I have a 2008 Cooper S. This started happening without any rhyme or reason. I had it at the dealership & they ran the test for the faults but nothing came up. As I drove it home that day, the lights came on again & have since about 3-4 times. They stay on for a few seconds & then turn off again. I'm taking it back to the dealer next week but I don't think they're going to see the problem since it doesn't seem to register with the fault system they check. Anyone have any ideas? The ABS light does not come on at all.

 

Are you running staggered rims/tires ?

The tires have all the same profile size right ?

 

Yes the tires are all the same size. I've had the car for a year & a half & have never had this issue before.

 

Wondering then if maybe there's a short in the wiring harness some where....wire insulation gets cut or worn thru from rubbing onto a metal part then wire shorts out....

Did they check for any TSB's while you were there ?

Few weeks back on my r53, I had a dirty or wet rear brake sensor. I had a tri-fecta of lights on my dash....DSC, TPMS, and Service light I think.... It lasted about two days and then went out, no problems since.

 

No I think they just checked the car for any faults. The service guy didn't sound like he'd ever heard of this issue before, which is strange to me. I have a feeling after leaving there on Tuesday, it's still going to have the same issue.
Today was our first snowfall of the winter & I of course got the "low tire pressure" alert, so I was out there in the storm putting air in the tires. I love it, but sometimes this car knowing too much drives me insane!

 

I found a post from September addressing the same issue. Apparently after 3 days at the dealer, they determined it to be a sensor inside the steering column that tells the DSC system which way the steering wheel is pointed. When that sensor goes bad, or appears to not be relaying accurate data, the DSC basically shuts itself down.

I'm going to make a note of this for my appointment on Tuesday. Hopefully this is what it is & they can fix it easily.

 

cat woman. Some times the brake fluid levels are low from the factory fill
make sure. that your brake fluid is topped off. a good indication say your drving no lights on then. drive the car doing S's this will slosh the fluid around if its low the light will emit.

 

I'm sure the brake fluid will be something they check. I know the times the light has come on, I've been driving straight, no sudden curves to slosh around the fluid. I'm going to send an email to my salesguy & have him relay the message about the sensors to the service department so I'm not sitting there forever as they try everything. I hope it's an easy fix. I don't know if the warning light is signaling something critical to the function of the car but it makes me nervous when those lights come on.

 

I have the same issue with mine. I don't get it. I haven't taken it in yet, planning on doing that soon. Just haven't had the time with finals for school and work. But the light will come on, then the next time i get in the car it will be off. It went away for two days, then came back today on my way back from lunch. I was just driving straight, nothing out of the ordinary.

Break fluids are good on mine as well.

btw 08 jcw

 

I took it in last week. It only took like 5 minutes. The service guy said there was something interfering with the sensor & they took care of that. So far, it hasn't come on again so I guess they fixed it.

 

hmmm I will have to see if I can find these sensors so I dont have to take it in! I live 3 hours to the nearest service area. So if anyone knows where I can find these sensors and possibly clean them, let me know! possibly a photo if someone has the time??

 

I had the same issue 1 year ago. Topped off the brake fluid reserviour and sprayed the pad sensors down with Brake-Kleen. I'm not sure which fixed it, but the symptoms never returned.