I woke up to wash my car today and for some reason I felt I should look at the soul of my mini and I cant believe what I see. I open the coolant box and there is nothing in here at all. It looks wet still but there is NO liquid in there at all. not even close to the mininum line. So this brings me to this question. How dangerous is this situation and should I go to pepboys to fix the situation. or maybe the dealer asap?? At first I thought it was the power steering but I didnt find a PS reseviour(did I spell that right?) and then I dont think we have one because of our EHPS. Anyways please help me with my coolant question.

I dont understand why it would be gone. I have a 2004 mini-S with only 18k miles on it. Its in immaculate condition.

 

There have been reports of the reservoir splitting and leaking. Do you see any evidence of leaks anywhere?

Get some of the correct type of antifreeze and refill it and see what happens. Maybe it leaked, maybe it's just low.

 

Yeah, its probably a cracked reservoir.

Warranty fix.

 

That's just the overflow/expansion tank. To make yourself feel better, open the radiator (when the car is cold!) and you'll see plenty of coolant. As said above, it could be a split expansion tank. Even if it's not, as long as you have coolant in the engine, no problem.

 

You can't open the radiator.

The overflow tank is the only access to the radiator to fill and check level.

 

My MCS doesn't have a cap on the radiator, only on the overflow reservoir. I'd have to take a hose off to check the level or maybe look in the air bleed bolt. I'm guessing most MCS's are like that but I could be wrong.

 

No, none of the cars have a radiator cap. They system is pressurised and the overflow cap is also a radiator pressure cap.

 

Just for future reference the power steering resevoir is right up next to the windsheild on the driver's side.

I hope you get this mystery solved.

 

Yep, right next to the coolant tank we're talking about.

 

Im looking at my engine. The power steering resevoir is directly next to the coolant resevoir? Because the only resevoir I see on the driverside is the brake fluid tank.

 

There is a black tank next to the radiator reservoir that holds power steering fluid, at least on the S version.

 

 

DOH! Guess I've never checked.
Time to go check the overflow tank...

 

I too checked my coolant level last week & found it to be practically nonexistant in the resevoir. I went to the dealer the next week & pointed it out (We couldn't open the resevior cap because my Mini was hot but while hot the coolant level was not visable at all in the resevoir). The SA said the level was fine even though none was visable in the resevior but if I wanted to get it back to the fill line just add water . He told me not to bother buying a whole container of coolant & to just add straight water to get it back up to the fill-line . I asked if they would check it & add coolant at my next maintenance appt in approx 5000 miles. The SA said no, they would never add coolant or really even check it since my mini would never be cool enough for them to check it (I have to drive 165 miles to the dealer).

I am shocked that the SA would tell me to add straight water & then tell me they never intend to check it. I mean my Mini's almost 2 years old & if I add straight water every 2 years when the level gets low, eventually I will be running straight water in my radiator. That doesn't sound too smart to me so I think I will ignore the authorized service center advice on that one.

 

fill the tank to the top line and run the engine in neutral for 15-20 minutes at 3k rpm's and see if it overheats. if not just keep an eye on it till you go back to the dealership. and yes the mcs don't have a radiator cap but the regular cooper's do.
good luck!

 

One comment about the right kind of water to use - it should be distilled.

 

Thats just an option

it doesnt HAVE to be distiled.

Tap water will do. By the time it mixes in with the rest of the fluid in the system, the disilled will have been a waste of money.

If you do a full system flush, including the block, then i would suggest using distilled.

 

My '03 coolant looked like diarrhea - the '06 has blue coolant - anyone know if it is the same as the Mercedes blue coolant? Highly regarded stuff.

 

my 03 uses the green coolant. im just adding watever's needed using
a Subaru green coolant for aluminum motors.

my car use to eat some coolant but lately no need to add. need to do
a flush next summer though.

 

Well, considering the crap that is in some municipal water systems, not using distilled water is a roll of the dice for adding contamination to the coolant. And, since it appears the entire overflow tank is empty (plus whatever is missing elsewhere), refilling with tap water may not be the best course of action. Whether to use distilled water or not is a personal decision (kind of like whether to use Castrol motor oil from the dealer or brand X synthetic)....

 

must be a leak or cracked reservoir?

the SA's advise sounds very unhelpful.

looks like you will have to be extra vigiliant about the fluid levels since bmw won't.

our dealer keeps a mix coolant/water in a gallon jug in the service reception area for top offs when coolant lights come on (low coolant from normal use, not drastic/immediate loss). drive in, top off, leave. my e46 and many others seemed to lose coolant regularly enough that at arund 20-30 miles the low coolant level sensor would trip. i think it was about 200 or 400 mL woudl bring it back up to the fill line.

i guess i am spoiled being near a dealer. for those of you quite a drive away from a dealer, i would pick up a gallon of bmw/mini coolant for your garage.


at 14,500 my coolant is 2/3 up from min, 1/3 down for max, cold. maybe the dealer topped it off at my 9900 mile oil serivce. the oil is at the max line.

 

they are supposed to check and top off coolant at Inspection 1 - did you have that yet?

You should be getting a free oil change once a year, even if your Oil Service light doesn't light up. they don't have to check the coolant at this service, but it sure would qualify as basic customer service if they did! its pretty easy to see, hot or cold!

if i were bamatt, i would leave a nasty note with BMW via email and letter.

Just another instance showing that we are ultimately responsible for keeping an eye on our cars - defective parts and all!

i

 

In 2003, I bought a gallon of the "special" MINI coolant from the dealer. It was about $17.00 I think! I used to use a 50/50 mixture of coolant+water to top off my '03 MINI once in a while, when it needed it (not very often, luckily).

Now I traded in my 03 and bought an 06 S.

Question is, can I still use the MINI coolant I bought back in '03 to top off the 06 S? (50/50 mixture of course).

And, secondly, does stored coolant ever "go bad?" in its original container I'd think NO, why should it? but...it has been sitting on a shelf in the garage for almost 3 years...

Thanks,

-boognish

 

yawn

 

yah, they don't make them in rainbow colors for your taste.