Well, I thought at first it was cosmoline dripping because it seems to have started when weather got hot but now I'm thinking it is a oil leak. A small one though, whats in the pic occured over about a two month period. Dripping from engine, right hand(passenger) side. Anyone else developed any leaks on their 2011s ???? Any ideas ?????????

Oh yea, already set up a appt with dealer

 

That would be the correct side if the tensioner is backing out...

 

Thats what I'm worried about. SA has forwarded picture to their mechanic to get his thoughts. My appt is not for two weeks but I'm hoping they can move that up

 

Keep us posted, at this point 2011+ are nearly "perfect"

 

Should be able to reach around the block and feel with your hand to see if there's evidence of oil seeping from the tensioner fitting. I'd think it would leave a soiled film even if it were occurring slowly, similar to the crank sensor O-ring on the Gen Ones.

What's your build date?

 

Build date October 2010, 8000 miles. I'll check and see if I can feel any oil seepage. I'm also checking oil level daily.

 

No sign of any seepage around what I THINK is the tensioner fitting. Also went for a spirited drive and parked it for night on clean concrete. No drops overnight , I really cannot figure this out seems to be dropping about one drop a week of oil on garage floor. Starting to think this is a MINI "Feature" to convince owner they really own a English vehicle.

 

Are you certain it's oil? Could it be another fluid?

 

,

Nope, I assumed it was cosmoline at first but drops seem to be getting dirtier which makes me think it is engine oil. I did not do it when was car was new and only started when we hit hot weather.

 

Well, in looking back at your photo, I'm starting to wonder if maybe your water pump (another weak spot on the MINI) isn't leaking, but I can't remember on which side of the engine it's located. And the BMW coolant appears as a dark green-blue-black (depending on the light) in color, which might be mistaken for dirty-looking oil. Recommend you check (and monitor) your coolant level in the reservoir.

 

OK, I'm driving a loaner. Oil leak was oil pump seal, they say this is first they've seen on a 2011 so part was ordered and will be here Monday. But thats OK cause I also ordered a 2011 JCW Tune kit and that will be installed next week along with fixing oil leak. Super nice folks over at Hendricks.

 

How are they going to tune it? It is my understanding that MINI has does not have the calibration tune for the 2011+ Cooper S JCW kit yet.

 

Not sure but several folks on this board with 11s and 12s have had the kit installed with no apparently problem

 

Interesting. My dealer and site vendor Way Motor Works both told me the tuning is not available yet. I just purchased my car last week. Hmmmm

 

Check out this thread
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ne-have-3.html

I'll let you know how it all turns out and cost. I was quoted $2350 parts and labor

 

Thanks. It was that thread that lead me to believe I could get the kit for my car. When I asked about it I was waved off and told it can't be done yet.

 

Well, still waiting for oil seal and JCW kit to get in. Funny, the demo theygave me is the exact same color as mine, within 100 miles as the same milage as mine and build date within a month of mine. And it's just as tight and rattle free as mine. Just has that slappy paddle gearbox.

EDIT

Tune Kit came in yesterday afternoon and is being installed today along with oil pump seal

 

Well, 6 week later and a new drop of oil on garage floor. Seemed to quit after the replaced that oil seal but that may have been just due to cooler weather. A couple of warm days this week and drip is back. It wierd, just one or two drops a week and only on 70+ degree days. Any ideas ???

Oh, and love the JCW kit

 

Hi tccox,

I bought my 2011 Mini Cooper in April 2011. I started noticing small oil drips on my garage floor within 2 months of purchase. In July 2011 I took my Mini to Mini of San Francisco to have them fix it. Mini of SF could not find any leaks coming from the car. The drip appears to be coming from the front passenger side of the car. I find oil spots on my garage floor right under the oil dip stick.

It is now Feb. 2012. My Mini only has 7900 miles on it and it is still leaving little drops of oil on my garage floor.

Today I took the car to Mini of Concord (East Bay) to see if they can figure out what is leaking. I have not heard back from them yet, but I expect to within the next 2 hours.

My concern is that my car is effectively still brand new. The drips started pretty much from the get go. I rarely drive the car, as I take the train to/from work. My car is under warranty until 3 yrs or 36k miles. I have read many many awful stories about Mini/BMW refusing to own up to problems that seem to be the result of cheap/faulty parts or poor design.

I am also concerned that Mini/BMW is in the practice of denying a problem exists when the car is still under warranty . . . to avoid having to pay for the problem themselves.

I wanted to get this issue documented here in case this becomes yet another "known" (but not recalled) issue with Mini Coopers. I also wanted to validate your experience.

You can see lots of Mini complaints here: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/mini.html

Incidently, my 2011 Mini is my 2nd Mini. I had a 2005 Mini Cooper that I sold at 125k miles. My 2005 had several of the classic older Mini problems - the power steering pump & fan went out at 100k miles - had to replace the windshield at year 3, as it had numerous cracks/chips - the CVT transmission slipped and jerked. Each of these repairs were expensive and occured out of warranty.

We need to put the pressure on Mini/BMW to back their product and do what's right by their buyers.

Good luck with your oil leak. I'll post an update as soon as I hear what Mini of Concord plans to do with my oil leak.

 

Well , I have since traded the car in on a 128 but not because I did not love the Mini. In the 13 months I owned the car it developed two small oil leaks. 1. they replaced a o ring on HP oil pump and 2. they replaced some kind of solenoid valve. both times leak was fixed and still no leaking when I sold the car. The dealer , Hendrick (Best dealer ever) did'nt argue with me about it and had me bring car in right away and gave me a nearly new Mini as a loaner while they fixed the car. Not sure your issue is with Mini but with a crappy dealer who apparently did not take the time to really look into the problem. I'd keep at them. A nearly new car should not be leaking oil.

 

Mini of Concord was able to find the leak on my 2011 Mini Cooper. Hooray for them being able to find and admit the leak exists. Mini of Concord has always been better than Mini of SF, imo. Concord found a similar problem as you had, TCCOX, a leaky solenoid. The leaky solenoid caused contamination of a nearby harness, which will also have to be replaced. Both the harness and the solenoid are on back order, so the repair won't be done for at least 1 month. I asked my service advisor if she'd seen this problem before. She said she'd seen it several times in the 2011 Cooper. I have to wonder if the parts are on back order because they've had a flurry of replacement requests for them. Sounds to me like more cheap parts going bad. I wish BMW would get their act together and use reliable parts. I LOVE my Mini, but I have totally lost confidence in BMW as a manufacturer. I sold my 2011 Cooper last week. (sniff!) I informed the new owner of the issue so she could get the parts replaced when they arrive.

 

yeah i have no confidence in them either. it sucks you both a such rpoblems with a 2011. all my problems with my 07 happened out of warranty.

 

We experienced the oil solenoid leak in my wife's 2012 Cooper Countryman at 8,700 miles. I took it in to MINI of Loveland this morning. They had it diagnosed and repaired by 11:30. They gave me a loaner so I could do a little post Christmas shopping while they took care of it. Excellent service in my book!

 

Linking the two posts for the same problem. Thanks for posting this because it looks like an issue to look out for!!!

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-check-it.html

 

Looks just like the spots on my garage floor. 2011 Clubman with 12976 miles at the time.
Long Beach Mini replaced the oil pressure solenoid valve and oil pan gasket. And, because the oil had migrated, they also replaced the engine wiring harness, at no charge.