On Sunday the amber hot engine light came on briefly in my 2007 R56 MC. I didn't think much of it since it was the first time it had ever come on and it went off quickly. But the light came on again a couple of times the next day. I added some coolant mixture on Tuesday morning since fluid level in the resevoir was below the minimum fill line. As of this evening I'm back below the minimum fill line so I think I'm going to have to take my car in to get looked at shortly.

From what I've read, the problem could be as simple as a leak at the thermostat gasket to a water pump failure to serious engine problems.

I live in College Station, TX - The nearest Mini dealer is a couple of hours away. Would you recommend taking it to the BMW dealer, one of the national chains (like Firestone) or to a local repair shop - I'm not sure if there are any around since I'm in the land of big American trucks. My initial thought would be BMW but I'm not sure they'd be any more experienced with the car than another mechanic since they probably don't see many of them regualrly.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

Well, I'd personally try to better isolate from where the coolant is leaking -- at least then you know it's not the engine "consuming" it via, say, a blown head gasket. Then you'll have a better idea of the scope of the repair job.

A likely culprit (as you already noted) is a leaky water pump; this should be fairly apparent, as you should find a wet spot underneath the car where the coolant has been weeping out of the water pump. A water pump that's going out would also likely produce an annoying "screeching" noise from under the bonnet when starting or stopping the engine; sometimes the "screeching" noise will occur when the engine is running too.

But with all that Texas heat, I'd look closely at the reservoir itself for cracks. For whatever reason, the plastic compound that BMW/MINI uses in their coolant reservoirs are known for developing cracks/leaks over time, and you might luck out that this is the source of your leak. Replacing the coolant reservoir is a fairly easy DIY, from what I understand. If this turns out to be your problem, you'd just need to get a MINI dealer (or any online MINI parts source) to ship you a replacement coolant reservoir and perhaps a hose or two. Just remember: when working around the reservoir after you've been running the engine, the system is pressurized with hot fluid; so wait long enough for the system to cool before opening the cap or groping around the coolant reservoir looking for leaks...!

Assuming the next step is to take it to a repair shop, in the absence of anything else a BMW dealership might work; they'd at least have a better chance of repairing or replacing a major component than the local Chevy dealer or a "big-truck" independent mechanic.

An alternative might be to check the following web sites for nearby independent BMW repair shops in your immediate area; there may be a chance they're also savvy about the MINI, and they'll cost substantially less than a BMW (or MINI) dealership:


Someone else may be able to offer up a similar site for MINI independent mechanics that I'm not aware of.

All that failing, you might ultimately need to load up a gallon of coolant and road trip down to Houston, replenishing the liquid as necessary along the way...

Good luck!

 

Thanks much for the thoughts. Unfortunately, I can't see any leaks but I'm going to fill it up later today and take a look in a couple hours.

 

Good luck! It may be that the crack/leak is higher up on the reservoir (if that's the culprit) than, say, the bottom or a low corner. Or a hose might be leaking.

 

Don't take it to BMW, take it to a reputable European (or BMW) independent shop.