My car started smoking white and smelled of unburnt fuel so I took it to dealer. On my way the car started running fine. The dealer kept the car for 1 week trying to reproduce the problem. I refered my problem to the forums and the answer was to check the HPFP which I directed the dealer to do and asked for a replacement. They said that they couldn't replace just because I said so, that they had to reproduce the problem to diagnose it. A year later I was driving to work and started misfiring and started doing the James Bond smoke screen thing with a horrible smell of fuel. I stopped by the dealer and told the guy...here you go, it's doing it right now. The guy said yes no doubt please turn it off, I can't breathe...LOL. After diagnosing they replaced the fuel pump but turns out that cyl 1 injector was stuck open. This flooded cyl 1 and they recommended a compression check and boroscope to inspect the cylinder and piston. Also, he quoted me for replacing the injectors at 2998.00 dlls with the diagnostics (450.00 dlls for diagnostics). 2 days later, they call me to tell me that cyl 1 compression was at 100# and the other 3 were at 155# and the boroscope test showed damage to the piston. The quote for a refurbished engine was at 13,000 dlls for a 2009 Clubman s that is worth maybe 3,000 dlls. Not happy with any of this I drove the car in limp mode all p'ssed off and ordered the injectors for ECS Tuning (thanks guys) for 62 dlls a pop vice 400 dlls a pop for the factory Mini OEM. By the way, check the Mfg # for both and they are the same. did the work myself in about 2 hours and the car is running great. During my work on the injectors, I found the electrical connector for the HPFP unplugged which was giving me code 2745 Multiplicative mixture adaptation. Also, the oil had lots of fuel in it. After test running the car, my catch can was filling up with fuel so I replaced the oil. Other than that, I recommend to not trust anybody dealer wise and try to do your own work. These guys are out there to sell you a new car by totaling yours. Keep posting these threads. It's the only way we'll keep our cars running the right way. And thanks to ECS Tuning for supporting us with quality parts and Tech help. Do not go too corporate on us and raise the prices astronomically like all of the manufacturers like BMW and Mini do. Thanks guys for reading this.

 

did you fix the damaged piston too?

 

The car is not smoking so I'm going to assume that the piston is fine. I talked it over with a local shop and they suggested that the fuel that was in the cylinder washed off the oil film in the cylinder therefore eliminating the seal between the rings and the cylinder wall. Also, the injector being stuck open could relieve some of the pressure during the compression test as well. The car is running great. Probably on the next oil change, will be doing another compression check to verify that the engine is healthy.

 

cleared it

 

Bringing a 2009 to a dealer is asking for trouble. Find a good non dealer MINI mechanic.

 

Moved two separate threads here and merged.

Good luck with the car and check your oil and catch can frequently!

 

Please share the name of the dealership with the rest of us.

 

It seems he did get the HPFP free out of the ordeal.

 

The dealer is Mini of Escondido in Escondido, CA. Yes, they replaced the HPFP free of charge minus connecting the electrical plug, LOL.

 

No matter what you think the dealer must follow a test plan if BMW/MINI is replacing a part under warranty or a extended HPFP warranty like some of the N14 engines have. HPFP's are up to around $1300.00 dollars and the dealer won't risk BMW/MINI not covering them for the part and labor if procedures are not followed. Even if it's a customer pay job they want to make sure they are placing the right parts so reproducing the issue is a must.

 

Test plans must be followed before they will warranty the HPFP, as sgscomps stated. And, the rings/cylinderwall/pistons being washed with fuel can indeed cause all kinds of bad things. Glad you got it all sorted out. I have had nothing but good experiences with MINI of Escondido, which leaves me wondering if they lost my fave Service Advisor or may fave Mechanic, whose name may be very similar to a famous old baseball player. I really hope both are still there.

 

I have an update on this subject. I called Mini corporate to voice my frustrations about my experience. Told them the story and the guy was al apologetic and said they would do an investigation on the matter. He suggested to take the car back to them to have the dealer do a check of my work. I replied to him by telling that I trusted my code reader and that after them quoting me for basically 13,000 dollars and not putting my car back together properly before returning it to me, I didn't think so. Also told him that I understood that Mini as a company had to make their money. But charging 6x over what the original manufacturer part just by re-boxing it with a Mini box was absolutely ridiculous. I emphasized that people nowadays can actually research things on line and will not stand for these prices because frankly, it's not affordable. I pointed out that Mini as a company, like many others, would eventually see themselves in trouble for lack of costumer traffic due to these outrageous prices. Just gave him my honest opinion and he said that it was valued and definitely would bring it up with their management. We'll see. Also, the car keeps running great with no issues. Thanks for reading

 

In all honesty I disagree. With respect to a MINI Cooper most inde dealers are not much better at diag than you or I....Even seen some reject clients not even wanting to work on them, seen a few independant shop owners in here poking around asking for advice too. And while they spend hours digging around for answers, your MINI sits, still broken, racking up hourly bill.

At least with a MINI dealer, it's usually "been there, done that". And I forgot one more thing, " You get what you pay for."

 

I'll amend my statement: An independent shop with BMW/MINI factory diagnostic software/equipment with a mechanic who is properly trained will be able to equal or beat anything the dealer will do and very possibly at lower shop rate and less inclination to throw parts at the car. They have every incentive to keep your car on the road and build a good long relationship with you. The dealer on the other hand wants to sell you high priced service or get you in a new car.

The dealership I go to has mechanics who are younger and the turnover is high. You probably work or have worked at a dealership with a more stable workforce and possibly a less corporate cannibalistic ownership.

Then of course the benefit of talking to the person who works on your car, that doesn't happen at a shop that has four service advisors, two managers, shop foreman and twenty or so mechanics. In addition to a whole bunch of people milling around who's function alludes description. They have so many extra people and who pays for that?