My cousin owns this one and does not have Internet access at the moment. he takes good care of his car. It's well maintained and not abused. Thanks in advance for any advice / thoughts!!!

Here is his text to me:

just got my car back from a recall (auxilary water pump for cooling the turbo) and wouldn't u know it, on highway running fine at 1st but then chugged a little and threw some smoke out back and lost a lot of power and engine light on... says in book "engine malfunction under load. high engine load will result in damage to catalytic converter. engine malfunction with adverse effect on exhaust emissions. have the vehicle checked w/o delay." ideas?

 

Was it running OK before the dealer? Sounds too coincidental that the problem happened after someone was monkeying around with the car. The only way to really get a clue is to check the code that's making the check engine light appear.

 

Yes! Running fine...He is worried that they will not take responsibility even if they caused it.

 

Take it back, they might have left something loose. That's all you can do...

 

easy just take it back

 

i really wish this thread had a follow up...I have just had the exact same thing happen to me. car was into dealer and they did the recall for the turbo cooling pump. Then heading out on a couple hour trip....same thing. reduced power error message...white smoke. now I have to find out what happened exactly.

 

Has the engine overheated?

I had my auxiliary water pump replaced also. I left the dealer, drove about four miles and the engine overheat light came on amber then turned red. My temperature gauge(see sig below) was only up to 180 degrees. I shut engine off and checked under bonnet. Did not find any leaks but coolant tank was empty. I started engine and returned to dealer.

The engine normally runs @ 220 degrees, I babied it back and it tried to go up toward 230 degrees. They kept car and checked out. They couldn't find any leaks and attributed the problem to an air pocket in cooling system. Refilled coolant tank and everything is OK.

I would make sure coolant tank is at the full level. If your engine overheated, the temperature light should have come on but...

 

no temperature light came on. just the reduced power light and then a check engine light. Not a single warning of overheating. Same here...pulled over and looked under bonnet and saw nothing. no leaks, no sounds. Really weird. Today I started the car again (I had it towed to my driveway as we were headed out of town) to see what it would do. runs ok. water level fine, oil level ok (not topped up but there). Drove it to my mechanic. no power yet no reduced power error message. just check engine light. when I got to mechanic's there definitely was some moisture in the engine as it had some steam coming out of oil filler cap and dip stick tube when I checked the oil. So, in short...I have no clue if the car overheated or not. no indication of it when driving and no warning lights for it (dumb that there is no temp gauge in the car....stupid...really stupid move on Mini's part). So tomorrow the hunt will begin. I do believe the cat's have failed as there is not much flow out the tailpipes and I have had the rotten egg smell a couple weeks ago that everyone seems to say is the cat's going (or gone) bad. I'll follow up when I know something. My gut tells me the turbo cooked...whether it's from the aux water cooling pump for it or clogged oil lines...my gut tells me it's cooked. Whether the head gasket popped or not is still a question. and the car idles pretty good for a head gasket. we will seee

 

Took my '10 Clubman S in for the recall work last week. Two days later on freeway exchange, accelerated and she went limp. Engine Operating At Less Than Maximum Power light come on yellow. No smoke, no overheating.....some nasty whining and grinding though.
Took her back and was told the Turbo fried due to clogged oil line. Too coincidental that had been in for regular service twice in the six months prior and no issues.
Have debated with the dealership AND MINI USA as they have refused to cover under warranty. Said clogged oil line is an owner lack of service issue, even though all service had been performed as scheduled.
Currently parked in the garage while I try to fight the man over this one. Out of pocket cost from the dealership, errrr crooks, is $4,500.
Really frustrated, but feel like I am running out of options!

 

just got the confirmation... blown turbo. while the oil lines were not completely clogged...probably the best bet. So know the research begins. to rebuild, replace or upgrade. who knows. anyone who has been here before, what do you recommend and what are the approximate costs. $4500 like BigPoppa is saying is ridiculous...no??

 

Well, it has taken persistence. She is dropped off for WARRANTY repair coverage!