The “Check Engine” light on my beloved 2005 R50 just came on for the first time ever, and I have a question about it. First off, note that I’m not even an amateur mechanic, more of a curious driving enthusiast.

The car has 73K miles, mostly in California, and I’ve never skimped on maintenance. I’ve had multiple mechanics tell me it looks brand new under the hood. Over the past year though, it’s barely been driven at all, maybe 500 miles. When I do drive it, I’ve noticed the steering getting stiffer and stiffer, and I suspected a power steering fluid leak. When the “Check Engine” light came on, I figured that must be the cause.

Brought it into a local mechanic, and to my surprise they said that while there was indeed a leak—the pump, reservoir, cooling fan, and hose need to be replaced, at a total cost including labor of $1,100–that wouldn’t set off the light, and that they needed to perform an additional $80 smoke test to determine the cause.

Does that sound right? And while I’m here, does $1,100 for the power steering work sound decent? Their breakdown is as follows:

PS pump: $580
Reservoir: $50
Cooling fan: $210
Hose: $50
Fluid: $20
Labor: $190

Thanks!

 

Power Steering pump should be covered under a recall. Get your VIN and check.
http://www.miniusa.com/content/miniu...rt/recall.html

 

Find another mechanic!

$1100 is OK for the P/S work but the prices don't correspond with MINI's & may, just may, be covered under a recall.
I'd refill the reservoir & see if it really is leaking much.

You don't need a 'smoke test', whatever that is. You need an ODBII reader to find the code(s) that triggered the CEL - AutoZone will usually do that for free which will at least get you started on the right track.

 

Thanks to you both. I input my VIN into the field, and it said "No Open Safety Recalls Were Found For Your MINI." Is that definitive? Is there some reason a P/S pump recall would apply to other 2005 R50s, but not mine?

And sorry if I left out vital info: the mechanic said that the "Check Engine" light indicated an air leak, and the smoke test would be needed to determine where it is. I doubt he's crooked, though it's always possible he's bumping up the amount of work needed.

Hope that helps.

 

I believe there were several different P/S recalls depending on model & market. Perhaps your car does not apply to any of them, or it may simply have expired by now.
I'd top up the reservoir with the correct CF11S fluid & see if it truly 'leaks' or just makes the hoses damp. Given that you don't use the car much it may be that seals have dried out.

For the CEL, disconnect the battery for a day or two & see if it makes any difference.

 

I would call a Mini Service dept and give them the VIN and ask if there is a recall for the PS pump. When I checked for my passenger side seat recall, it did not state any recall. I went for a wheel alignment and they informed me there was a recall pending.
These cars are notorious for leaking, as for as the PS reservoir leaking, it may just be the hoses, which will leak down to the PS pump. When your reservoir is full, does the pump still make noise?
I would look for a qualified independent Mini/BMW mechanic that knows these car rather the taking it to the guy down the street. Good luck and welcome to NAM.

 

We are hampered without knowing what CEL Code(s) were present. A smoke test leads me toward a vacuum leak but I do not know enough about the non supercharged R50 engine to know where to point you towards.

Also would think you have three hoses and they they are only changing the larger one that attaches to the reservoir.

 

Not all Gen 1 Minis are affected by the P/S pump recall, so if the VIN lookup does not come back with one you are probably not covered.

I suspect your steering kept getting stiffer is due to running out of fluid because of the leak. Most leak is like a sweating but if owners don't regularly check the reservoir level that will lead to PSP failure. PSP fluid circulates through the reservoir is a part of how it works.

The air leak can be emission related. The simplest is the fuel cap not tighten properly.

 

Thanks, everyone. There was indeed an audible whining noise during steering before it became noticeably stiff, but I haven't topped up the P/S fluid and probably wouldn't do it myself, as that's beyond my level of expertise. I seriously doubt the mechanic would invent a leak just for the business; they're well-regarded and have worked on countless MINIs.

Would it be helpful to ask what the CEL code(s) were, or is it immaterial at this point since he said it was caused by an "air leak"?

Thanks for the words of welcome, though I've actually been a member over a decade! Man, how times flies....

 

The higher audible whining noise is exactly what the sign the PSP is running low on oil - i.e. oil mixed with air. That should add to the confidence level the mechanic is telling the truth.

To see the CEL code of air leak yourself you will need a code reader that support the Mini.

 

PS pump: $580
Reservoir: $50
Cooling fan: $210
Hose: $50
Fluid: $20
Labor: $190

If you trust him and he can do all that work for just $190, let him do it..Let us know how it works out.

 

Oh, please, Eric!

If you can put gas in the gas tank, you can top up the P/S tank!

 

Knowing the code would definitely help narrow down the problem. I've recently been plagued with a few air leaks in my vacuum system. One was a faulty gas cap. Another was a non-functioning evap canister. And yet another was a leaking MAP sensor. Each of these gave me different codes (P0456 & P1498, respectively). But with that said, a smoke test is often a good investment to help diagnose the problem. The code can only tell you so much, so it seems to be cheaper in the long run to have a shop diagnose it, as opposed to throwing parts at it. But hopefully we can also help you narrow it down!

 

Nothing like finding out the problem is the $0.38 O-Ring on the MAS Air Sensor.

Knowing what the Fault Codes are are the KEY of resolving your issue.

Best of luck.

Motor On!

 

Ha, ok you're probably right. I've added coolant and wiper fluid -- not in the same place -- and even changed the battery myself, so I guess I could do this. But I'd like to get the problem solved rather than just putting a Band-Aid on it.

It's a whole garage, with two technicians who apparently have extensive experience with MINIs. The estimate was for two hours' labor, so as long as some major problem doesn't rear its head, I expect they'll stick to it.

 

Just a quick update, got the P/S work and a few other minor items done, and I'm 100% satisfied. I literally laughed the first time I turned the steering wheel as I was pulling out -- after driving without power steering for nearly a year , it's like I have a brand new car. One year/12K mile warranty on the repairs. Oh, and it turns out that while some '05 models have a 13-year extended warranty on the P/S pump, my production date is one month beyond the allowable range. I tried MINI Customer Relations, but they wouldn't budge.

As for the CEL, the code was PO456, and fortunately it's just a hose that they can replace with no labor charge. They also recommended I replace the gas cap, as there's apparently a minuscule leak there as well, and the gasket has a tiny but visible crack.

For anyone who lives in the Boston area, I now feel fairly confident recommending them: Alewife Mobil, in North Cambridge.

One thing the technician said surprised me, though I have a feeling there are strong feelings on both sides of this issue. He swore up and down that even with top quality synthetic oil, it's imperative to change the oil every 5K miles, though I recall every MINI service center I've worked with has said that's pointless, and 10K is fine. Is he just trying to get me in the shop more often? Or is it better for maintenance to double the frequency of oil changes?

 

If you bring the car in for a 5K mile oil service and the shop/tech tries to upsell you oil/transmission fluid flushes, or injector cleaning, or other such nonsense then you know the shop is using the 5K mile oil services to well, try to upsell you other things.

But even so, you don't have to agree to have the other things done. You can just say thanks for the suggestion but today all I want is the oil/filter service done.

(And besides this the other vital fluids should be checked and tire pressures set and while the car is in the air a thorough inspection made for any signs of trouble, like a leak. There is more to proper servicing of these cars than just changing the oil every so often. As important as that is, it ain't all there is.)

If you want to switch to another shop that's ok but I wouldn't stop the 5K mile oil/filter servicing and opt for longer intervals between oil/filter services.

Regardless if the 1st shop tries to take advantage of you I think 5K mile oil/filter services a good idea.

You can't know, won't know, until possibly many miles (or maybe not so many miles) later if the extended oil change intervals were a good thing or not.

My SOP has been to change the oil (mineral or synthetic) when recommended by the auto maker or 5K miles whichever is less. This even though my last two cars the change interval was 15K miles (with a 30K mile filter service interval) and 10K miles.

I put over 317K miles on one car and over 161K miles on the other and both engines were just fine.

I believe you live in the Boston area. So chances are your car will experience some stop and go driving, short trips, and extremes of high temperature (in the summer/in traffic) and cold temperature (in the winter).

This can constitute harsh or severe duty and in some cases the auto maker acknowledges this and recommends a shorter oil change interval.

(For instance, back in 2002 I bought a VW Golf TDi in Merrian KS. The service desk had a sign up that VW considered the region with its temperature extremes, humidity, etc. harsher than normal and because of this recommended more frequent servicing.)

Some more info to make it clearer why I adopted a 5K mile oil/filter service interval...

Back in early 2002 just a few months after I bought a new 2002 Porsche Boxster (in January 2002) and had put around 4K miles on it out of curiosity I had the oil analyzed. Things looked ok other than there was considerable water (around 7%) in the oil. With around 9 quarts total oil capacity this represented around 1/2 quart of water.

This water had accumulated even though my work commute was 10 miles and I drove the car much longer distances often. One doesn't accumulate over 4K miles in just a couple of months of driving simply making the local grocery store run once a week.

It was the results of the oil analysis that 1) Prompted me to change the oil ASAP rather than wait (this is the car that had the 15K mile oil change interval schedule). 2) Prompted me to use my OBD2 code reader/data logger to view engine telemetry in real time and it was then I noticed how cool the engine ran. In the dead of winter in the KC MO area the coolant temperature struggled to get even close to 200F. With this low of coolant temperature and low oil temperature the oil didn't get hot enough to boil out the water.

So based on the oil analysis and my observations I adopted a 5K mile oil change interval for the Boxster, and the Golf, and my 2006 GTO and my Cayman S and my 996 Turbo.

With my new 2018 JCW (and new 2018 Challenger R/T Scat Pack) while neither car has reached 5K miles yet I intend to follow a 5K mile oil/filter service schedule with both cars.

As an aside, both engines have already had an early oil/filter service: The Challenger at around 1200 miles, the JCW at just 350 miles. The Challenger will get an oil/filter service at around 2500 miles and the JCW at 2K miles, then at 5K miles and every 5K miles thereafter.