i received my mini cooper clubman on tuesday last week (election night). drove it to san antonio to show my family. first problem recognized was the inaccurate fuel gauge, the entire trip of 180 miles and not one "candy corn" light went out (amazing gas mileage). the next day i started the car to move it and 4 "candy corns" were out. (same business on the way home). is there a way for the dealership to fix this problem or am i stuck with this?

the second thing i noticed was that one of my back up lights is already out. i have had the car only 6 days. i thought the car was supposed to be checked out at the distribution center. i know its a guick fix but, i just got the car, come on

got a good sized paint chip on bumper and on right rear door, disapointing

just demoralized, super excited to get car and problems right away.

will

 

I had a fuel tank sensor problem with my 08 MCS that was very similar to your's; it took awhile for the first light to go out and if I parked the car overnight with the tank completly full, the next day the gauge would be three lights down. The gauge would correct itself after 150 miles of fuel was gone.

The dealer swapped out both tank sending units and everything is OK now. It was a half-day warranty job; go talk to your dealer, all of those items should be a quick fix. What you might want to start doing is a careful walk-around before driving off the dealer's lot. It's a lot easier to show them the errors right there in the lot, than to tell them about it later. Call that a hard-learned lesson of mine.

 

I think on the clubman, one tail light is a rear fog light and the other is a back up light. Please correct me if i'm wrong.

-

 

There are numerous threads on NAM regarding the Gen 2 fuel gauge which (like most other cars) is anything but linear. The first couple of candycorns on a full tank represent 3 or more gallons each, while the last couple denote much smaller increments. You will become accustomed to this idiosyncracy after a period of acclimatization to this wonderful but quirky vehicle known as the MINI. The consensus among owners is that this non-linearity is just a built-in feature - they all do it. But this is nothing new, since almost every car on the market has a non-linear gas gauge as well: it's just a question of degree. Once you get past the newness, you will find that it's really not a big deal.

 

Agree, I'm used to the first three or four lights equaling about 1/2 a tank. I usually fill up when the fifth light goes out.

 

Yes, there is indeed only one backup light. The fuel gauge does not show the first quarter tank used, as the candy corns represent 3/4 of the tank. When the first corn disappears, you've already used over 1/4 tank.

 

I dont think that the above clubman is legal in the US. I believe the DOT requires 2 white backup lights.

 

i did notice that one candy corn disappeared while driving home last night, roughly around 150 miles. ill pay more attention to it this week. if this is the case, then i wont have to take it in for the fuel gauge.

 

From another thread.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...1&postcount=31

That is pretty accurate with my numbers.

 

Several things to consider
1. The fuel gauge is, in fact, non linear. Depending on driving habits, I usually get 90-120 miles before the first light goes out. Typically I get 350-450 miles from a tank.
2. I have only one back up light and one fog light. My car was built for me and delivered in US. I don't think there is a DOT requirement for 2 back up lights. A colleague also has an MCC (non-S) which also has only one back up light.
3. The joy of ownership far exceeds any of these idiosyncracies
All the best - enjoy the Mini experience!
Regards,
4T9RPE

 

I agree. Once I paid attention to this I think it's accurate. 3 corns=7 gallons=1/2 tank.

 

Dropping from 1 to 4 fuel lights out is definitely a problem. The first light does take a long time to go out, sometimes well over 100 miles. However, you should then see a progression of 2-3-4 lights out, not an immediate "jump" to four lights out. As for how many gallons each light represents, your guess is as good as mine. Also, watch out for the last few lights, my Clubman's "miles to empty" reading on the OBC drops like a rock the last few miles. So, at least for my car, the first light comes on very slowly, and the last two come on very quickly.
Yes, one backup light . It's a real conversation starter.

 

Nahh, i am 100% sure that WillDe's clubman is set up as so:



a fog light lamp on the left, and a back up light on the right

 

youre right, i checked it out today... same setup. really proves how ignorant i am about the cooper, shame....

 

I'm sorry for posting in this category, but my 2003 MCS has the same glitch with its gas gauge. It seems like once a week I encounter all of my gas lights disappearing indicating that I have an empty tank, even when just a day ago, I filled up. Somewhere I must have a faulty sensor since even my onboard computer shows a "--" for the range, instead of my actual mpg range. Then when I turn off my MCS and restart again, its back to normal again. Can anyone shed some light on this issue?

 

I think all MINI owners learn something new about their vehicle almost every day. I think it's a part of the whole 'MINI Experience' ??

 

MCS Addict: sounds like you have what I had. According to the work order on my repair, the senders were working mechanically, but were returning erronious electrical signals; the resistance in ohms was out of range. The sensors were sending signals the computer couldn't interpret correctly, which resulted in inconsistent fuel gauge readings.

Actually, there are many fuel gauges that read in a non-linier fashion. My 1995 Honda Civic didn't, nor did my 1966 VW Bug (or any Beetle with a mechanical gauge).

As far as the number of reverse lights required, the CA Vehicle Code section 24606, paragraph (a) states that; "Every motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, of a type subject to registration and manufactured on and after January 1, 1969, shall be equipped with ONE OR MORE backup lamps either separately or in combination with another lamp..." My emphasis. Unfortunately, the DOT's regulations are a lot harder to research, so I don't know the Federal requirements, but I can't see them being more stringent than this.

 

I couldn't agree with you more.

 

I'll third that thought.

 

I have the exact problem on my 2009 MCS. The gas gauge goes from full, to missing 4 bars, back to full again, then it stays there until I'm about to run out of gas and drops down to the last 2 bars or so. The MPG shows --, and constantly changes as I'm driving, on the highway it stays at 99.99 mpg (would be incredible if that were true).

 

Hah? "Gas lights?" 1st gen MINIs had real gas gauges with needles and E/F indicators, not the funky candycorn lites. Love to shed some light on this, but Im confused here....

 

Your "real" gauges are being driven by the same source as the newer lights, the computer. The only difference is format; in one the computer controls a little motor that moves a needle; in the other the computer turns lights on and off (or change color when the tank gets low). Same data, different format.

Regardless of what instrumentation you have, if the electrical signals are outside the expected range, the computer cannot decipher them and returns incorrect fuel level information. If your car suddenly indicates an empty tank when you know it's full, a faulty fuel tank sensor is a strong possiblity.

 

Same exact problem with my MCS 2008. I can fill up and the guage shows a half of a tank. This has been an issue since I purchased the car. My dealer in Arlington, Texas tells me that they will not nor can not reapir the problem until they can see it. I took photos of the guage and odometer, not good enough! I guess I will have to drive all the way back to Arlington, fill up just before pulling into the service department, and leave running until they can actually see the issue! Mini is not aware of any issues with the fuel guage which I thought was very interesting.

Michael Ramsey

 

Before you go back, call to ask them exactly what sort of evidence they want to see before they'll start working on the gauge. You also might suggest they run a diagnostic test on the output of the sender units mounted on the tank; there are two of units, on the left and right sides of the tank. They're probably sending a signal to the computer that's out of range, which would cause the problem.

My own problem would've taken a lot longer to fix if my dealer took the same attitude as your's. My gauge would read accuractly right after the fill up, but would get inaccurate for the first start on the day after.

How many miles on the car, and how many miles to get to Arlington? That's moderately unreasonable for them not to at least run a diagnostic on the sender units for you.

 

anymore, I just fill up when the 4th lite goes off, that's about a half tank. Im not run to run my tank all the way to E.