up in 10-20k miles I will be very surprised. I'd be more concerned about the tranny fluid...

I mean, look at the (posted) locations of the affected posts: they all seem to be near either coast, E and Pac time zones, with a few exceptions scattered about like Texas, in the big population centers with more traffic and vehicles and slower commute times-- not out here in the wide open 80 mph West.

So Im really more interested in those in this thread that havent given their location to do so. I think I see a pattern

Oh and when my SA says the d'ship has only addressed cabon buildup in one R56S, I believe them.

 

Yes, but so is a good portion of the population in general.

What you are suggesting is very difficult to show with the small sample set we have in one enthusiast forum.

 

Seafoam in the gas is not going to help with this problem........it has to be applied to the top side of the valves to do any good.

 

You WILL have carbon build up. I too drive the crap out of my car, there is not a time when I'm driving it where it does not get taken up to the redline.

It is the DESIGN of these motors which cause the issues. It is a design flaw. It has nothing to do with driving style as it can on some other cars. It blows my mind how idiotic the engineers were when designing a direct injection motor, not to think of the issues that will be caused from recycling oil vapor through the PCV line into the intake manifold.

Also, it has nothing to do with location in the country, what fishbert said below is true...

^^^what he said

^^^another true statement

 

To be fair, it's equally difficult to show the opposite as well.

 

Very interesting. Catch cans seem to be popular. Some get lots of oil, some get very little. A modern car should not have that much vapor, so I wonder what the root cause of this is. Rings were never seated?
It does suggest a vapor separator/condenser would reduce the oil going into the intake.

The "no gas on valves" I don't buy. Gas is famous for building up intake deposits. Ask anyone with an old CIS system. This is why all the exotic additives for the tank.