Hi

Our R53 was built on 06/02/06 & while it was under warranty everything was great. But since then we've had a single check engine light P-code re-appear again & again.

It's P2096 - lean condition

It's been to the dealer 4 separate times for this already over the past 30'000miles. And now its come on again...

Is anyone else seeing this code come up again & again on theirs?

At what point do I contact corporate in New Jersey and make a big deal about it?

Thx

-e

 

Eric,

I had this problem on my '06 as well. The root cause can be several things, but my specific problem was a vacuum leak in the supercharger intake tube at the bypass valve connection. There is a green rubber gasket at the supercharger inlet that you could try replacing, as well as using worm-drive hose clamps on the bypass valve hose.

The best way to diagnose a vacuum leak (assuming that's what the problem is, which is likely) is to have a shop perform a smoke test.

-Mike

 

Hi Mike

Yes that's exactly what the dealer has done on the previous attempts.
The last time they had it, they kept it for three days, found the leak, swapped out the gaskets, but when they test drove it it leaked again so they started over and changed a bunch more parts...

this has happened 4 separate times...

i wonder what it is about the MINI rubber gaskets that keeps them failing like that...

i'll humor the dealer and let them take another stab at it tomorrow (at this point they are treating it like a recall and not charging me for it), but i think i might ultimately switch out to ALTA's silicon tube gaskets and see if I get better luck with that in the long run ...

 

Hey Eric,

I guess as long as the dealer is working free of charge, that seems as good a plan as any.

Has your Mini ever overheated? Also, is your engine cooling fan working at low-speed? Many people have the low-speed resistor burn out for the cooling fan, resulting in elevated engine temperature. I found that this can degrade gasket and hose performance as they become brittle with increased temps.

-Mike

 

In the first five years of ownership I've never seen the coolant temp gauge rise above halfway once the car's warmed up, so no it's never overheated to my knowledge.
I'm pretty sure my rad fan is working at low & high speeds still... that's an easy one to check.

I have found the level in the coolant reservoir to vary a little over time and suspect a minor leak somewhere that I haven't yet tracked down - still though nothing serious enough to affect the car's operating temp.

I'm guessing that silicon hoses will remain more pliable over time than the factory rubber ones and that ultimately may be the long term fix to this recurring problem. We'll see what happens this time around at the dealership - I'll report back.


I'm going to hit 100K miles in the next month or so and with the exception of this recurring P2096 issue, a leaky oil pan gasket and axle seals, and the front LCA rubber bushings falling apart I've had no other mechanical issues whatsoever.
Cosmetically the only thing I have to complain about is that the driver side seat back bolster stitching has come apart at the left shoulder exposing the foam underneath - no upholsterer will touch it because of the airbag underneath and a new leather upper from MINIUSA is close to $800 (ouch), that and those annoying door panel rattles that the HK sound system can barely cover up...

 

I dropped car off at Dealer yesterday
They called around lunch time saying car was done

They had done the 100k mile O2 sensor warranty

I drove it home last night and surprise surprise check engine light is back on
Read it at home : P2096

I cleared it & it came back on this morning so I'm at the dealership again



This is now the 6th time... Yeah!

 

I had it into the dealer 5 times and they were never able to fix it... Car runs fine with it on though... Definitely running richer than normal, which I am okay with because I spend most of my time over %50 throttle.

 

so you perpetually have yr check engine light on?

 

Update:

After a week at the dealership, they found nothing mechanically wrong but they decided the DME was bad ($1800)... It's been ordered and is going back to dealership on Friday to have it programmed and installed

In the meantime though I haven't had a check engine light... Great! I'm wondering if these $1800 + install are well spent

Once my old DME comes out, does it get initialized and is no longer usable or can I keep it as a future back up?

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

I've had a similar problem, except I'm always getting a "running rich bank 1" code with my CEL.

However, in my case, the car always feels like it has a noticeable loss of power at the lower rpm range. When I feel the power return, the light goes out again (until the next time...).

He's scheduled to go into the indepedant's shop in January to troubleshoot. Could it be the bypass valve?

 

Ferro,

A rich condition is generally not indicative of a vacuum leak (more likely a lean condition would be). You could check the vacuum line connection to the fuel pressure regulator and the regulator itself. You could also have leaky injector(s), but I think the regulator would be more likely.

-Mike

 

We're currently leaning towards it being a sticky Bypass Valve; the problem occurs randomly, and persists for random amounts of time as well. It happens more often when it's warm out (ie summer). When the condition is active, the car has a significant loss of power as well, especially under light throttle.

Eric, what is a DME?

 

Yes, for the last 2 years or so.