[Maniac]

I have a 2006 Cooper S. I have seen on the web they have realised there is a thermostat and electric fan fault, resulting in overheating.

My wife drives the car to work everyday, it has 30 000 kilometres on the clock, and still under BMW Motorplan.

It's in the Mini workshop at the moment. It overheated way past 120 degrees on the heat gauge, and the warning lights started flashing.

My problem, or rather question:

They are replacing the thermostat with the housing, and also the electric fan. They said they will do compression tests etc on the engine also. But how do I know if the engine is still 100%? Surely something had to get damaged inside also? Rings etc?

The dealer said they will service the vehicle, add new oil, then seal the dipstick and filler cap off. I must then drive it for about 2500km. They will then check if their is any oil consumption, if not, it's fine.

But I don't trust this. Replacing an engine after the Warranty expired is going to be a costly exercise! Want to sort it now, or get them to replace the engine and get it over and done with.

Any advice or suggestions?

[motionmonk]

I have a '06 MCS as well; do you have a link to any service notice about this overheating problem?

Keep us posted on your progress!

[Maniac]

No link, sorry. Well Mini at this stage did not come out in the open and confirmed this, but if you do a Google search "mini problems" you will get alot of links by the public complaining about this! Same problem as mine, and the dealers changed the same parts as mine. So mine is definitely not the FIRST car with this problem.

I'm in South Africa, Mini gave me a rental car while mine is in the workshop. When collecting the rental from the Rental Company, the guy there told me they give about 5 rentals PER day to customers, and all of their Mini's overheated also!

Will keep you guys updated

[Ant FR]

my 2002 MCs did this when i bought in back 2006 . Needed a new fan assembly and loom.

I can't commetn on engine longevity as mine blew up a couple of months ago......lol

[DaFlake]

Chances of major damage being done to an engine with an overheat is minimal unless you drove it until it stopped running. That being said, there are a lot of things that can be damaged like the compressor for the AC which can be costly. I had an Escort that overheated and the engine has now done well over 150,000 miles and still running strong. I just had to have the AC serviced as it blew the coolant out.

Chances of you getting MINI to replace the engine? Never gonna happen...

[Maniac]

Don't be so sure. I had a Isuzu bakkie. Engine was replaced the first time, when they had to replace it the second time, they gave me a new vehicle off the showroom floor as a replacement!!

Mini here is considered a luxery vehicle. It falls into the same class as Mercedez and BMW.

If I convert what we pay here for a Cooper S into US dollars, it works out at 35 000$. So customer service is topnotch when it comes to complaints here!

[DaFlake]

Quote: Originally Posted by Maniac (original)

Don't be so sure. I had a Isuzu bakkie. Engine was replaced the first time, when they had to replace it the second time, they gave me a new vehicle off the showroom floor as a replacement!!

Mini here is considered a luxery vehicle. It falls into the same class as Mercedez and BMW.

If I convert what we pay here for a Cooper S into US dollars, it works out at 35 000$. So customer service is topnotch when it comes to complaints here!

I'm not German and I paid 32500 for mine. I just know BMW/MINI.... They will repair it. Besides, as I mentioned there is probably little damage that was done unless you drove it hard. Warped head maybe, cracked if really bad? Either way, good luck.

[Maniac]

Wife uses the car in the week to go to work and back. It overheated in traffic, she pulled over as soon as the lights came on, and phoned me. I filled it up with water, and it was fine again. Took it to the dealer the next day.

So I don't think she damaged the engine big time.

Will let you guys know the outcome of this

[DaFlake]

Good luck!

[Maniac]

Quote: Originally Posted by motionmonk (original)

I have a '06 MCS as well; do you have a link to any service notice about this overheating problem?

Keep us posted on your progress!

Ok, I received the MCS back today. Various tests was done on engine to ensure all is still fine. Well BMW says there is no damage on the engine, hope they are correct!

The electric fan burnt out. The fuse for the fan was also a gonnar! BMW technician told me to regularly check the fuse, as it is a problem at this stage on ALL the Mini's. For some reason they just say bye bye, and then with NO fan in traffic, it will overheat!

Thermostat housing was also leaking, that was replaced and also the thermostat was replaced....

So far so good.......

[DaFlake]

Glad to hear that all is now well.