Category: My MINI

My First 400 Mile Tank

Don’t know whether it’s the gas mix, the cooler temps, the leaking coolant system or what but I am on the cusp of my first ever 400 mile tank in the ’05. Currently I am on 375 miles, with 44 remaining according to the OBC, an indicated MPG of 29.7. I’ve had the OBC read as low as 15 before so I’m pretty sure that I’ll get to 400 on this tank. Good times.

[Update] Had to go to the DMV about my missing tags, stopped for gas on the way…. put in 13.8 gallons of juice to give me a calculated MPG of 28.9!! If only I could get that all the time.

Service Update

Picked up my car last evening:

  • Leak confirmed as coming from the thermostat housing, it was replaced and the system refilled
  • Brake fluid flush was done
  • Rattle was observed and traced to the muffler which was replaced. I swear I heard the clanking noise on the way home last night but didn’t hear it this morning
  • Rubber seal on passenger door was replaced, except that I have no idea what that actually did as the rubber that needed replacing is still there.
  • Inspection of the top found “no abnormal wear”. Yeah, not abnormal for a MINI but certainly abnormal for any other car. Grrr.

Don’t know what to do about the top. A year ago the service advisor was willing to do it but said I should wait and have it done only once. I’m not a pushy person so will probably just leave it.

Back to Brecht

I’m currently the slightly embarrassed driver of a silver Chevy Cobalt while Carrie gets taken care of. Since I knew I was going to have to rent a car I loaded them up with things to look at:

  • the fluid leak – almost certainly the coolant system as the reservoir tank was near empty this morning after topping it up yesterday afternoon
  • brake fluid flush – now a freebie item under the warranty
  • replace rubber seal on passenger side door next to window – it’s slowly wearing away, can see metal through it already
  • advise on new top replacement – the ‘standard’ MINI convertible wear is clearly showing so I want them to see whether I get a new one or not
  • metal on metal clanking noise in rear – been very noticeable ever since Vegas, maybe before. It sounds like there are two pieces of metal hanging from the roof that sway with the motion of the car and clank against each other. I’ve looked and looked and can’t find anything broken.

I am sure the first two will be taken care of, not sure the description of items 3 and 5 will be sufficient for them to find or fix the issue. Given what I read on the boards I think I should get a new top but we’ll see.

Taking a Little Leak

[Update] Looked in the coolant tank at lunchtime and there is hardly any coolant left. Car is going to Brecht first thing in the morning but in the meantime I will top it up with something. Grrrrrr.

Drove the car out of the garage on Sunday to give it a bath (the rain on Friday had made the car filthy) and noticed some fluid on the ground where it had been standing. Scooped it up with a paper towel and it appears to be blue, possibly green, and feels oily rather than like water. This morning when I left for work there was a tiny spot so my hope that it wasn’t coming from Carrie appears in vain. A little web research suggests the fluid is either windscreen washer fluid or coolant but I suppose I’ll take her to Brecht as soon as they can see her.

Only 5.5k miles left on the warranty, soon be time to get all the little annoying things take care of while I can.

Can the DMV Pat It’s Head and Rub It’s Tummy At the Same Time? (HINT: No)

Back in July I received the pink slip from my bank enabling me to transfer my MINI’s title to my name. Around the same time I got notice that my registration was due by Aug 22. I sent the transfer form, pink slip and cheque for the transfer fee to the CA DMV in late July and early August I went online to pay my registration: no luck, the online registration was no longer accessible to me because of the pending title change.

So I waited a bit, and just before the trip to Alaska I got a letter from the DMV returning the pink slip saying I needed to pay another $226 before they could complete the transaction. Well, this was the registration amount so it looked like they couldn’t do one without the other. I sent them the cheque return mail.

When we got back from the cruise there was another letter from the DMV. This one had a receipt for my cheque but a demand for me to send back the pink slip. I suppose it was foolish of me not to send the pink slip back the first time but I figured that if they had needed it they would have kept it? Plus, the letter said quite clearly “send the following items: check for $226”, no mention of the slip. So now it’s way past Aug 22 and I have no title or tags, and I’m just waiting for the CHP to stop me and for me to try explaining my situation.

Carrie is 2!

In all the Alaska excitement, I totally forgot to post on the second anniversary of owning my MCSc. She turned 2 last week and is currently at the ripe old age of 43,700 miles give or take a hundred. The service indicator is suggesting an oil change at 49,300 right now so I am pretty sure I won’t get to squeeze another free oil change out of Brecht. Still need to get the brake fluid flush done, and have them look at the top for wear and tear. I’ll get on that when I get back. But for now, Carrie gets a 2-week vacation in the garage.

40,000 Today

Two big milestones for Carrie this week:

  1. Today, she will turn over her 40,000th mile. Not bad for 22 months of ownership.
  2. Thanks to a very nice year end bonus last week I was able to pay off my loan two years early and as of yesterday she’s all mine. Fortunately I still have 10k miles before I need to get worried about things falling apart!

Brecht Appointment Over

This morning the SES light was off again so I decided I would skip the tedious drive to Brecht (or more importantly the awful drive back to the office in traffic) but about a mile from the office the light came back on so here I am waiting to hear what the deal is. Hurrah for free wi-fi.

As always when I am around other MINIs I wish I had bought different wheels.

Update 1: The problem is with the O2 sensor as always, and they are reprogramming it as I type. They also want to do a fuel injector system flush at a cost to me of $400. I may be at a BMW dealership but I don’t have BMW cash so that will have to wait.

Update 2: Back at work, the light stayed off all the way back to work so keep your fingers crossed that I don’t need to go back for a replacement O2 sensor.

SES Light Off and On Again

SES light was on all the way to work this morning but when I got in the car after work it was no longer illuminated. I was pleased for only a while because about 15 minutes later it came back on. I really am hoping it might be due to the last tank of gas so perhaps after filling up tomorrow it will be able to adjust itself. It sure would be nice not to have to go all the way back to Brecht so soon.