Engine Light

Bagpiper · Motorist

RE: Engine Light

Dumpnrun · Motorer

Thankyou TowneMini CJ

SPDinNY · Motorer

hey Mark. good to hear from you. When they get a final fix please let us know. I will get Bruto out of hibernation and drive him up to get him fixed. Thx!

Mitch · Motorer

Does the recommendation to let the car "warm up" apply to 2005 model? I read in the manual that a warm up time was not recommended.

MightyMo · Motorer

Oh my! Start vehicle and drive right off...no.. let it warmup... better to drive right off to save gas....no, oil can be thick and not a good lubricant while still cold.... new oils keep parts lubricated better and faster... so drive right off....my car crys that it is too cold and wants to warm up, then shut off, then restarted and driven.....Mini Mo like most Mini's cost alot of money yet my loaded Ram 2500 runs right, drives right off and plows at all times...Mini Mo....uggg! Did I mention that the ram has pulled out Mini Mo twice this winter so far....UGG again. Let me think here Dodge...owned by Chrysler....we (USA) give "B" dollars to and truck made in Mexico a very hot place. Mini owned by BMW, made in England a cold place in winter and we have not given Government money. Car hates cold, truck likes cold.

Ok, I have an idea. I only wish I knew what it was. Thank god the Mini gets good MPG, looks cool, is fun to drive, has a good warranty, GREAT dealer support, unreal resale value and a fantastic famly (mini club). I guess letting it warm up is not all that bad. Good thing the car has heated seats so Maureens butt is warm while waiting for the car to stop crying. Glad it's not a GM. Yet, the Dodge does eat tranny fluid. By the way, the tow hook that goes into the bumper works very well as Maureen and I found out when I only took my foot OFF the brake in the truck (no foot on gas) and the car OMG ... It was like the tip at the end of a whip. I guess a 10,000 lb truck is not needed for a stuck Mini. LOL. I could just put the car in the trucks dump bed to transport.
-s
p.s. for those that have been asking... the thumb is about 90% now, has grown most of the nail back and look good. I have let it become part of myself again. It kept getting in the way when doing things so I have allowed it to take it's place as ruler of my right hand.

-- Edited by MightyMo at 00:19, 2009-01-20

VeganBrian · Motorer

My mini had the start up problem last week, started , light came on. it idled up and down and was spitting black stuff out of exhaust. called mini told me abot safe mode. waited about 15 minutes turned off for about a minute and restarted and it was fine then. That deffinitly needs to be fixed though, I was super late to work...... ;(

TINMAN · Motorist

It is monday 1/26/09 and I just got a call from Mark at Towne stating my
08 mcs is ready. They put the updated intake on it and should now be fine
with the cold start problems. Hope everything goes well. I will let everyone know if this fixed the problem of the freezing moister. biggrin

Dumpnrun · Motorer

That would be nice if the new intake works out for you,be sure to keep us updated. Now i want to tell ya something weird. I washed the mini Friday morning around 4:30 then drove to work it was 19 degrees out and everything ran fine. After work no problems drove home. I parked the mini outside and left it there until Sunday morning .I went out to warm it up it was 11 degrees out. It started up just fine no problems then drove to Syracuse and back then left it outside. Heres the weird part. Monday morning (today) I went out at 4:00 to warm it up the temp was 0. It started with no problems no warning lights . So the only difference I notice is that on these days there was no snow on the car that could get moisture in the intake. I will be watching the next time i get snow and see if there's a difference. Thats all for now. See ya CJ

tedscar · Motorer

Dumpnrun wrote:

That would be nice if the new intake works out for you,be sure to keep us updated. Now i want to tell ya something weird. I washed the mini Friday morning around 4:30 then drove to work it was 19 degrees out and everything ran fine. After work no problems drove home. I parked the mini outside and left it there until Sunday morning .I went out to warm it up it was 11 degrees out. It started up just fine no problems then drove to Syracuse and back then left it outside. Heres the weird part. Monday morning (today) I went out at 4:00 to warm it up the temp was 0. It started with no problems no warning lights . So the only difference I notice is that on these days there was no snow on the car that could get moisture in the intake. I will be watching the next time i get snow and see if there's a difference. Thats all for now. See ya CJ

I don't know about the rest of it, but the weird part to me is that you washed the MINI at 0430! I can get up any time of day, but I don't know that I could get up to wash a car (even a MINI) at 0430 and 19 degrees! You're one committed man, CJ!

Well, what's happened with this issue? Has it been resolved? Did it just go away in the heat wave we've been having? I see it's supposed to get colder here (single digits) later this week...hopefully the gremlins have moved on...

TINMAN · Motorist

Well it is now 2/2/09 and I have not had the problem since the intake was replaced. So far so good. biggrin

-- Edited by TINMAN at 14:10, 2009-02-02

Venno · Motorer

tedscar wrote:
I don't know about the rest of it, but the weird part to me is that you washed the MINI at 0430! I can get up any time of day, but I don't know that I could get up to wash a car (even a MINI) at 0430 and 19 degrees! You're one committed man, CJ!

He he Only time I ever washed my MINI around 4 or 5 am was durring the summer on Friday mornings before MINI events which were schedualed for that weekend (i had to be at work by 6am so I'd wash, work and head out to motor)....Problem I found with washing that early is that you can't dry it properly since you can't see what you're doing once you drive out of the spray booth.... and durring the winter I'd usually wait till late morning, so yeah, really Hats off to you Dumpnrun for your commitment to keeping your MINI sparkling in the winter at 4:30 am

-- Edited by Venno at 14:11, 2009-02-02

Dumpnrun · Motorer

Dont let me fool you im not that commited i just have to be at work that early so im home by 2 and had my afternoon nap before most of you get out of work . I havent had any problems since the weather has warmed up, knock on wood or my thick skull . See ya CJ

Dumpnrun · Motorer

Venno

I know you like to brain storm so heres the update on the engine light.

The last time the light came on was Jan/15th the mini was out side and had snow on it. Since then its been down to at least -1degrees and the cold does not effect it.There hasnt been any snow on it since. Except this morning it was in the garage and when i left it was snowing lightly . After work the light came on and went into safe mode. So it must be sucking in the snow thru the turbo ? thanks CJ

TOWNEMINI · Towne MINI - Official

This issue is still a work in progress, just please remember this is not a mechanical issue. Ingestion of snow through the turbo should not be an issue. Believe it or not in the dead of winter our humidity is quite high, you might see around 30% Also short runs back and forth to work build up moisture along with moderate driving. Those are the reasons this is happening, dry gas also should not prevent this issue but is not a bad idea on intervals. Twice a week driving the vehicle the long way home, finding some tight turns and working in the lower gears, bringing the RPM's up more than usual and almost drive it aggressively will burn some of the moisture out. Driving long and hard will help, heated garages will prevent the issue from happening but as of now we are still working with MINI on a resolution.

Also, if you find similar symptoms to the ones fellow MINI advocates have noted, but drive a cooper, not a "S" the issue may very well be similar so dont be alarmed.

Yellow check engine lamps are warnings of possible issues, the light is doing its job, warning you. The light does not come on once its too late. If the yellow light is on, feel free to continue driving it, could be some bad gas, loose gas cap, many things that may be a non issue. Always feel free to call and discuss the issues you are having, describe the lights, and drivability issues and then an appointment can be made as necessary, or maybe towed in at that point.

If the light is red, or you have tried to allow the vehicle to warm up at an idle, restart the vehicle and it still does not run right, then call and leave a message before having the vehicle towed in. In doing this, the vehicles that are not drivable will be worked on as soon as possible. Also once they arrive, we know what we are working with and may have a faster turn around time.

Please remember everyday we schedule for what the shop can handle with many different things kept in mind. When your vehicle is towed in, we will work it between appointments, we can not push those vehicles off, and it may be several days before your vehicle is properly diagnosed, then maybe more days waiting for special ordered parts.

Dumpnrun · Motorer

TowneMini
Thank-you again Townemini for your advice,I think at this point it hasn't been an every day issue. Like you said I just let it do its job and warm up its fine. I could wait until Mini comes up with a recall and a permenet solution so it wont be done twice,as long as it doesn't effect my warranty. Spring is on its way soon and will all be happy motorers again. THKS CJ

Venno · Motorer

Dumpnrun: Hmmm... well...as Click and Clack from Cartalk would say...I'm Stumped...sorry, but Towne's cure sounds nice....

TOWNEMINI wrote:

...Twice a week driving the vehicle the long way home, finding some tight turns and working in the lower gears, bringing the RPM's up more than usual and almost drive it aggressively will burn some of the moisture out....

He He... this remedy makes me think of a doctor who perscribes a shot of Liquir for a case of the coughs...Not only is it fun, but it usually actually works...Now to find my medicine bottle for this cough that I seem to be developing biggrin

Mitch · Motorer

I believe it is called an "Italian Tune Up"