alright guys my car has been acting weird lately... i just recently had it serviced for the first time in january. it is a 2011 and a little over a year old. i have a few mods to it you can see in my sig... CAI and exhaust... but lately after i turn the car off the fan that cools the turbo (i think) turns on everytime! no matter how long i drive it... and its really cold out... it usually only did that when it had been driven for a long time or it had been hot out... and it stays on for a long time.. i was just out there looking around under the hood for 5 minutes and it was still on when i left... could it be the AUX water pump that needs to be recalled... i didnt think my car fell into that category because of the date it was made but i could be wrong... the nearest mini dealer is 300+ miles away in seattle! i dont want to have to drive all the way there! should i call em up (most likely will) unless you guys have any ideas... i usually am not worried about my car to often... i dont drive it to hard every once in a while ill accelerate hard through a corner but speed limits are 25-35 around here... any thoughts? is my car going to expload!

 

I've noticed this on my '08 Cooper recently too. Did they update any software as part of the service? I noticed mine doing this after the dealer updated all the software back in January. I've only had the car since November, and I didn't drive it much in January before the service, so I can't be certain it wasn't doing this before the new software.

My next service is in March, and I'm planning on asking the dealer about it then.

 

i dont think they updated anything at my service... didnt need anything... just oil change and checked fluids...

 

it may be a bad thermostat, they are looking into the same thing on my 2012. Take to the dealer and have them check it out for you

 

Just got a p0128 code.

 

Its still under warranty so just bring it in to them and ask for the recall to be done and to check that issue you were having.

 

Take it in now! Do not pay for the repair. You have a bad temp sensor. The sensor is inside the thermostat, one piece. This issue is running rampant, I have 2 ministry and between them so far 5 bad thermostat/temp sensors. Mini is having a big issue with these things. Bottom line, the car is wrong about the engine temp, it's trying to cool the engine when it doesn't need to. If it decided stop because it didn't think the engine was hot, you will blow up your motor. The repair takes my favorite mechanic about an hour / hour and a half to complete. If they want to keep it over night ask ALOT of questions. Good luck, hope you have a good dealer. I love mine. The service manager is a great friend to have. Remember, he didn't build the car, you decided to buy it, treat him how you want to be treated and he will be good to you.

 

If your coolant bottle is empty you probably have a leaking thermostat. If the coolant level is OK than it's probably the thermostat temp sensor. If the sensor is bad it'll tell the ECU the car is overheating and cause weird things to go on. Usually, it won't start or is hard to start.

 

That's the biggest issue. The temp sensors aren't "bad" they are sending information to the ecu that isn't abnormal, it's just wrong. My service manager has done so many at this point he actually called me before it happened to let me know what to expect. About a month later it started just like he said it would. I've talked to several techs, They're doing a ton of these, for the same reason. Just my experience.

 

Is that issue mainly related to the 2011's and up or back to 2010's.
I haven't had the issue and mine is an 07. 07's have other issues I guess.

 

well maybe that is whats wrong with my 2012. My wifes 2011 hasn't had any issues

 

im so pissed because my closest delaers are 300+ miles away! they said they could tow it there but cant bring it back! i have no way of getting there i cant miss work and school! you think i could convince them to reimburse me if i took it to the import car service in town that is a certified mini mechanic? are those high hopes... i mentions something fishy was up when i was there a month ago but they kind of brushed it off because there was no check engine... i dont want to drive it there and my car over heat... and i need to go to work?

 

oh and my coolant level is right at the line...

 

hey peichor... do you know how much it roughly cost... if its not to bad i could just get the part and do it or have the mini mechanic in town do it... save a long drive...

 

well sorry to blow this thread up one post after another... but just got it towed into Northwest MINI.. the service advisor was super nice and we worked it out to get it towed back to me since i have no way to go and pick it up... so we will se what happens and how long this takes...

 

there should be NO QUESTION of having it towed back to you. IN FACT Mini Roadside Assistance is REQUIRED by their own rules to tow it back to you if you live more than 100 miles from the dealer which you say you do.

 

well problem solved then haha... ya they were saying ridiculous things like you could get a one way ticket to fly here then drive the car back... hahah NOT HAPPENING!

 

Problem is usually is that if the dealer call MINI Roadside Assistance they get a run around. If you call them from the begining then there should be no problem.

I have had that happen to me where I called the dealer and they had it towed and paid for it but then Roadside Assistance did not want to cover the trip back as I (the owner) had not initiated the original towing.

 

interesting... how far were you from the dealer... i am just about 300 give or take a few.... the dealer said they would pay for 250 miles on the way back... but i swear ive heard them towing back for free... i guess ill see what happens

 

MINI Roadside Assistance and I argued over the distance for some time but they paid up in the end.

I live, by road 107 miles from my dealer. But if you follow a straight line it is only about 70 miles.

Here are a few links to information about roadside assistance. None of them actually spell out the details but you should have gotten a written Roadside Assistance notification with the car (along with the manuals etc).

http://www.miniusa.com/faq.jsp?categ...faq/roadside-m

http://www.miniusa.com/top-feature-c...ServiceLegal-m

And if you have and iPhone or Android phone there is an app for that.

http://www.roadsidemobile.com/mini/index.do

 

Add me to the list of 2011 MINIs with this problem. P0128 and P173b codes, and fan continuing after shut down. Coolant level perfect, heater produces heat. Dealer says thermostat being replaced. 17,000 miles.

 

Spent an hour or so with my Mini Tech at our local drealership this morning concerning the same issue you describe. He told me that there was a small run of bad temp sensors causing this problem. He explained that there are "2" soldered connections inside the sensor and one of them has a BAD solder joint causing the "P173B CAN Engine Coolant Temperature Invalid" Having wrenched myself for 35 years I concur with this diagnosis as mine does it intermittently indicating the connection is secure at one time and disconnected the next depending on vehicle useage.
It's about a 1-2 hour operation which involves replacing thermostat,(in which lies the sensor)
Shoot low, they're ridin' Shetland Ponies..............

 

Had this happen to my 2007s all winter in -35C temps. Took it in for the aux pump recall (2100kms round trip) and it has not re-occured since.

 

My 2011 with 10k miles just threw this code P173B and also code P0599 now the car drives only in limp mode / reduce power. Not certain if this is related but todays valley temps was above 100 degrees while driving in traffic for 45 mins. Check the code with my Scangauge II and monitored the coolant temps and it keep flipping from 418 degrees to 157 degrees when the code pop on so it could be a bad engine coolant temp sensor.

Off to the dealership it goes!

 

I've actually gone through 2 thermostat replacements on my 2011MCS. On the last visit, they just recoded the car and that seemed to have done the trick. It's been several months since the fan has stayed on too long after shut off.