2005 MCS - Cracked Intake Duct - SES, EML

[sbyun]

Hey folks,

First time poster here, though I've been reading this forum for months - great source of info!

My hyper blue 2005 MCS was in the July production group (set sail on July 14, 2004). After shipping to NY and then crossing the country on an Autolog train, I picked it up in the East Bay area on 8/27/04.

After 300 miles, I had averaged 29 mph. I refilled the tank, and shortly thereafter my EML light came on. I used to drive a BMW 3-series, so I'm pretty careful about tightening the gas cap. Anyway, I redid the gas cap and kept driving, waiting for the EML light to turn off. After about 40 miles, the SES (Service Engine Soon) light also came on. Although both lights were on, the car seemed to drive just fine. I was still breaking in the engine, so I was driving gently - but I didn't experience any of the "reduced engine performance" symptoms that usually come with the SES/EML lights.

I called up East Bay MINI and asked the service guy's opinion. He said it could have been the gas cap, and the fault lights sometimes take a couple of days to clear. So I continued driving the care carefully, keeping an eye on the lights. The typical pattern was: turn on the car, just the SES light is on. After driving ~1 mile, the EML light also kicks in. If you keep driving, the EML light sometimes turns off/on, but the SES light is consistently on.

After 100 miles, I filled up the tank and realized I had averaged 18-19 mph. Uh oh. I made an appointment with East Bay MINI. By the time my appointment came around, I had 559 miles on the odometer.

The guys at East Bay MINI had to keep my car overnight to order a replacement part. In summary, the intake duct bring air into the supercharger is a plastic piece with 2 halves; the plastic weld had cracked, and excess air was coming in and throwing off the sensors (lots of air makes some sensors think I'm flooring the accelerator, yet the engine is idling = confusion and lots of SES/EML lights).

Here's the detailed work list:
- Connect vehicle to GT-1 tester
- Retrieve fault code for unmetered air leak after compressor
- Locate air leak in area below compressor
- Remove intercooler, front bumper, recover AC system, drain coolant, remove front coolant assembly, remove throttle body, remove and replace duct from throttle body to compressor
- Re-install all components removed for access
- Clear fault memory and road test
- No faults returned

Everything was of course covered under warranty. When I went to pick up my car, the tech guy said that they had received another brand new 2005 MCS that had the exact same problem. Life is good now, and I can't wait until my break-in period is over!

Cheers.

[stryder]

Well, even though you've been lurking, since you now posted, Welcome to MINI2!

Sad you've had problems just off the bat, but at least they got fixed early, and you weren't stranded.

Now go out there and drive some more to get past that breakin period! my July MCS has over 2500 on it already

[sbyun]

Yup, it was a bit disappointing to have problems after a couple of weeks, but the MCS is definitely worth it. It's amazing what you'll put up with when you absolutely love a car, isn't it?

Prior to this car, I had a 91 Mazda Miata and a 99 BMW 323i - The 2005 MCS is the perfect blend of the two!

Another recommendation - Zaino all the way. It's the best wax/polish I've ever used. Given the amount of matte black plastic trim pieces on the MINI, it's a gigantic benefit that Zaino doesn't leave any white residue. The first application (including 2 car washes, clay bar treatment, and 3 coats of Z2 with ZFX) took 4.5 hours. After that, touch-ups with Zaino Z6 only take a few minutes.

[Dave&Stacy]

Sounds very similar to the problem we had.

-Dave & Stacy