My son drove through about 2 inches of standing water around a blind corner on Friday night and the engine seems to be toast. Oil on the ground and it wont turn over, even with the spark plugs out. To those who have had this happen, did Mini cover the expense of repair if your car was in the warranty period? TIA

 

Just wondering.....how is it possible to hydrolock an engine going through 2 INCHES of water!?

I've driven through roads that were half way up my wheels in fast moving water....with water splashing all over my MINI and nothing got wet except my IC (from the scoop).

Sorry I have nothing else to offer....I am just curious. Something doesn't add up in my mind.

-Cody

 

If it has an after market intake thats not ducted to the stock location you will have warranty issues.

 

From another thread on the subject
From what I've seen, hydrolock is generally not covered under warranty, because it was only subjected to those conditions by the driver.

 

From what I’ve seen, the owners of hydrolocked vehicles get embroiled in protracted litigation, the only instance I was sure of the outcome, the owner paid. I’ve had some fun savaging Cooper carrion, take a look here for what your connecting rods probably look like. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...0&ppuser=13976

 

you might try an insurance claim...it's been done before

 

Oil on the ground? I don't think the water had anything to do with it. Sounds like your son punched a hole in the oil pan, or the drain plug fell out, and the engine seized.

 

A hydrolocked engine could have punched a hole in the block, presto oil on the ground.

You don't say if it was a Cooper or an S. There have been several instances of Coopers injesting water. But it has been shown that it was way more than just a couple of inches of water. It has to be deep enough to cause the front of the MINI to be covered with water. This allows water to enter the intake and be swallowed by the engine. Which then tries to compress the uncompressable and boom, you have a destroyed engine.

 

When the connecting rod breaks, the bolt on the big journal end rotates into an out-of-the-ordinary position striking the upper and lower case; it may knock a hole in either or both.

 

Warranty won't cover that repair...unless they can find something faulty with the engine that allowed it to hydrolock in 2 inches of water. Definitely try your insurance company though, they will cover the bill most likely.

 

I had a similar thing happen (much deeper water) and went through an insurance claim. They ended up totaling the car since besides hydrolocking the engine it also got into the electral. The calim was considered no fault and did not effect my premiums...

 

Was the claim processed under the Comprehensive secion of the policy?

It definitely won't be covered by MINI - operator error (which is one of the exclusions; I think the term in the warranty coverage exclusions is abuse).

 

It's that "two inches of water" bit that makes me wonder about hydrolock.

 

Matt

 

YIKES !!! I'm glad I no longer have to explain those kinda things to my dad.

I hit a huge puddle with my stock MSC and didn't have any engine issues, other than a soaked Mini & IC. I think the water must have drained out/off of my car for several minutes. I

Sorry about your Mini. I hope you get it resolved.

 

I considered that too! Only way to tell for sure is to yank the cylinder head and see if any water is left in the cylinders, though by now it might have drained or dried up.

 

There is another thread active about hydro-locking and it seems that their insurance company will cover the damage (if it is not greater than the value of the car).

 

2 inches of water will barely cover the bottom portion of your tires (depending on the sidewall height of the tires). How on earth do you hydrolock in those conditions unless your air intake is 1.5 inches off the ground?

 

Question??

When you removed the plugs & tried to crank the engine did you see any water in the cylinders? Seems very fishy to me 2 inches of water isn't going to do that. Period! Maybe one day junior will own up to what he really did. Good luck with the insurance company. MINI will do nothing for you on this.

 

Well we had the car towed to mini of the mainline and they said we need a new engine, yippy skippy, and no way is it covered under warranty. I called my insurance company and it is covered under our comprehensive portion of our plan. thank God! $7200 is the estimate and they have two minis ahead of us with the same problem. It seems that these cars may be more susceptible to water ingestion than most. Doesn't matter though, still love our MINI.
Thanks for all the comments and advice

 

Dad: Hi Son, I've been reading on the boards, and while hydrolock has happened in Minis, no one has reported it from just 2" of water........

Son: Uh, did you say something?

Dad: I said no one belives two inches of water. What really were you up to?

Son: (Looking a little shifty)... Uh, I think Mom wants me to take out the trash, and then clean my room. That's sure to take a while...

Dad: that can wait a bit. I'm really curious. I looked under the hood, and the air intake seems to be up there pretty high. Tell me again the series of events?

Son: I swear, I was just driving down the road, crossed a puddle, and wham!... But....

Dad: But what son?

Son: maybe pulling the e-brake at 70 and doing wild 360s through the water may have had something to do with it....

Dad: Come again?

Son: Or maybe crossing that canal wasn't too good a move. The motor didn't sputter until we were half way accross! Thank god that guy with the Jeep had a winch...

Dad: What did you say? (Wiping the drink that just came out his nose off)

Son: But I SWEAR my friend Brad said everything would be OK...... He said he did the same thing in his lifted F-350 4x4 and didn't have a problem.... So that couldn't have had anything to do with it, could it?

Dad: Oh my god.... Look at what I have reared!

Son: Oh Dad, Brad just called. We want to see a movie. Can I borrow the Other Car?

Matt

 

Probably much closer to what really happened - all us parents know how tough it can be to get the REAL story to come out sometimes!
Todd:
Hope everything works out well for you and you get your MINI back soon and in good shape. Having lived (barely) through my two kid's learning their driving lessons the hard way, I feel your pain.

 

The MC has an intake resonance chamber that sits low in the drivers side front fender. There have been numerous reports of Coopers ingesting water thru this chamber. The manual warns of driving thru standing water because of this...

Insurance 'usually' covers this damage...

 

Todd,

Please let us know when you get this resolved and how your local Mini dealer was to deal with regarding an engine replacement.

My daughter is only 10, but she's got both here eyes on our 04 MSC... something about a pink paint job (Oh $H*T...%@&*#) .

BREAK--------------------------

Dr. O, you are out of control. Right on the money, but out of control!