Hi folks,
I guess my 2003 MC needs a little attention now!
The title says all, "Serve Engine Soon" light went on last night , what the hell does it mean???
Let me explain what happened:

1. Start at a STOP sign, 1st gear everything is a OK. Right after MC is rolling, hear one BEEP, outside temperature gauge (not coolent gauge) blinks couple times. (This blinking thing happened few times, what is mean?).
2. After about 1/2 mile, make a left at light, right after MC starts moving, "Serve Engine Soon" light went on... Engine starts to choke..... not too much power was putting out.
3. Pulled in lowe's parking lot right away, let car idle, engine seems doing fine again. Restarted it, "Serve Engine Soon" light is still on, but car seems just fine.

After all these, I decide drive home and take another car to dinner. 3 hours later, I started it again in garage, no more Yellow light, engine is smooth again, things went back normal....
I spent the rest of the night read menu, all I found was this:
Serve Engine Soon => exhaust system has problem?! WHAT???

Please help me out here!!! What does it mean? Major problem? Should I bring to dealer next week? Any other MINI have the same experience?

I had lost sleep last night worry about this...... HELP before I go crazy...

 

First off, the outside temperature gauge dinging isn't a big deal. It does that when the temperature dips below 37 degrees. It's your cars way of telling you that you want to be a little careful as water may start freezing on road.

With the Service Engine Soon light, under normal circumstances, it indicates that your emissions systems need servicing. It also can come on when the cap is not properly tightened. So the first step is to make sure your gas cap is tightly secure. (And you are using premium gas, right?)

If it blinked or flashed, it may indicate a "rather severe level of engine misfire." If this was the case (which it almost sounds like given your description), the manual recommends to have it serviced as soon as possible.

I'm not sure if you are still covered for service or not. That might be a deciding factor as what to do. You can take a "wait and see" to see if the light appears again, otherwise take it in. The important thing is...don't lose any sleep over it!

Good Luck!

 

Thanks MiniShagz!
I think the gas cap is in tight, I'll double check again.
The "Serve Engine Soon" didn't blink or flash, but engein did choke for a little bit --> engine misfire?
OMG, it sounds like a pretty bad thing... My car is out of service period... It's at least $100 for dealer just checking the problem, right? If engine does misfire, how big the job will it be? I just got my bonus for this year, I had something else in my mind, not repair bill!!!
Is there anything I can check first? Maybe the spark plug? Other places? As you might find out, I don't know much about engine or anything mechanical. Man, I got myself a wrong major, should go for the mechanical engineer..
I used 89 for my MC, I thought MCS requires premium gas, not MC. Am I wrong?
It makes nervus now... Anyone has sleeping pills?

 

you have to get, borrow or steal a code scanner. The light is just the car's way of saying that something isn't right. What is wrong can be benign or severe, and the only way to know is to scan the codes and combine that information with the drivability sypmtoms.

FWIW, the SES light can come on for lots of engine operational issues, some not related directly to the emissions systems. Also, some codes are only present when there's a problem. Some clear after a certain number of good "driving cycles" and some stay latched until cleared. It depends on the code.

But the number of times I see "The dash light went on, what do I do?" is nearly infanant. You need to pull the codes or give the car to a shop to go farther.

Matt

 

AutoZone (and other such places, I'd imagine) will pull the code for free. If the light's gone out, I don't know if the error code would still be in memory, though.

 

it stays stored until it's cleared . this way dealers have a history of sorts .

 

Thanks guys! Really a wonderful forum here!!
I'll go to autozone for now and let them get the code.
Do they give me a detail explaination of the problem, or they just give me many 0 & 1 and I'll have to find some decoder book to figure it out?

Thanks again guys!!!

 

It's unlikely that they'll give a detailed explanation. When I had them check my light out (on my previous car), all they could tell me was that there was a leak somewhere. I suppose that's as much as the code could tell them without actually checking it out.

At the very least, you can get the code and ask the smart people here on the board for advice. Or if you choose to go to the dealer, at least you will have armed yourself with information on the problem should they try to snow you.

 

There is a set of mandated standard codes that all cars must support. If it's one of them any scanner will do. If it's a manufacturer specific code, then you have to get text from BMW/Mini documentation. There are lots here who can decode for you.

Matt

 

Ironically, after I posted here, my light went on as well. Happily, I'm still covered. I took it in thinking that it was just something that needed to be reset. As it turns out, it is something with the cylinder head and will take a few days to fix! So don't ignore it. Unfortunately, you may have to bite the bullet and get it fixed though.....

 

According to the manual (I think around page 83 for your model year), you should be using fuel with an octane rating of 91. That is both for MC and MCS.

 

MiniShagz : Sorry to hear your have the same light on! Hopefully problem'll get fixed soon!!!

I had made appointment w/ dealer for a steerting wheel replacement on next Monday, will let them check on the issue for sure, hopefully nothing major. This is probably the last visit to dealer under warranty. I already made a really LONG list of stuff for them to check. My MA had been very nice and willing to help.
AutoZone idea didn't go very smooth last weekend. I drove 10 miles after talk w/ you guys, the guy in AutoZone went ... when I asked if he could do a code scan for me. Finally went to dealer, but no MINI tech in house, all BMW MA was like---I don't care...... HATE THEM!!!
But MC had been going pretty good this week, probably something mirror.

Does MC run on 91 as well???? I thought only MSC does. I'd better give MC better drink this weekend, but the 91 price is $2.6 around twin cities MN.

MiniShagz, Come on, Man doesn't need manual!!!!

 

sure knows how to use them!

Matt

 

Sucks that the AutoZone thing didn't go very smooth. But 91 is recommended for both the MC and the MCS.

 

Thanks guys! I'll get some 91 at Sam's club today. Can I mix 1/4 tank 89 w/ 91?? Should I drive until MC get bone dry before I put in new gas? I am a little afraid that mixture of two grade gas will make it go crazy.
We'll have a March Fun Run for twin-cities area MINIs this sunday, I hope my MC'll have a better performance or smoother with his new drinks.
Anybody wanna join us for the fun run? Minnesota is about half way from both pond, It's still nice and cool here...

 

If I were you, I'd start buying 91 octane (we have 93 where I live) at Chevron, NOT Sam's Club. The first think the Mini repair guy will ask you is "where are you getting your gas?" You can't go wrong with Chevron (although there are others that are good too).

I would also buy some Chevron Techron in the biggest bottle you can find (about $12) and pour that in before you fill up. The combination of the better gas, higher octane, fuel system detergent and a long trip that will get your engine good and hot, should make it run better.

But, things could be too far gone by now, and you might get stranded by the roadside.

 

This is killing me! All I wanted to do was save few penny w/ 89 octane and get myself a R56 (03 MC officially belong to my boss--> the wife). I guess it's a good thing in long run.

Anyways, what's wrong w/ Sam's club gas? Do they have a bad [SIZE=2]reputation with their gas? Anybody know where they got their gas, ie: Shell/Chevron/holidays? I use their gas (91) for my FX35 for about 2 years, my infiniti is just fine, I think.
[/SIZE]We don't have much Chevron around in minnesota, I only know a few, and they are pretty far away. You are saying I should have put some additives in alone w/ 1st tank of 91??? Do you know other good engine treatment that they have in AutoZone/Checks or other auto store?

Any suggestion on mixing 1/4 89 with 3/4 91?

 

Sorry I wasn't clear. You will have no problems mixing the gas together. Obviously, the less 89 that is in the tank, the less it will dilute the 91 and reduce the 91 down a bit. For example, if you mix 91 and 89 50/50, you will get the mid-grade. Just that simple.

Sam's club "might" have great gas. It's just not worth it to me. But if you've had good luck with it in the past, go for it. I just like Chevron because for many years now their have sold the best gasoline. Mainly because of the detergents they put in their gas. In the past couple of years the other big names have finally caught up to them. I believe that Shell, Exxon, Mobil and Texaco all now offer gas with detergents that greatly help to reduce deposits in your engine.

The Chevron Techron fuel injector cleaner is available everywhere. I bought some recently at Costco. But I've seen it at Wal-Mart, Shucks, etc.... The key is to try and find the larger bottle so you get more in your tank. Or, you can use the smaller bottle and only fill your tank 1/2 way. In fact, that might be a good idea in your case, because your problem is so bad. But that would mean you'd have to start with an almost empty tank. :(

Hopefully you have enough information now to make a decision that works best for you. Good luck!

 

Thanks mitchman for your suggestions!

I'll try to get some Chevron Techron fuel injector this weekend!
I just did some research on gas grades and gas detergent. If anyone wants read:

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

This detergent gas does make sense to me, I got a kwik-stop about half mile from home, sounds like a winner.
I think I just got myself a good & valid excuse to have some fun my car now:
Honey, I have to burn out that cheap gas you put in MC last week, See ya!

BTW, I think I didn't make it clear that I just bought this used 03 MC this year. So I guess the problem isn't too deep yet, but good gas from now on.

Good weekend everyone!