Hi all -

Pardon if this is a well-worn topic. I've searched here but not found the answer.

Our 2012 Mini Cooper base model with 50k miles had begun to misfire when accelerating from low rpm's. No check engine light had come on at that point but a local shop was able to diagnose the cause as an oil leak into one of the spark plug wells. I fixed it myself with a new valve cover gasket set, new ignition coil, and new plugs for good measure. Meanwhile, the check engine light had come on. Car is back to running fine but I still need to clear the error code.

The shop doing the original diagnosis tells me this is not a code that can be cleared from the dashboard or the garden variety scanners that parts stores use for their free scans. They'll want $102 to hook it up to their computer for about an hour. That seems a bit crazy to me. Am I getting the real story? If so, is there a scanner I could buy that would let me do it myself?

Thanks,
Skip

 

Hello Skip! I'd suggest you use this site here: http://www.minirepairshops.com/. It will help you find a qualified MINI shop in your area that has BMW/MINI equipment that can clear the code for you. It should most definitely cost less than that. You can also look into buying your own tool, if you plan to work on your own MINI, like AutoEnginuity. Something like the iCarly App does well and is cost effective for clearing codes as well.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/...pg9.htm#item32

 

Many thanks, Pelican Parts. It sure didn't seem to me that clearing an error code should be that big a deal. With the link you provided I found another shop that hooked up their scanner and cleared the code in about 30 seconds. For free.

 

Yeah...
The first shop was BS'ing you a bit...
Some codes, usually emissions CAN require a higher end code reader....
But 99% of stuff can be read and cleared with a typical $20-40 unit.
And after a set number if cycles, the code would have clear itself....might have been a few weeks...but still would have fixed it self so to say once the problem is fixed.
Heck, even the more complex codes can usually be done with a handheld "pro" odb2 readers....
Think they were hoping you would believe the hour to clear a code cause the dealers say it so often....

 

Chances are that the spark plugs are what fixed your misfire issue. The factory rates the Cooper plugs for 100k miles, but we see them fail around 45-50k.

You should be able to at least get the light to go out with a generic reader, it just won't read manufacture codes.

FWIW, we charge a $50 computer fee, depending on what we need to do. We are flexible on price with many things, such as just clearing a CEL. There isn't much skill required to push 3 buttons and turn a light off.

 

You're very welcome and glad it all worked out!

 

It doesn't take a computer an hour to clear a code, only seconds. However it might take a human an hours labor to figure out how to clear the code, so they charge $102 for an hours labor? Seems about right.

 

You could also disconnect the neg battery terminal for 30 seconds or so, I believe. But that would reset everything to default, even the radio and convenience settings. But, would be less than 100.00 of your time to re-set everything.

 

Nope.
Maybe 20 years ago...trick stopped working in about 1988...last car I had that work on anyway was... then the odb spec and then odb2 spec came our..