I drove my Mini Cooper through a 5 metre long puddle (4-6 inches deep) at no more than 20 mph. I followed a number of cars that made it through OK, even a Clio (that are renowned for taking in water). What happened? I totalled the engine within a matter of seconds! Air entered the air inlet and went straight into the ignition chamber. The water in the piston cylinder then bent the valves. Further damage has not yet been assessed as I am going to fight this with mini and won't pay for the engine to be opened until I have spoken with some experts in law and mechanics.
I am confident this is a design fault with the mini and would like to hear from anyone that has an opinion or direct experience of this.
This is why I believe there is a problem:
1. The air intake is located directly behind the front grill at the top.
2. The grill is angled upwards in the direction of the air intake for obvious reasons, but with potential problems when water splashes onto the front of the car. A head wind compounds this effect.
3. The air duct above the grill points down unlike most cars that point up, to act as an additional guard against water travelling through the intake to the engine.
The UK is a very wet country (you don’t say) and I'm sure if I'm the 1st, I'm surely not going to be the last that this is going to happen to. Basically if you get water thrown up onto your grill while going forward, this could happen to you!!
Thanks to anyone who has views or a professional opinion.
Sorry for running on a bit but the BMW dealership has quoted £4-£5K, so I'm keen to get to the bottom of this. The BMW dealer, of course take no responsibility for this, and claims the intake needs to be where it is because the car is designed to be driven fast???
Steve
I am confident this is a design fault with the mini and would like to hear from anyone that has an opinion or direct experience of this.
This is why I believe there is a problem:
1. The air intake is located directly behind the front grill at the top.
2. The grill is angled upwards in the direction of the air intake for obvious reasons, but with potential problems when water splashes onto the front of the car. A head wind compounds this effect.
3. The air duct above the grill points down unlike most cars that point up, to act as an additional guard against water travelling through the intake to the engine.
The UK is a very wet country (you don’t say) and I'm sure if I'm the 1st, I'm surely not going to be the last that this is going to happen to. Basically if you get water thrown up onto your grill while going forward, this could happen to you!!
Thanks to anyone who has views or a professional opinion.
Sorry for running on a bit but the BMW dealership has quoted £4-£5K, so I'm keen to get to the bottom of this. The BMW dealer, of course take no responsibility for this, and claims the intake needs to be where it is because the car is designed to be driven fast???
Steve