Hey guys! I've been having issues with my stock 2006 Mini Cooper S and I thought I would see if any one else has had these issues. Oh the downsides of putting about 100 miles on my poor baby a day driving to Miami!

It is getting a bit chilly down here in Florida so I was a bit shocked to have this problem show up. The water temp light on my Mini shoots up every time I sit at a long stop light or if I idle for a few (3-5 minutes). I am a bit worried because I get stuck in traffic often and last week I got stuck/stopped in bad traffic and it kept moving from the middle temp to the top. Whenever I make my commute, my fan always turns on once I stop which I thought was normal since I drive pretty far (50mi one way). Now it comes on when I drive about ~10mi and it isn't even hard driving.

My warranty is expired and has been for a little more than a year now. My brother has been taking care of the service of my Mini since then, changing the oil, checking brakes, rotors, etc. But he has never changed the coolant.

Could the coolant be the problem? He is under the impression it is my water pump or something a lot bigger but I thought I would get all your opinions before I start ordering parts.

Also: What kind of coolant do you guys use for your Minis?

 

I use BMW/mini coolant...
First off is the level full? If not fill/flush, drain and fill.
Do you hear any noises? Loud metal on metal girding sound or chain dragging sounds at low speed? If so, there is an issue with the waterpump/SC pto gears....
If the fluid is low, common leak locations are the thermstst housing/thermostat gasket, and the coolant tank.
Some cars also have fan issues... You have thecmost recent wireing...the ps fan and the rad fan are already on seperate fuses, but the rad fan often has the low speed fail...you might have this issue, but it is a seperate problem, not causing the overheating.

 

I would agree with Zippy, Check for leaks first before ordering parts. The coolant tank I would think would be pretty easy to see, the thermostat is harder, and you will usually find the signs of this leak if you get under the car and see some dried trails on the back of the transmission. If it is a leak, just filling it back up and flushing any air out of the system will keep it from overheating until the fluid drains out again. So that can buy you some time while ordering parts.

 

It could if it leaked out. Unlikely if it is old.

Crawl under and be sure that your Power Steering fan in working. It's the small fan in the middle. If not, check the fuses. If you don't want to crawl under, check the fuses first.

///Rich

 

How many miles on the car?
As the previous poster noted, coolant does not wearout persay, but it is the additives that are depleted...severly old coolant can allow severe corrosion to set in, even causing blockages, or allow headgaskets to fail, etc. Since you are just a bit overdue on a coolant flush/change, you are likely fine for now...if you have adquate volume....
Have you been adding coolant on a regular basis?
Also you are using good fuel, and the oil looks normal too right? Some of the symtoms described could be serious, but little things, like using the required octane of fuel usualy prevents them. Do be careful...overheating a couple of times can cause/accelerate the failure of a headgasket as can old, spent coolant.

 

First check coolant level as everyone mentioned. If coolant level is ok(also note the color should be greenish blue), check to see if your radiator fan goes on when you're sitting at idle. Once the temps start going up you should hear a "click" and a noise of the fan running. If the fan works, your most likely problem is either the water pump or the thermostat.

 

I have a 2006 MCS and had the exact same problem. It had a small leak around the thermostat housing. I replaced that and it has been a Merry Christmas ever since.

Happy Motoring!

 

Where was your leak coming from?

 

I too started having this problem just last Thursday.. :-/

'03, R50, 138k+ miles now...

I drive 40 miles one way to work.. last week I stopped about half way here to get some coffee and watched my gauge spike while sitting in the drive thru.. added coolant then and drove to work, then down to venice (70 miles) and back.. couldn't get it to reproduce. when i get home I check the levels again and i'm low. low in the res. and low under the cap. added fluid again.

I've since been losing coolant nearly as fast as I can put it in. (absolutely cannot leave the wife @ home w/out a vehicle so I've got to keep driving this while I'm working on it)

Noticed this morning as I got close to work that my heater wasn't blowing as hot as it had been earlier in the ride. Co-worker suggested i check the heater core..

I have no actual signs of a leak. no steam, no puddle under the car, no funkiness in the engine bay... i'm at a loss here.

I do know that i've been having fan issues, and i think that it may or may not be working intermittently. last night it wouldn't turn on with the a/c. that's bad, I know. today, though, it did turn on with it. only runs @ high speed though, never low (that's a problem, too, right? but as suggested above, not THE problem)

I'm in tampa.. if i get mine figured out i'll come help you with yours.

by the way... PepBoys told me yesterday that they can diagnose the problem for $35... i just hate the idea of someone else using their tools on my private parts.

 

could you actually see that it was leaking from there? or did you figure that out just by luck?

 

For the temp to spike, I bet it was VERY low on coolant...so as you add it to the tank it is just sucking it in, and burping (bleeding) itself.
For a car to use fluid as fast as you put it it, it would need a sizeable leak...
Still, look around for it.
The heater may not be working as well cause there is an air bubble trapped in the heatercore....if the heatercore had failed...the carpets would be wet, and the carvwould smell like fluid...
Adding stopleak to a mini will often cause a plug in the heatercore...an expensive issue, so IMO don't use it.
With 100,000+ miles, the leak could be anywhere...hoses. Etc....
I would guess the rad might be leaking where the plastic is crimped to the fins...common once the frequent leaks mentioned here are checked. Still pretty simple to swap out a rad...just don't ask the dealer to do it or they get $$$$ from you!!

 

Thank you for your quick reply. I'll be sure to check those locations when (if?) i make it home tonight. I'm glad you mentioned not using the stop-leak.. that's exactly what I was going to do after work. Co-worker said to get the one for aluminum so it would plug a hole in the heater core. won't be doing THAT now. Definitely no coolant smell inside.

just wouldn't be christmas without a problem with my mini!

 

Had exactly the same symptoms as yours - needle rising to the top (sometimes with the light on) in city traffic or idling, lowering when I was able to speed up, and fan staying on after the ignition was turned off. I still have a couple of weeks left on the warranty and the MINI dealer said it was just a leak around the thermostat housing. I never noticed a leak but the coolant level was a bit below the MIN line, never lower than that. Was replaced in a couple of hours and now everything is fine.

 

This. Gives me hope.

Was too cold & dark when I got home last night, and had to take a final online, so i didn't get a chance to mess around with it. I'm actually going to bring it to PepBoys today @ lunch to have them do their diagnostic thing... Will let you all know how it goes.

 

Unless you know the people at PepBoys stay away.
Some PepBoys are staffed with good mechanics but many are staffed by people who can't work at a good shop. Their motive is to move cars in and out as fast as they can with the most profitable work.
I friend at work just had to have a transmission replaced because PepBoys put the wrong fluid in (Nissan CVT).

Find a good independent shop to look at your car, even if it is not a MINI specialist. You will likely get better service at a lower cost.

 

As a cost comparison, the MINI dealer said if it weren't under warranty it could have cost around $400 since although the part is nothing, there is a bit of labor to get to the location. Should be much less at an independent shop. They diagnosed the issue with a pressure test of the coolant system.

 

So.. bad(ish) news for me.. could be worse, I guess, but I still don't have all the info...

D-bag @ PepBoys hooked up his pressure gauge for me (after their manger swore up and down to me that I didn't even have a radiator cap ). Pumped it up to 120 psi and I literally could stand there watching the gauge fall. Pulls the dip stick and I've got milkshake stuck to it. Blown head gasket.

Intermittent coolant fan problem allowed engine to overheat, thereby blowing the gasket out. luckily (so far anyway) that gasket's not all THAT expensive, it's just a B/ to get to.. fan's got to go, too. RealOEM.com lists two gaskets, one looks to be thicker than the other (part # 6 on the diagram).. $66.77 for one, $74.19 for the other. am i reading that correctly? one's thicker than the other by 3 mm?? Partsgeek.com has it @ $49.94

Just pray for me that I don't have a cracked head or eff-ed up bearings or something stupid like that...

I still haven't decided how I'm getting it home... have the wife & newborn wait here for hours (?) for AAA? (it's in her name & they want her to be there) try to drive it the 40 or so miles home? take it out in the woods here somewhere and burn it?

 

Sorry, to hear about the issue with the blown head gasket, but if it was me, I would not let a MINI dealership (if you're out of warranty) do it rather one of a few good known Mini indies in the LA area: Minicorsa (N. Hollywood) or Steve's Auto Clinic (SFV area and we're not related, only by first name).

 

Thanks. I'm in Tampa FL, though.. and no one puts a wrench on my car but me. unless it's under warranty (and I it's most certainly not, now @ almost 139k miles). I had a hard enough time letting that guy hook up his pressure gauge.. I'd rather break somethign and replace it and learn a lesson than say "so... it's fixed, huh?"

I've got all the tools I need.. it's just a matter of the logistics now.