“The garage have just advised me to sell it...”
Jesus!! They sound great...
Sorry I’m unable to help, what a weird problem...
Jesus!! They sound great...
Sorry I’m unable to help, what a weird problem...
Mini Cooper 2007 coolant issues
I recently bought a petrol automatic 1.6 Mini Cooper 2007. After a few days of having it I broke down, the engine coolant light came on and within minutes of pulling over the thermostat housing cracked and the car was steaming. I called the AA and was towed to the garage. They replaced the housing and did a full service. £600 odd quid later..
It was okay but I was topping up the coolant a lot. It then went for an MOT about a month later and I told them I’m having issues still with the coolant, they said there was a crack in the water pump and so replaced this. Another £600 later..
I was then driving about 2 weeks after and the coolant light came on. I immediately pulled over and topped up the empty tank. I then drove another 10 mins and the light came on again. I pulled over and called the AA, who said it could be something to do with the electrics as the fan is not working as it should. I had to drive home to the garage with interior fans on full blast hot.
The garage then had it for 1 day said the fans disconnected, reconnected it and said to keep an eye on coolant levels, 2 days the car was sat in the drive not driven and I checked each morning, the 2nd morning the tank was half empty.
I took it back again, they’ve had it for 2 weeks but unable to tell me the issue. They said they’ve replaced again the thermostat housing again as it may have been faulty and now saying the head gasket may be on the way out?
I have seen other posts about coolant loss and saying that minis need to be bleed a lot , I’m supposed to be picking this car up tomorrow any ideas what could be the problem and what I can do? Shall I take it to a specialist? Or second garage for another opinion? I’m Surrey based but don’t even want to risk driving this car at the moment
I’ve also noticed that sometimes when I start the car the engine management light comes on and the car revs on its own??
The garage have just advised me to sell it but I don’t feel comfortable selling it as it’s faulty..
It was okay but I was topping up the coolant a lot. It then went for an MOT about a month later and I told them I’m having issues still with the coolant, they said there was a crack in the water pump and so replaced this. Another £600 later..
I was then driving about 2 weeks after and the coolant light came on. I immediately pulled over and topped up the empty tank. I then drove another 10 mins and the light came on again. I pulled over and called the AA, who said it could be something to do with the electrics as the fan is not working as it should. I had to drive home to the garage with interior fans on full blast hot.
The garage then had it for 1 day said the fans disconnected, reconnected it and said to keep an eye on coolant levels, 2 days the car was sat in the drive not driven and I checked each morning, the 2nd morning the tank was half empty.
I took it back again, they’ve had it for 2 weeks but unable to tell me the issue. They said they’ve replaced again the thermostat housing again as it may have been faulty and now saying the head gasket may be on the way out?
I have seen other posts about coolant loss and saying that minis need to be bleed a lot , I’m supposed to be picking this car up tomorrow any ideas what could be the problem and what I can do? Shall I take it to a specialist? Or second garage for another opinion? I’m Surrey based but don’t even want to risk driving this car at the moment
I’ve also noticed that sometimes when I start the car the engine management light comes on and the car revs on its own??
The garage have just advised me to sell it but I don’t feel comfortable selling it as it’s faulty..
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
Does the fan cut in on low speed or just the high speed when it’s heating up? It does sound like it needs bleeding
The AA man said that it wasn’t coming on when he was testing, we were stationary and I was just revving the engine for 20mins while he was testing. But the garage have said that the fan works fine? I will mention the bleeding when I picky the car up though, thank youDoes the fan cut in on low speed or just the high speed when it’s heating up? It does sound like it needs bleeding
I know! Quite shocking if I’m honest“The garage have just advised me to sell it...”
Jesus!! They sound great...
Sorry I’m unable to help, what a weird problem...
it is possible then that the resistor on the fan assembly is shot.The AA man said that it wasn’t coming on when he was testing, we were stationary and I was just revving the engine for 20mins while he was testing. But the garage have said that the fan works fine? I will mention the bleeding when I picky the car up though, thank you
But from my recent issue that was similar to yours, albeit on an older model, it just needing a full bleed of the system.
That was about 2 years after I had the water pump replaced and system bled
Half empty is the overfill/fill tank(the plastic tank?) That to my understanding is full at the half mark. On the side of the plastic tank if you shine a flashlight on it and slightly move the turbo air hose the tank should say where full is. It is not good to fill up the overfill tank all the way.
The tank where you top up the coolant. I’ve never topped up above the max lineHalf empty is the overfill/fill tank(the plastic tank?) That to my understanding is full at the half mark. On the side of the plastic tank if you shine a flashlight on it and slightly move the turbo air hose the tank should say where full is. It is not good to fill up the overfill tank all the way.
Don’t fill up the expansion tank, fill up the thermostat housing 👍
Why’s that please?Don’t fill up the expansion tank, fill up the thermostat housing 👍
Everything temp wise on the Mini Cooper I have; I have come to understand is much like the rest of the engine. Meaning that it works closely with the computer in real time. There is a small temp sensor behind the front bumper registering temperature's from the outside air. That conveys into a temperature on the dash board letting you know what the temp outside is. Like any other car would. Nothing to it!
But wait. There is more to it. not only are you seeing the temperature the engine bay computer is also seeing what the temperate is......outside! Why might you ask.
The Adaptive attributes of this modern computer system work with all the data from the sensors throughout the engine bay and the temperature sensor on the front bumper. More than likely the crush sensors in case you have a crash to turn the engine off.
Anyway All of this is in the effort to provide real time data. Not like a old computer where your fan is gonna kick on when the temperature is reached after warming up. No it's gonna push the envelope and kick on only when it is necessary.
The whole engine operates in the same fashion. instead of the computer on a 90's car going into what they refer to as an open loop program(where a sensor for the engine has gone bad, and the computer is triggered into a program to set the air/fuel ratio by a set standard).
An adaptive program is more along the lines if a sensor goes out it continues to make adjustments with what it has. And if it gets too bad it goes into a limp mode. Now more than likely there is an open loop program on these computers but it is far back there. And to compound the issue is when a item has gone bad by the time it needs to be replaced it is usually more than just one item.
Like older cars from early 2000's alternator goes out battery goes out a week later or starter goes out. More than just the item in question. In the early 90's cars the alternator goes out that's about it. Battery goes out that's it. Starter goes out. Well you get the point.
some 2007-2013 Mini Coopers have a fuse on one of the battery cables meaning that the computer needs to be reset for the new battery when it is changed. A lot of that is to prevent those other two items from blowing out.
To conclude each of the systems that are involved with the drive train have to be maintained,serviced right,and inspected properly.
Your coolant system consists of:
1) an overfill tank,radiator,inlet and outlet hose to and from the radiator.
2.)A heater core,an inlet and out let hose to and from the heater core.
3).A hard pipe(plastic tube about 14 inches long),a water pump that sits on the serpentine side of the engine.
4.)A Thermostat.
finally if you have the turbo charged S mini cooper you also have
5) auxiliary water pump,an inlet hose(small),an outlet hose(small),a turbo coolant inlet and outlet line,
Lets focus on number 4. The thermostat sits in the intersection of all of the hoses. It has 5 or 6 six hoses that go into it. It's not a traditional Thermostat housing it carries a thermostat embedded in it;it cannot be separated from the thermostat housing. As well as a thermostat sensor that can be changed. More times than not a problem occurring here results in replacement of the entire unit. This can be due to cracks or a bad thermostat(improper temp opening and closing).
But above all the system needs to function absolutely proper for the fan to kick in just like it always used to(*old reliable). And it is reliable when it is functioning properly. The only time the fan really would kick in when you want or EXPECT it too. Would be in the summer months when it is hot. And you have just tripped the AC button. THAT would be the only off hand way to tell if this modern type of fan on this modern adaptive learning computer that adjusts according to outside barometric pressure and temperature. Any other way you would need a volt meter and OBD2 reader. Even then it takes professionals to get involved in this.
Now I have held the solid belief that their is no system on the car at this point (I have a 2008 R56 turbocharged without the fused battery system). That really needs to be reset, or properly installed item that the car would not function properly. Meaning that for example: you replace the thermostat and plug the battery back in and the computer reads the thermostat off the bat and says to itself I will not run the program proper until I read the auxiliary water pump. So it still within the range of fixing.
No air bubbles in the coolant system,no water leaks,proper thermostat(thermostat housing in our mini cooper second generation case) with the proper opening and shutting time. Not all brands of thermostat housings open and shut at the same temperature. This is where most advise getting a Mini Cooper brand thermostat. About 225 dollars U.S.
Now that is a lot to ask of anyone considering the product. But it will operate correctly and on can return it for a Mini Cooper brand Thermostat if it does not work. Other than that you would have to keep tabs on what the good thermostat housings are. Believe it or not you can look around on different sites and find groups of people that track there mini coopers on the weekend and get to together on a forum and talk about the different brands of thermostat housings that are working that season. manufactured runs of thermostat from a specific brand that had a good run of thermostat housings. Which would be cheaper. But none of it is as consistent as the real Mini Cooper brand and for that matter returnable for the same type of quality.
So even if I did know of another brand of thermostat housing it might not be the one that had a good run of thermostat housings this year.
Anything other than Mini Cooper Brand is a 60/40 chance upon purchase. Unless you have been forwarded the info about this years build quality of another brand.
What this equates to is that you can professionally install a thermostat housing.....fill it up full of coolant and properly get every little bit of air out of it. And it might still not operate on par with the engine, for the fact that the thermostat is not opening at the proper temp. in most cases opening too late. in a situation where the water would be at it's boiling point. It is not a old car where 197 degrees Fahrenheit or 91.666 Celsius. it is considerably higher than that about 10 to 15 degrees higher in Fahrenheit .
So it is important to fill the coolant proper without air or leaks. with the right products if you can or too the best of your knowledge. And when done you will not ever really know aside of warning lights that the car is not operating correct when it comes to that fan. Or in the summer time when the Air conditioner is turned on.
Learn to trust and believe the fact that when the warning lights are not on for what your problem may be is a good thing. These mini's tend to re affirm that idea. And continue to search the problem out.
*Old reliable as it concerns your environmental region. I.E. every time you went past lets say Burbank st. the fan would kick on.
given the complexly of the data the computer gathers
But wait. There is more to it. not only are you seeing the temperature the engine bay computer is also seeing what the temperate is......outside! Why might you ask.
The Adaptive attributes of this modern computer system work with all the data from the sensors throughout the engine bay and the temperature sensor on the front bumper. More than likely the crush sensors in case you have a crash to turn the engine off.
Anyway All of this is in the effort to provide real time data. Not like a old computer where your fan is gonna kick on when the temperature is reached after warming up. No it's gonna push the envelope and kick on only when it is necessary.
The whole engine operates in the same fashion. instead of the computer on a 90's car going into what they refer to as an open loop program(where a sensor for the engine has gone bad, and the computer is triggered into a program to set the air/fuel ratio by a set standard).
An adaptive program is more along the lines if a sensor goes out it continues to make adjustments with what it has. And if it gets too bad it goes into a limp mode. Now more than likely there is an open loop program on these computers but it is far back there. And to compound the issue is when a item has gone bad by the time it needs to be replaced it is usually more than just one item.
Like older cars from early 2000's alternator goes out battery goes out a week later or starter goes out. More than just the item in question. In the early 90's cars the alternator goes out that's about it. Battery goes out that's it. Starter goes out. Well you get the point.
some 2007-2013 Mini Coopers have a fuse on one of the battery cables meaning that the computer needs to be reset for the new battery when it is changed. A lot of that is to prevent those other two items from blowing out.
To conclude each of the systems that are involved with the drive train have to be maintained,serviced right,and inspected properly.
Your coolant system consists of:
1) an overfill tank,radiator,inlet and outlet hose to and from the radiator.
2.)A heater core,an inlet and out let hose to and from the heater core.
3).A hard pipe(plastic tube about 14 inches long),a water pump that sits on the serpentine side of the engine.
4.)A Thermostat.
finally if you have the turbo charged S mini cooper you also have
5) auxiliary water pump,an inlet hose(small),an outlet hose(small),a turbo coolant inlet and outlet line,
Lets focus on number 4. The thermostat sits in the intersection of all of the hoses. It has 5 or 6 six hoses that go into it. It's not a traditional Thermostat housing it carries a thermostat embedded in it;it cannot be separated from the thermostat housing. As well as a thermostat sensor that can be changed. More times than not a problem occurring here results in replacement of the entire unit. This can be due to cracks or a bad thermostat(improper temp opening and closing).
But above all the system needs to function absolutely proper for the fan to kick in just like it always used to(*old reliable). And it is reliable when it is functioning properly. The only time the fan really would kick in when you want or EXPECT it too. Would be in the summer months when it is hot. And you have just tripped the AC button. THAT would be the only off hand way to tell if this modern type of fan on this modern adaptive learning computer that adjusts according to outside barometric pressure and temperature. Any other way you would need a volt meter and OBD2 reader. Even then it takes professionals to get involved in this.
Now I have held the solid belief that their is no system on the car at this point (I have a 2008 R56 turbocharged without the fused battery system). That really needs to be reset, or properly installed item that the car would not function properly. Meaning that for example: you replace the thermostat and plug the battery back in and the computer reads the thermostat off the bat and says to itself I will not run the program proper until I read the auxiliary water pump. So it still within the range of fixing.
No air bubbles in the coolant system,no water leaks,proper thermostat(thermostat housing in our mini cooper second generation case) with the proper opening and shutting time. Not all brands of thermostat housings open and shut at the same temperature. This is where most advise getting a Mini Cooper brand thermostat. About 225 dollars U.S.
Now that is a lot to ask of anyone considering the product. But it will operate correctly and on can return it for a Mini Cooper brand Thermostat if it does not work. Other than that you would have to keep tabs on what the good thermostat housings are. Believe it or not you can look around on different sites and find groups of people that track there mini coopers on the weekend and get to together on a forum and talk about the different brands of thermostat housings that are working that season. manufactured runs of thermostat from a specific brand that had a good run of thermostat housings. Which would be cheaper. But none of it is as consistent as the real Mini Cooper brand and for that matter returnable for the same type of quality.
So even if I did know of another brand of thermostat housing it might not be the one that had a good run of thermostat housings this year.
Anything other than Mini Cooper Brand is a 60/40 chance upon purchase. Unless you have been forwarded the info about this years build quality of another brand.
What this equates to is that you can professionally install a thermostat housing.....fill it up full of coolant and properly get every little bit of air out of it. And it might still not operate on par with the engine, for the fact that the thermostat is not opening at the proper temp. in most cases opening too late. in a situation where the water would be at it's boiling point. It is not a old car where 197 degrees Fahrenheit or 91.666 Celsius. it is considerably higher than that about 10 to 15 degrees higher in Fahrenheit .
So it is important to fill the coolant proper without air or leaks. with the right products if you can or too the best of your knowledge. And when done you will not ever really know aside of warning lights that the car is not operating correct when it comes to that fan. Or in the summer time when the Air conditioner is turned on.
Learn to trust and believe the fact that when the warning lights are not on for what your problem may be is a good thing. These mini's tend to re affirm that idea. And continue to search the problem out.
*Old reliable as it concerns your environmental region. I.E. every time you went past lets say Burbank st. the fan would kick on.
given the complexly of the data the computer gathers
I picked the car up and drives okay as it always has, but noticed the interior fans are not working as they were. They still get hot but do not come through the fans which are blow at you. The dial where you can change where the fan comes through is not working. As far as I knew this worked perfectly fine before. The garage have assured me they didn’t touch or change anything related to the fans?
Filling up via the thermostat ensures the water levels go in correctly.Why’s that please?
The expansion tank you can use to top up afterwards
That Sounds like to me that someone hooked up a stereo without looking into all the ramifications. Namely overloading fuses and wiring behind the dash.
Of course that would hinge on a single question, but not constitute it as a problem until inspected.
"Have you or the person before that owned the car attempt to hook up a stereo?"
Of course that would hinge on a single question, but not constitute it as a problem until inspected.
"Have you or the person before that owned the car attempt to hook up a stereo?"
Interesting thank youFilling up via the thermostat ensures the water levels go in correctly.
The expansion tank you can use to top up afterwards
If I was you I’d get rid off the rip off garage. Most techs in your standard repair shops are there’s to rip you off and not really too concern with your problems. I’d take it to your mom and pa local shop they tend to know your vehicle better than your so called pro shops. And wwyyy cheaper. I have a 2005 R52 Conv in Costa Rica(my vacation home). And my mechanic is awesome. So I’d recommend you do that. They’re way better. Also find yourself as I did a place that sells preowned parts, usually they’re from auto accidents and in great shape. Saves you lots of dollars. A tech tells us this problem? You ho ahead and buy the part, otherwise you’ll pay double or triple.I recently bought a petrol automatic 1.6 Mini Cooper 2007. After a few days of having it I broke down, the engine coolant light came on and within minutes of pulling over the thermostat housing cracked and the car was steaming. I called the AA and was towed to the garage. They replaced the housing and did a full service. £600 odd quid later..
It was okay but I was topping up the coolant a lot. It then went for an MOT about a month later and I told them I’m having issues still with the coolant, they said there was a crack in the water pump and so replaced this. Another £600 later..
I was then driving about 2 weeks after and the coolant light came on. I immediately pulled over and topped up the empty tank. I then drove another 10 mins and the light came on again. I pulled over and called the AA, who said it could be something to do with the electrics as the fan is not working as it should. I had to drive home to the garage with interior fans on full blast hot.
The garage then had it for 1 day said the fans disconnected, reconnected it and said to keep an eye on coolant levels, 2 days the car was sat in the drive not driven and I checked each morning, the 2nd morning the tank was half empty.
I took it back again, they’ve had it for 2 weeks but unable to tell me the issue. They said they’ve replaced again the thermostat housing again as it may have been faulty and now saying the head gasket may be on the way out?
I have seen other posts about coolant loss and saying that minis need to be bleed a lot , I’m supposed to be picking this car up tomorrow any ideas what could be the problem and what I can do? Shall I take it to a specialist? Or second garage for another opinion? I’m Surrey based but don’t even want to risk driving this car at the moment
I’ve also noticed that sometimes when I start the car the engine management light comes on and the car revs on its own??
The garage have just advised me to sell it but I don’t feel comfortable selling it as it’s faulty..
If it is the head gasket you can check it by removing the coolant cap on a COLD engine. Start the car if you see champagne bubbles the head gasket is leaking. Make sure the power steering fan is working as well. Sometimes if the PS fan is not working it could cause the rad fan to not work. If the shop replaced the thermostat it could of been a faulty one. It is hard to put the thermostat in backwards....but if they did that would put stress on the thermostat housing and cause a leak. I had a bad thermostat happen 3 months ago. Check out "minimod" on the YouTubesI recently bought a petrol automatic 1.6 Mini Cooper 2007. After a few days of having it I broke down, the engine coolant light came on and within minutes of pulling over the thermostat housing cracked and the car was steaming. I called the AA and was towed to the garage. They replaced the housing and did a full service. £600 odd quid later..
It was okay but I was topping up the coolant a lot. It then went for an MOT about a month later and I told them I’m having issues still with the coolant, they said there was a crack in the water pump and so replaced this. Another £600 later..
I was then driving about 2 weeks after and the coolant light came on. I immediately pulled over and topped up the empty tank. I then drove another 10 mins and the light came on again. I pulled over and called the AA, who said it could be something to do with the electrics as the fan is not working as it should. I had to drive home to the garage with interior fans on full blast hot.
The garage then had it for 1 day said the fans disconnected, reconnected it and said to keep an eye on coolant levels, 2 days the car was sat in the drive not driven and I checked each morning, the 2nd morning the tank was half empty.
I took it back again, they’ve had it for 2 weeks but unable to tell me the issue. They said they’ve replaced again the thermostat housing again as it may have been faulty and now saying the head gasket may be on the way out?
I have seen other posts about coolant loss and saying that minis need to be bleed a lot , I’m supposed to be picking this car up tomorrow any ideas what could be the problem and what I can do? Shall I take it to a specialist? Or second garage for another opinion? I’m Surrey based but don’t even want to risk driving this car at the moment
I’ve also noticed that sometimes when I start the car the engine management light comes on and the car revs on its own??
The garage have just advised me to sell it but I don’t feel comfortable selling it as it’s faulty..
If it were the head gasket, open the oil filler cap when the engine is cold, there would be cream-like emulsion of oil and water inside the oil cap- pretty much diagnostic of a major problem. Next check the oil dip-stick, see if the level is high and the colour of the oil, if brown or creamy, rather than clear to black (depending on when the last oil change was) then another sign that there is some serious folding fun-notes about to leave your purse....If it is the head gasket you can check it by removing the coolant cap on a COLD engine. Start the car if you see champagne bubbles the head gasket is leaking. Make sure the power steering fan is working as well. Sometimes if the PS fan is not working it could cause the rad fan to not work. If the shop replaced the thermostat it could of been a faulty one. It is hard to put the thermostat in backwards....but if they did that would put stress on the thermostat housing and cause a leak. I had a bad thermostat happen 3 months ago. Check out "minimod" on the YouTubes
With a simple OBD2 reader for mini cooper you could potentially figure out your heater issue. This all relates back to cooling.
So many things to consider with heating and cooling the engine as well as yourself.
One place to start is with a good outside temp sensor that resides behind the front grill. It takes the outside air temp and through that the computer makes the necessary adjustments to the heater.
For example in the summer time you set the temp to 72 degrees and it blows regular air out. In the winter time you set it at 72 degrees and it warms the car up with heat. This is all done by that outside air temp sensor.
Why I would replace it:
It's cheap. And it takes that part out of the equation. Also relocating the sensor can have a bad effect. So if you put a inter cooler on your car and relocated that sensor. It could be giving your computer false information or no info. For the most part that sensor needs to have a little bit of open air around it.
So many things to consider with heating and cooling the engine as well as yourself.
One place to start is with a good outside temp sensor that resides behind the front grill. It takes the outside air temp and through that the computer makes the necessary adjustments to the heater.
For example in the summer time you set the temp to 72 degrees and it blows regular air out. In the winter time you set it at 72 degrees and it warms the car up with heat. This is all done by that outside air temp sensor.
Why I would replace it:
It's cheap. And it takes that part out of the equation. Also relocating the sensor can have a bad effect. So if you put a inter cooler on your car and relocated that sensor. It could be giving your computer false information or no info. For the most part that sensor needs to have a little bit of open air around it.
Very good something to consider. although a head gasket change on a tiny mini cooper engine is not that much of a expedition. Good symptom diagnosis though for a blown head gasket.If it were the head gasket, open the oil filler cap when the engine is cold, there would be cream-like emulsion of oil and water inside the oil cap- pretty much diagnostic of a major problem. Next check the oil dip-stick, see if the level is high and the colour of the oil, if brown or creamy, rather than clear to black (depending on when the last oil change was) then another sign that there is some serious folding fun-notes about to leave your purse....
1 - 20 of 22 Posts
- This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
MINI Cooper Forum
Join our Mini Cooper Forums to talk about your new Mini. From reviews, mods, accessories, reliability concerns and more, this Mini Owners Club is full of info!
Full Forum Listing
Recommended Communities
