We just retruned from a 900 mile trip from Rochester, NY to Mt. Tremblant, Quebec. Checking the engine compartment upon return I noticed that the coolant, which was grren at delivery in late August, is now a dark brown color. No oveheating, no signs of oil in the coolant, but I've never seen this in any other car I've owned. The oil level was down by 1/2 quart.

I'll be calling the dealer this morning, but was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and what was the resolution.

Thanks.

Yes! My MCS coolant is a murky brown color. This is quite disturbing as I believe extended life coolants to be orange or blue/green in color. Is something getting into the cooling system and fouling it? My temp guage always reads in the middle as it should.
Have you heard from the dealer yet? I will definately contact my service mgr. to get his take on it.

yeah, my coolant is brownish with little particulate in it :roll:

I spoke with the service dept & have an appointment on Tuesday 15 October. Dave in D, I'll be interested in what the MINI tech has to say about this.

Yeah, mine's a brownish-purple. It could be what its supposed to do, who knows. Reaction to the heat or something. Car still runs great...

>>Yeah, mine's a brownish-purple. It could be what its supposed to do, who knows. Reaction to the heat or something. Car still runs great...

Right... car runs great until the head gasket blows :eek:, something warps, etc. Obviously it's not "what it's supposed to do" as other MCSs with more miles have not experienced this change. Better to check now than glide on in blissful innocence.

Any of you ever get this problem checked out? If so, with what results?

I have an appointment on 15 October to address this. While the fluid looks dark brown in the overflow bottle, it is actually dark grey with just the slightest hint of blue. Since MCSs are factory filled with blue coolant, something is causing a color change. More postings discussing this can be seen here

Just back from the dealer to address this issue. It turns out that the engine on the MCS runs hotter than other MINIs and this is apparently causing the blue dye in the coolant to break down. Check here to be taken to a more detailed discussion of this topic that is taking place on Mini2.com.

Did the dealer flush the coolant and add new? I have a similar problem
and bring mine in on Tuesday for a check. Thanks for any info.
Mike :cool:

2minis please click the link in my above post. There is a continuing discussion of this topic on another site.

Sorry, forgot to answer your question. No cooling system wasn't flushed not the coolant changed. The service dept said this was only a heat-related breakdown of the dye used in the coolant and the coolant itself was fine. They have supposedly seen this is other MINIs and some BMWs as well.

I've checked the coolant freeze point and it's fine (-20F). But that's only one measure. For the time being I'm going to keep my eyes on this, but may end up demanding a flush & change.

>>Sorry, forgot to answer your question. No cooling system wasn't flushed not the coolant changed. The service dept said this was only a heat-related breakdown of the dye used in the coolant and the coolant itself was fine. They have supposedly seen this is other MINIs and some BMWs as well.
>>
>>I've checked the coolant freeze point and it's fine (-20F). But that's only one measure. For the time being I'm going to keep my eyes on this, but may end up demanding a flush & change.

Well I bought the S in today and the coolant was replaced. This was after a call to Mini. When I checked it later, nice blue tint, some junk left over. Now I think the system should be flushed out and if Mini won't do it I will. My service deparment didn't mention seeing this in other Minis or BMWs??? :evil: I was a first.


Florida Mini Owners :cool:

_________________
2Minis


Size matters!!!!!!

And BTW the temp seemed to be just south of middle since the change....

I got an email from both BMW & MINI USA yesterday (22 October) afternoon saying they had seen my posting about the color change. They asked me to send my VIN, telephone number, etc. and they would get back to me. It's now 10:25 PM on 10/23 and no reply as of yet. Hmmm.

When I brought the car in last week the service dept apparently added some coolant, as previously when the car was cold the level was about 1/4" below the tops of the baffles in the coolant bottle. It's now about 1/2" above the baffles when cold. Also, there is now a definite bluish tint, although the fluid is still discolored.

>>I got an email from both BMW & MINI USA yesterday (22 October) afternoon saying they had seen my posting about the color change. They asked me to send my VIN, telephone number, etc. and they would get back to me. It's now 10:25 PM on 10/23 and no reply as of yet. Hmmm.
>>
>>When I brought the car in last week the service dept apparently added some coolant, as previously when the car was cold the level was about 1/4" below the tops of the baffles in the coolant bottle. It's now about 1/2" above the baffles when cold. Also, there is now a definite bluish tint, although the fluid is still discolored.
>>
Hi Michael! Thanks for writing in.

I'm not aware of any complaints/problems. But if you're concerned, please contact your MINI dealer for advice.

Thanks, and LET'S MOTOR.


MINI Division
This was the response I received from MINIUSA. I deleted the reps name for obvious reasons. I wonder if they talk to each other? My dealer had never seen a similar problem in any other Mini or BMW. They called Mini and replaced coolant under warranty. The system was not flushed but I think it needs to be. It will be done with my next oil change at 3000. :evil:

Any one know how to find the production date on the car? I bought
the S off the lot and would like to post the date to see if the others
with the 'coolant change' issue have similar production dates.

>>Any one know how to find the production date on the car? I bought
>>the S off the lot and would like to post the date to see if the others
>>with the 'coolant change' issue have similar production dates.


Look at the tags on the drivers side door opening. One of them will have the production month - doesn't specify the actual date, just the month.

>>Look at the tags on the drivers side door opening. One of them will have the production month - doesn't specify the actual date, just the month.

Thanks. :cool:

So no one has had this looked at by the dealer yet? My girlfriend just bought a MCS that was a demo and has almo0st 2000 miles. I was taking a look at it the day after she bought it and noticed this dark "dirty looking" antifreeze. She Is supposed to have the dealer look at it on wednesday. Let me know what your dealers have said....

>>So no one has had this looked at by the dealer yet? My girlfriend just bought a MCS that was a demo and has almo0st 2000 miles. I was taking a look at it the day after she bought it and noticed this dark "dirty looking" antifreeze. She Is supposed to have the dealer look at it on wednesday. Let me know what your dealers have said....

There have been different answers...my dealer looked at it...called MINIUSA and
changed it under warranty. No flush just a change. I am going to get it flushed
with the next oil change because it still looks funky. They denied having seen the 'problem' before. I was hoping we would get some input from MINIUSA on
this but...:cool:

Dealer looked at it and said it was a dye breakdown due to engine heat. AS mentioned baove I got an email from MINIUSA due to a posting I had made about this issue. They are calling my dealer to discuss this with them and and have asked me to return for additional checks on the coolant (and engine?).

More as I get further resutls.

>>Dealer looked at it and said it was a dye breakdown due to engine heat. AS mentioned baove I got an email from MINIUSA due to a posting I had made about this issue. They are calling my dealer to discuss this with them and and have asked me to return for additional checks on the coolant (and engine?).
>>
>>More as I get further resutls.

Anything new? Interesting I was told by MiniUSA they
hadn't seen the problem. New one for the dealer as well
but it was changed.... :sad:

MINI USA is aware of the situation. As previously mentioned I got an email from them and subsequently was asked to return to the dealer for additional tests. Dealer told me he was contacted by MINI USA concerning my case and instructed to contact the MINI tech line for details on what tests to run.

I have a service appointment scheduled for Tuesday. Nov. 5.

>>yeah, my coolant is brownish with little particulate in it :roll:

Same color...
and expansion tank is leaking too, I think it's from the parting line which runs around the middle of the tank. maybe it's because of bad manufacturing/molding process. anybody has the same problem??

have you got it fixed dave? what did the mechanic guy said about the leak?