As I read a little above this point, I honestly feel for some of you.
I've had my car (Cooper S) since last September and have had absolutely
zero problems. I drove it from New Orleans to San Diego and now have
5100 miles on it, and after reading this section occasionally I'm beginning
to feel pretty lucky. :smile:
_________________
Chilli Red & White Bonnets/ Motor On

 

Check your oil!!! You may have a leaky head gasket, or even worse a cracked block. Look for signs of coolant in the engine oil (frothy & over full?).

 

Wow - that seemed to come out of nowhere!

Welcome to MCO BigL!!!

Would you care to share the experience that prompted you to give us this ominous warning? :???:

...I feel like I should offer condolences before you even tell us.

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The SharkFin antenna is 2 fun! Click for info!


<a href=https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=phpBB_14&file= index&action=viewtopic&topic=2936><i mg src="https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...></a>

 

yes please, explain....http://hometown.aol.com/joseh1076/JOSEART.html

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<IMG SRC="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/....jpg"> <IMG SRC="http://www.imagestation.com/picture/....jpg">

 

we need to know...http://hometown.aol.com/joseh1076/JOSEART.html

 

I didn't even make it off the dealer's lot before I noticed a problem. My fuel indicator showed empty, service hooked up their test set and it started working again. After much meandering they figured it to be the sending unit (left side). As I had ordered my Mini from a dealer 600 miles away, I drove it home as it was. It seems to work intermittently. My local service dept is ordering the part, he mentioned this was not the first he saw of this problem.

I'll update when I know more.

-Eric

 

Just a comment.

This is a useful thread in that it alerts me to things to look for in my seven week old MCS. But I notice that the thread is about seven months old and has only five pages--about 125 posts, some of which are positive, not complaints. This isn't too bad.

My own car is perfect so far at 1250 miles, and I'll be interested to see how it holds up down the road as I rack up miles. For those of you with problems, my complete sympathy, and thanks for sharing.

 

i'm new to this web site, so i'm not sure if i'm in the right place, anyway, i have a question cocerning second gear surging when accelerating, wheather hot or cold. also have just installed aero grille with driving lights. was succesful and it looks great! thanks to anyone who responds tbp38@msn.com

 

I originally posted the following info. earlier
this week on a different thread. "Coolant color change".
However, it sounds like I should have posted here instead,
so here goes:

>>My husband was checking all of the fluid
>>levels on Mrs. Peel today and discovered
>>that the reservoir for the coolant was
>>completely empty! He filled the tank according
>>to the directions in the MINI manual but now
>>I'm concerned after reading these posts.
>>I knew that there had been a problem with
>>the coolant but since I just got my
>>MINI (not an S) on Jan. 7th (Dec. '02 build)
>>I thought I was out of danger.
>>
>>Any thoughts? :smile:
lhowlett
(Owner of Mrs. Peel)

 

2800 miles NO problems!!!! cross my fingers and knock on wood.

 

4500mi. Have had oil sensor and oil pump replaced. First sign was intermittent oil pressure dummy mostly under low speed conditions after medium range (100-400mi) driving. Light would come on in 1s/2d gear. Sometime stay on, sometime flicker and go out. Would often go out once under regular accleration (the light was mostly a condition of being stopped in traffic). Went to deal immediately.

Dealer topped off after first visit. Told me to come back if problem recurred. About 800mi (which was only two days of driving to parents house and back), problem returned. Went for replacement of oil sensor. Problem recurred immediately, and went back to shop (about 5mi of driving).

Injury report indicated that loss of oil pressure after two hours of testing (a half bar). BMW reposnse was to replace oil pump. I was told that the variance was outside of tolerance ranges for ideal driving, but not enough to warrant additional part replacement.

Anyone have any info on the pressure range the engine should have, and if this half bar drop was significant? Again, there were three instance of the dummy showing up, each after longer drives, but I ran the engine probably two hours total for about 20mi of driving (being stuck in tunnel traffic or trying to find a place to park) when the half bar drop (if it was consistent with the testing condition at the dealer) was happening.

Also had hatch problem, and was replaced during pump replacement visit.

2003 MCS, Sport, Premium, 09/02 build

 

I've put about 1740 miles on my MCS (December 6, '02 build date) and today, while I was headed out for lunch, the MCS wouldn't start. All the lights come on, radio, it cranks, but the engine fails to actually pick up and go.

It's at the dealer now, I should hear back from them tomorrow morning.

As far as service goes, roadside assistance was pretty quick, except for the 10 minutes of being on hold. The flatbed was out there about 30 min after I called them, and the service people of Motor City Mini called me when it arrived, and are calling me back as soon as the car has been diagnosed. I'll keep you all posted.

 

Anybody know anyhting about a blown Xenon headlight? I was driving back from picking up my MINI S, and the headlights were not as bright as one would expect. I checked and the low-beams, which are Xenon, and one was blown on the driver's side.

Anybody have this problem? I'm going to call the dealer today, but wanted to walk in there knowing what was wrong. Thanks in advance!

 

>>I've put about 1740 miles on my MCS (December 6, '02 build date) and today, while I was headed out for lunch, the MCS wouldn't start. All the lights come on, radio, it cranks, but the engine fails to actually pick up and go.
>>
>>It's at the dealer now, I should hear back from them tomorrow morning.
>>
>>As far as service goes, roadside assistance was pretty quick, except for the 10 minutes of being on hold. The flatbed was out there about 30 min after I called them, and the service people of Motor City Mini called me when it arrived, and are calling me back as soon as the car has been diagnosed. I'll keep you all posted.
>>
>>

Episode two of my tale. The car was at the dealer yesterday, they called me, said it started today (after a big puff of black smoke). They know it didn't start the day before because they tried it as well. Service manager went for a test drive, and everything seemed fine. I have a friend drive me out there (its about an hour drive). 10 min before we get there, I get a call from the service manager saying he tried to move the car and it died on him again. The interior lights flashed on him as he was sitting in it. So now it's getting a thorough investigation of what might be up. I hope they diagnose this problem soon and adequately.

On a side note, the people at Motor City MINI are doing a good job. Since I was about 10 min away, when I arrived, they provided a rental car for me to use while my car is in the shop. Okay, its a Toyota Camry, the most boring car ever, but it's getting me from A to B.


_________________
'03 Dark Silver MCS, black roof/mirrors.

 

Episode 3: (Not sure if anyone is still following this one) It turns out I have a faulty fuel pump. The pump is on order, should be at the dealer today, and I might have the Mini back today or monday. Yippee! I am tired of the Toyota Camry rental they gave me (I was tired of it after about 5 seconds).

 

Godbless all of you! I have less problems with my '88 Dodge Shadow! My primary reason for getting a new car is to get something reliable that I wouldn't have to worry about. Other reasons included having something fun to drive and something that looked good (my Shadow's paint has that faded tie-dye on the hood and roof effect of late 80's Chryslers).

Seeing as people are still having soo many problems with their cars I've made the reluctant choice to go with another car.

Thanks to everyone here though! It was fun while it lasted! Maybe by the time I'm ready for another car all of the bugs will have worked themselves out.

Cheers!
Bill

 

>>Seeing as people are still having soo many problems with their cars I've made the reluctant choice to go with another car.


Hey! You can't just leave us hanging like that!

What did you decide to go with?

Well, good luck and best wishes anyhow!

 

Hey Mini2Go!

I've decided to go with an Impreza. It's got the fun to drive factor and is very reliable. It's not the best/worst looking car I've ever seen, but it's nowhere near the MINI in the coolness department! And it's not from the UK, like my favorite bands, HiFi gear, and beer are.

But it'll definitely make me happier to drive than my Shadow does! I'm sure I'll catch myself pretending to "Motor" at some point.

I'm only 26 so I've got plenty of time to get into a MINI!! Here's looking forward to that _/ !!

Cheers!
Bill

 

Well, even though I'm now a MINIAC, I'll always be a Subie fan! Still a good choice in my book! Enjoy!

....and we'll look forward to seeing you in a MINI!

 

Did replacing the fuel pump solve the problem? I had mine replaced on day four and I'm having problems with the car not starting again. Thanks!

 

My mini will not start on hte first try anytime its cold. No problem when hot. I this a common problem? It's a Mini Cooper S with 10,800 miles.

 

>>My Nav system has a problem. On mornings when the car is below about 35 degrees, the nav system does not initiate. The screen turns on (glows slightly), but the mini symbol or the warning never comes up. I will have the dealer look at it when I take it in for service. Anyone else had this problem?

I have a similar problem. The NAV will sometimes take forever to initialize and display, only once have I seen the logo. It does not seem to be temperature related in my case. Once it has booted up, it seems to be fine, though with split-screen enabled it sometimes has "BOARD COMPUTER" or just "COMPUTER". Also, it responds sometimes sluggishly to user input, again, this is thoroughly intermittent an with no rhyme or reason.

Seems to me it's a software glitch, anyone else heard of or have this trouble?

 

>>My boot fails to close sometimes unless I give it a good thump on the locking mechanism, which cures it for a while. I've tried lubricating the latch to no avail, so I'm waiting until my first service for the dealer to check it out. The only trouble is it doesn't do it every time. Ron

There are two rubber stand-offs on either side of the boot. I fixed this problem by turning them clockwise once.

 

I've got an '03 s model with 1700 miles on it. The only problem I've had has been with the shift ****. It'll come off in my hand on some 2nd gear shifts and the clear plastic on top covering the shift pattern has broken loose. What ever happened to good old threaded *****?

 

Yes you need a new steering rack. Will be replaced under warranty.