hey guys. i have an 09 JCW mini, around 500 miles on it.

As i turned on the car the other day, Indicator lamp 1, as stated in page 145 of the owners manual, came on. the manual states "engine malfunction with adverse effect on exhaust emmisions." it also says that i should get it checked by my dealer ASAP.

see as though this car is still new, do you guys think its actually something serious enough that i should get checked out by the dealer? any thoughts/ similar experiences?

**Note: im gonna take out my code reader and i will post the code here shortly.

 

Yes bring it to your dealer...call first.

 

I would take it in too just because it is so new, you don't want to damage something that could have been easily fixed.

 

hmm, soo i didnt drive it for a few hours. when my friend dropped me off tonight, and proceeded to move my car into my driveway (it was parked on the street), and the check engine light did not turn on
im gonna try driving it tomorrow and see whether it was just an o2 sensor glitch. hopefully the CEL wont re-appear.

 

I'd call and let the dealer know and see what they say. Those lights don't usually blink for no reason.....don't ruin a nice MINI.

 

how long should a check engine light stay on after starting?

 

Check your dipstick, oil fill cap and gas cap for tightness. Could be something that simple. Usually emissions related faults will not damage the car, it just kills dolphins somewhere.

The light should not stay on too long, few seconds after startup.

 

I vote for gas cap, I got the retainer caught on my 06' once light stayed on for two or three days.

 

Take your mini into the dealer. My 2007 MCS had the check engine light come on on Saturday. It has been on sense Wed, I brought it to the dealer on Wed even tho the light turned off befor i got there. They checked it out and told me they cant find the problem and said it will have to stay overnight. So today they called me and said it was ready. When i arrived my service person said that I was lucky i brought it in because the timing chain and tensor and guard were all bad and was about to go out. They replaced everything and im happy i saved my engine in time =]. Car was driving normal when the engine light was on so if i wasn't smart to just bring it in, my engine probably would have been toast. Most people take the engine light to lightly and just cause it turns off doesn't mean its all fixed. Dont RISK your mini.

 

Thanks for the suggestions, I will try some of them.

 

Usually if a check engine light is triggered the code will stay in memory for the dealer to pole