Now that the weather turned cooler and I can drive without the A/C, I noticed that I have hot air coming in through the dashboard air vents when I set it to allow air to come in from the outside. I don't understand why I'm not getting the cool air from outside. It seems like I'm getting the hot air off the engine.

Is there any way I can check this without going to the service center?

Do you have automatic or manual climate control?

Not sure what you are talking about...as to "cool air from outside"....
You have three things to control....and remember they are seperate...
First...set fan speed...off, then various speeds...
Fresh or recycled air....and temp control...that controls the damper doors over the heater core....
An example with auto...
If I setvmy temp to max, air fresh....then turn off the fan...you will get HOT AIR from vents when driving...no fan..just from natural air moment....
I often set it to slightly warm the air...then turn the fan off....same for which vent it comes from...you can set it...then turn the fan off...but when the fan is off...the air will still flow at speed from the same vents...
Folks sometimes forget...leave the temp up or on max....turn off the fan...and wonder why the air is hot....

I have manual climate control.

I'm pretty sure that every other car I've owned I could set the vents to allow fresh air to flow from the outside and the air would be (more or less) the same temp as the outside air. Of course, as long as I don't adjust the temp control.

But with the Mini, I don't touch the temp control (which is set to as cold as possible from the A/C days), make sure the recycle air is not on, and the air flow from the vents (from the outside) is much warmer than the actual outside air.

You have to turn the temp control to cool(blue) if you don't want heat to mix in

Sorry guys, but I'm trying to be as clear as possible: "I don't touch the temp control (which is set to as cold as possible from the A/C days)"

The temp control is set all the way down - AS COLD AS POSSIBLE. There is nothing turned on. The only air should be the air coming from the outside of the car. So why is it so warm? Unless something happened to the intake vents and they're bringing air off the engine instead of from outside. Can I check the intake vents without going to the service center?

The air intake vents are under the windscreen.

The air, fresh or recycled, will pass over the heater core before it it is blown into the cabin by the cabin fan.

The temperature of the heater core is defined by the setting on the ****, which you say is set to blue, it controls a valve that allows water from the cooling system into the heater core.

If you have hot air coming in when the **** is set to cold, maybe the valve is stuck open. Maybe there is a certain amount of heat that is unavoidable as time goes by as things heat up.

I kinda doubt warm air from the motor is causing the problem.

There are some air flow control flaps that direct air flow, and my guess is that the flap which is supposed to close the air off and prevent it from flowing across your heater core when temp control is set to cold is not working.

Very hard to find diagrams of the manual system you have.

There's a mechanical cable behind the temp **** on your control panel.

I make a big assumption in guessing that the other end of the cable goes to the same place where the Temp Control Servo Motor is (part #3 in picture2) which I believe is located above and to the left of your glove compartment.

I'm not going to recommend to anyone to take their dash apart. Little plastic things seem to be so fragile, and even if you're successful, the odds of getting more creeks and rattles is pretty high.

If it were me I might get a new air filter that goes under the glove box, and while I'm there, look up with a flashlight to see if the end of that cable is visible, and if turning the **** actuates it.

That's kinda what I was expecting to find, but I can't seem to find any valve which closes off the hot water from entering the heater core. I thought it was very strange, but it's like the heater core is hot all the time???? Weird huh.

Edit: maybe I'm missing something, and I appreciate being corrected when I'm wrong

Thanks for all the help.

I replaced the cabin air filter as soon as I bought the car. (It had a 2006 stamp on it and was so filthy that I assume it had never been changed.)

Obviously, I'm not going to take apart the dash. I'll give a quick look under the hood and see if anything seems amiss. I guess I can live with it for now. I'll mention it when I take the car in for the next service.

Thanks. again.

The mini heater core is always on full....
It is the damper doors that control the amount of heat you get in the cabin...
So one of the damper doors might be stuck open...just look under the dash..you might get lucky!

I have this same issue on my 02 MCS. I have the automatic climate control. Does anyone have a picture of these "damper doors" described by ZippyNH? Are they on both sides of the car?

I have the "auto climate" version. I have not yet adjusted the controls while watching the levers move to see what happens, But -on my passenger side, below the glovebox I can see the "arm" that I presume would move back n forth to open and close the damper doors. I can see it without removing anything, just lay down with your head in the passenger footwell and look up.
(edit, it's up and on the side of the center console thing)

The damper door for hot/cold, there is only one, because there's only one heater core, one AC thingy. The other doors for windshield/foot/middle vents, I'm guessing there would be a few at least. Plus a door for fresh/recirculate.

I hated when mine opens the outside vent. Each time it does, outside smells goes in into the cabin and the whole temperature changes. I hate when that happens. Is there a way to stop that process?

Imaging your self behind a truck or car that looks like a smoke balloon... all that goes into the cabin..

BTW, a trick for this is to hit the recycled button once you feel this happens.

If you have automatic climate with AUC the electronic nose will close the vents. The nose does wear out after time.

Also you can just leave it in recirc mode all the time but obviously that gets stuffy quite quickly.

Yes, I do have the recy always active, but, it does opens the outside vents eventually. It seems there is no way to stop that from happening unless you block the vacuum lines that opens the vents, or something.

Presumably it opens them occasionally to stop you passing out from carbon monoxide poisoning.

You could try replacing the carbon air filter and the AUC sensor to see if that improves things for you.

Yes, I bet that is the whole purpose of it. Only I just wish it not be as drastic as other cars where you actually don't notice it. :(

Doesn't that mean the vents flaps are effective?!

Try a new activated charcoal filter for $20.

I have the same issue as the OP.

With the manual climate control, turn off the vent fan before shutting down. You'll hear a damper close behind the dash when you do. When back in the car, turn the fan back on and you won't feel hot air.

I'm guessing the open damper allows air from the heater core or engine to warm the internal ductwork while parked. It takes a while but it'll eventually cool back down. Possibly due to another defect (?) because I don't remember having to do this in the past...

Hello everyone, I too am having issues with my center dash vent where I can smell the engine and feel some heat coming through. Aside from having this issue, is air (hot or cold) supposed to come through there all the time?

If my fan is off, I don’t have air coming through the center vent.

But I’ve given up trying to fix the ‘chemical’ smell coming into the cabin and just try to manage it. That’s because it happens rather predictably—after a 20-mile freeway commute and then hitting stop-and-go traffic in the city, I’ll go from fresh air to recirc and even crack open a window for a while, because that’s when the smell starts to enter the cabin if I leave it on fresh air.

Never figured out the exact cause but, for what it’s worth, what seemed to help for a while was putting a hose clamp on the short hose (coming out the top right of the valve cover and connecting to the intake hose near the turbo) right where it connects to the top of the valve cover. It’s originally held in by a plastic clip that does nothing to seal it. It’s an awkward place for a clamp and so the hose doesn’t stay sealed for long.

Sounds like a pain in the butt! Sorry to hear.

Im guessing my HVAC AC blend Actuator door is stuck??

I have the same problem in my 2019 Cooper. It does not have the automatic climate control which allows fresh air in when excess humidity is detected. With no fan on, air hotter than outside temperature enters, slightly. I just want filtered ram air, I don't want to turn on air conditioning or fan and use battery. To my horror, a service guy at MINI said that all cabin vents are closed, regardless of how one sets the twirling ****, unless one puts the fan on. Then what on earth are the twirl ***** for? Oh, he said, to direct the air or to tailor the amount for each occupant. I agree with the above writer who expected to find, as with all cars he's owned, that opening the cabin vents will allow in filtered ram air without having to put on a fan.
Once in rain, when I could not open windows, I nearly passed out. Does this make any sense to design a car where turning on the fan is mandatory? IS the above service guy right about this?

I have a weird one for ya... with manual a/c on (don't have climate control), the 2 driver's side vents blow warm air while the 2 passenger side blows cold air. Kind of like heater still on but only on drivers side.