Just noticed my Engine Light is on. It's a brand new mini and the service dept is closed for the night. It looks like there is more smoke coming out the tailpipe than there should be, but i could be imagining that. Although, my husband has a brand new PT Cruiser and he started his car and there is definatley visible smoke on mine and not on his.That's about as mecanically inclined as we get.

 

Sorry to hear about the problem(s) you're having. From your description, sounds like there's an issue for sure. If it were me, I'd park it until I could get ahold of the dealer. Under warrantee they'll come get it for free. There could be risk in driving it based on what you've described.

Best of luck, and please post the diagnosis from the dealer for the rest of us 2011 owners...

 

yeah please do. I have been concerned how black my tailpipes are and there is a little bit of smoke when i start it up. I clean them once a week and they just get really really black. I use top-tier fuel too. I have to guess that it may have something to do with the variable valve timing they added to the 2011's

 

Good advice. I was going to drive it to the dealer tomorrow, but I will have them come and get it.

 

Okay here is is what they said. The Check Engine Light was the gas cap sensor. Hmmm Dont think I ever left the cap loose, but who knows. And of course there was not much black smoke coming from the pipe. The service manager check it out and said it was running fine,no problems. He did say we should be using premium fuel. I did not know that. Does anybody know if cheaper gas creates dirtier exhaust?

 

Yes, cheap gas does not burn as efficiently as premium. don't know which model you have. If you have the S, you absolutely need to put in premium. I have the clubman (non S) and can use regular gas, however, I do use premium. Better gas mileage, fewer engine issues, and you really don't save that much $$ using regular! Our Mini's are worth it!! Just sayin...

 

Oh, and welcome to the world of Miniacs!! Take care of your Mini, and it will take care of you!

 

I might have to call B.S. on that gas cap sensor explanation they gave you, only because I was driving the other day, after having recently gotten gas, and the guy must not have tightened it enough because I only got the "close gas cap" display on the tach along with the noise blip. No check engine light...

 

Just got my 2011 mini back from having the water pump replaced 2 weeks ago and now the engine malfunction light came on. Tried to restart and now is making a grinding noise. car will be back in the shop on monday. car is only 2 months old.

 

2011 Mini Cooper S. I use premium gas (91), but my exhaust is pitch black after 1 day of driving. My CEL came on today. Checked the gas cap, engine oil, and coolant. Everything looks fine. Car is 3 months old.

 

They replaced all my sparkplugs and the light went off. Better take yours in asap.

 

My engine light came on yesterday and I only have 1600 miles on my 2 month old MCS. I only use 91 octane fuel from Costco and all fluids look fine and gas cap is tight. I did notice my antifreeze reservoir seems extremely hot after short drive, though this may be normal cause I'm no mechanic. Car goes into shop for check-up Tuesday.

 

That's normal, so long as the fluid level is correct (check markings on the reservoir). Once the engine reaches operating temperature, the coolant (and therefore, the reservoir) will be pretty hot.

Just take care not to remove the cap to the reservoir immediately after shutting down the engine. The coolant system is under pressure, and if you unscrew the cap too soon, you risk getting scalded by the coolant that will squirt out. It takes a half-hour or so for the system to bleed off the pressure so you can remove the cap.

 

Wow. Sure looks like the new engine solved all the S problems. :(
I have a 2009 with 46k and replaced the fuel pump, water pump and timing chain during that period. I came here to get some hope for a 2011 solving my headaches.

 

I have 1600 miles on mine, had it for about a month and all's good so far (touch wood). After reading this stuff though, I only use 93 octane from either QT or Chevron. A small price to pay to keep the engine happy

BTW, Jetdude, let us know what they say and good luck!

 

Was told it was a vapor leak? Make sure to click my gas cap three times...not that kind of gas cap! Car is and was running fine, just hope they did not reset my check engine light because they lacked time to investigate further. As far as people concerned about more probs with the S - we tend to drive them harder since they perform better. The brand new non-S given to me as loaner was annoying as heck since it was quite gutless.

 

Some good news I can pass along is the issue with the black exhaust pipes is pretty normal. I have to clean mine off every time I wash the car. I would rather the carbon be there than in the engine!

 

There are multiple threads on the use of premium gas.

The official word from mini is that premium is recommended.

Even with the S cooper, you can use Octane 89 gas.

The effect is that the engine will not have the same performance. The computer in the engine will change the timing to allow for the Octane 89.

There is no effect on the warranty for using 89 octane gas.

Black smoke is not caused by low octane gas. Low octane gas causes premature ignition and may cause knocking. This is fixed by the computer which changes the timing.

For the best performance, premium is required. For the S Cooper, minimum octane is 89.

For the standard, 87 is the minimum.

 

from my experience minis are full of problems. i had a r53 jcw and it had all sorts of problems and was poorly made. i then got a r56 jcw but its also had problems with the timing chain and melted hood scoop and now the boot wont open. to top it off the service department at the dealer are asses and deny any problem at all. i have never had these problems before with any other cars and i deff wont get another mini. this forum has been a big help though on how to fix common problems. good luck.

 

Mine is with a blown engine. Bottom end and a piston. 3 months old and 5K and it has been in the shop for 8 days and still waiting to see what MINI is going to do. Not a very happy customer. Bought 2 MINI's in two years and the service experience seems to be on par with the buying experience. Car was towed to PDX not my selling dealer and not a happy camper. I talked 5 friends and customers into getting MINI's but now I am concerned I led them down a bad path. Oh yes no loaner either said they had none available. New owners for this dealer too. Don't break down on the road away from your home dealer- looks like good advise.

 

I recently posted this on another thread...a while back my head gasket began failed....replaced under warranty. Now a ring on cylinder 1 destroyed itself and warranty has been denied. looking at about $7800 worth of work and I definitely plan on fighting this case with MINI. 08 Cooper S with only 20,500 miles. MINI made a bad decision on the "new" engine in the R56 and now they need honor their warranty and not look for every little excuse to deny
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What costs more in $$$ and time, better fuel or engine repairs?

How individual station maintain their fuel tanks has something to do with fuel problems.

S.

 

Why did they deny?

 

This

 

This just happened to me in my new 2011 Mini Cooper S... from reading the content of some recent posts, I really don't understand how any of this is acceptable. My car has 4250 miles on it and already its throwing a check engine light error. My gas cap is on, tight... as silly as that sounds. My dealership, Seattle Mini seems about on par with those described here, meaning BAD... how is it acceptable that these cars seem to have tons of issues, dealerships seem completely unable to provide good service with a very low standard of competency and ethics... and here we are, consumers that spend decent money for such a sub-standard product (both the vehicle and the dealership)... I don't get it... Honestly, this is the first vehicle I've ever owned that I feel such loathing for.