Well as the cold weather arrived in New England I noticed my heater wasn't working quite as well as I thought it should. I checked the coolant reservoir when the engine was cold and didn't see more than a spoonful. So I went out and bought some premixed Prestone and topped it off. Started leaking the next day but the darn heater worked great! HAHAHAHA! Checked the drip... definitely coolant but its so tight under there I can see where its coming from.

Making an appointment with New Country Mini to have it looked at. Supposedly this is a "common" ailment with the coopers? Leaking either around the thermostat or water pump? I had originally thought it was the supercharged ones that had that problem, but I guess its common to all years?

The car has under 30K on it so its under warranty. Just a PITA.

Mike

 

Water Pump Just had the same thing. No Heat, low coolant. Do not wait too long to take it in eventually it will overheat....

 

Also, make sure you flush out the Prestone and put in a 50/50 mix of BMW blue coolant. The standard Prestone is not compatible with our engines.

 

Hey Mike,

I had a similar issue last year, where the coolant levels were going down, but there were no leaks or puddles underneath the car. I even placed a giant poster board underneath the car overnight to find leaks. I took it in, and they did a pressure test. The coolant was leaking at the thermostat, so they replaced it in an hour.

 

My coolant leak was fixed by replacing an O-RING (I think near the thermostat).

 

I just had my '07 MCS at Inskip in Warwick for a similar problem.
It was leaking antifreeze, and the engine temp switch malfunctioned. Which caused some other issues by itself.
Hopefully they get it fixed quick for ya'.

 

Yeah, I called service a little while ago and gave them all the info on voicemail as the service writer is obviously gone for the day. Have to follow up in the morning. Didn't realize the engines were coolant "sensitive" but I will tell them when I drop the car off. I don't intend on driving it much over the holidays if at all... maybe a short run to the grocery store if pressed by the BOSS (using _her_ car). I don't drive the Lightning in the Winter LOL!

So what is the story with these leaks? Poor design or poor components (O-Ring/Gaskets)? Doesn't seat well or the guys in the factory can't tell when they are assembling? Or does it just rot?