Hello, Fellow MINI Lovers,

Our 2006 MCS had the EML light come on Monday morning as I drove to work. I bought the car new in 2006, and I've never seen the light. I honestly didn't know what it was, but I thought it must be an emissions sensor of some kind. There was absolutely no difference in how it drove. Needless to say, when I got to work and pulled out the owner's manual, I was shocked to see that it seemed to be much more serious.

I called the dealership and set up an appointment for after work. However, when I got in the car after work, the light was gone. I called the dealership and canceled the appointment in order to think things over. I drove my wife's Countryman the rest of the week, but I just checked the 2006 with my code reader expecting to find something. (It's been a busy week.) However, there are no codes.

Has anyone else had this happen? Could it have been some kind of computer glitch? I haven't driven the car since Monday, because I'm debating as to whether or not I should bite the bullet and pay $150 to get the dealership to look at it. We had the engine replaced almost three years ago, so I'm kind of cautious about this kind of thing.

 

I had the EML light come on when I had a SC vacuum leak. The inlet on the passenger side of the intercooler had a gap and allowed a leak. Replacing the seal and correcting the clamp orientation fixed the issue. Consider taking a look at the air intake system. See if you have any issues there.

 

I had an EML light on when the intake pressure sensor was bad. I also get it flash when my wife red lines the engine!

 

With no codes I don't know what the dealer would find although I do not what the ECU keeps in memory that perhaps the Dealer system could pull up.

 

If there was an EML light on there are codes, generic p-code readers don't pull manufacturer codes, you need to find a quality scan tool to see what codes are stored.

 

Most of us here are amateurs when it comes to MINI problems, fortunately for NAM we have pros like Nick at Detroit Tuned.

 

Sorry to dredge up an old(er) post but I'm at a loss....tried searching all over and can't find any solutions yet.

2005 MCSC that has always run great, no issues, around 82k miles. Suddenly last weekend I noticed a slight dip in power as I was pulling off the freeway (limp/safe mode, I'm guessing) but immediately went back to normal. On the way home a few hours later, same story except this time I noticed the Check Engine and EML lights flash. They did not stay on for more than a fraction of a second and the same hesitation in power. I pulled over immediately and shut off the car, rested a min and started right up. Drove home with no issues. Drove it intermittently over the weekend with no issues but come Monday morning when my husband went to drive it into Phoenix (about 25 mile drive) he said it did the same thing about a dozen times. Took it to a nearby Mini specialist who tested everything and got no codes even though they could reproduce the problem. Cleaned the connections to the TB and said everything else looked great. Drove it home and same thing. Today, when my husband went to start it after work, it wouldn't fire. It would turn over, all battery operated features worked as normal including the top going down which is a pretty major pull so I don't think it's a battery issue. After about 20 mins of trying and resting he got it to fire up and had no light/limp issues on the way home. Stopped at the local autoparts to read the codes and still none. Read the 14.0, 14.1, 14.2 codes on the onboard computer in test mode just to see and because I don't have a "real" reader I am lost with what I found (6328 IF, 6428 IF and 6528 in 14.0, 14.1 and 14.2 respectively). Any clues?!?!?!

 

March 10th, 2020

OMG Fellow Mini Lover.

I was googling this issue with the EML light coming on and found this page and read your post. I had this issue happen to me yesterday, March 10th 2020. I was on my way to work in the morning and noticed my MINI almost wanting to shut down and stall but it kept running but I did notice my EML light was now on my dashboard and the car performance seemed to be different now. As I accelerated my Mini would not go over 35 MPH !!!! Nothing like this has happened to me before. This seems pretty serious to me, so I said a Prayer that it would at least make it to my office and it did thank God ! Going forward, I called my mechanic and left a message to go today but it appears he may not be in as he's not returning my calls. We are currently in the midst of this CORONAVIRUS thing that is creating chaos all around the WORLD !!

Appears to me that this issue will be costly and I just a major job with my MINI a few years ago, which cost me over $3,000.00 to fix a Blown Head Gasket and it was with refurbished parts !!! Not looking to spend any more large amounts on my MINI as it is over 13 years old and has been giving me issues since it was only 2 years old. Looking to buy a good Used Honda in the South Floirda Area, so if any of my MINI lovers knows of the best place/places to find the best deal on a good used Honda, please let me know!!

I LOVED my MINI when I purchased it NEW back in 2006. It gave me many joyful rides. I will miss my MINI Convertible but it is time to say Good Bye.
Looking forward to seeing your replies and suggestions on where to get a good used Honda in South Florida / Miami Area.

Take good card and be Safe my MINI LOVERS !!!

 

Just happened to me in my 2008 Mini Cooper S convertible. Last of the supercharged engines.

I was driving last Friday throughout the day. Then exit from one freeway to another and the power abruptly drops to maybe 10%. EML light comes on and battery light too. After turning it off, back on and getting very brief normal running each time the same sequence reoccurred. I gave up and got flatbedded to my local BMW shop-formerly Dinan. They not only could not duplicate it they also pulled up no fault codes. Got the MINI back today and within two miles the same thing occurred. Limped back to the shop and left it for another look.

Any ideas?

 

Similar issue happened with a friend of mine - it was the harmonic balancer/damper/crank pulley.
He reported occasional 'limp mode'. Drove normally (for 40 miles) until I turned on the AC (which adds load), and boom - happened again.
As soon as I pulled the belt, it fell apart. You can get versions in OEM (rubber), ATI (pricey fluid damper, but good), or PRW (budget fluid damper)

 

The guys at Carbahn (formerly Dinan) identified the issue. Failing supercharger pulley. And damper. They replaced both. A bit less than $1100 total. A one day repair.

 

See below. End of life on supercharger pulley and damper. $1100 including new belt and labor. Elected not to go with an aftermarket pulley.

 

See my post today. Supercharger pulley. Damper and belt. With labor about $1100. Fixed. How does a pulley fail? Guess I’ll see why.

 

I’m at 66,000 miles. I put on 50,000 as second owner since 2011. It has been a super little car. Part practical get around and part fun sports car. I have several true sports cars and live in coastal northern CA with mountain roads, curves and challenges. This MINI handles it all with ease. I’m planning to keep it as my daily driver.

 

Was it the OEM pulley? Hadn't heard of those failing.

 

If the SC Tensioner fails, it can fall into the damper/front pulley and destroy it. Likewise, the OEM damper DOES fail, its not a great design. THE original owner of my MCS had his fail at an AutoX, new damper (ATI 2%), new belt and tensioner. I've not had any problems with it in my ownership (bought it at 129k, now at 171k) other than an idler pulley going south. Ditch the OEM and put on an ATI, its worth the $$ IMHO.

 

Sorry, I wasn't clear. OP said the supercharger pulley failed. I know the OEM harmonic balancer (aka crank pulley) fails, but hadn't heard of the OEM SC pulley fail in any way.

 

I'm having a bit of this on 2005 MCS. I have an aftermarket 15% SC pulley, do they ever slip?

I installed a fluid damper main pulley, so that is unlikely to ever fail again.

Jeremy