Hello all!

What a Friday! Thought I will be enjoying my weekend and relax but ended up without a car.

When I got out of work and started the ignition, my car starts to rumble/shake and making noises like it's having an asthma attack. I noticed the "Service engine soon" light was on at the same time as the ABS(?) light.

I shut off the engine and started again to see if the problem goes away. Repeated for three times with no luck so I had called the Mini roadside assistance to get a tow truck. Got picked up within 30 minutes and dropped my car off at the dealership. It doesn't help that it's Friday night and they are closed on the weekends so I had to leave it there until Monday.

Another thing, when the car was half way up the flat bed, the tow guy tried to incline a little bit more by stepping hard on the accel pad but the car was unable to climb any higher.

Questions:
1. Anyone have an idea what might be wrong with the car? It currently has 9733 miles on.
2. Do you think the dealer will fix this at no cost?
3. I'm now without a car, do they provide free rental?

I love my cooper but it's been on a bad luck streak within these few months. 1st, it got hit by a commercial truck which broke my tail light and caused a dent to the bumper. 2nd, pot hole caused the runs flat tire to be replaced. Now this.

sad.

anyone care to answer my questions, it would definitely brighten up this sad girl's life.

 

Hi Olivejuice; sorry you're off to an unhappy weekend.
1: Too many possibilities. Wait and see what the dealer says. Could be a vacuum leak, but who knows? Have you done any engine mods?
2: They most definitely should!
3: Depends on your dealer; some do, some don't. (most do). Call your MA this morning and check. I haven't heard of many dealers not open on Saturdays, are you sure?

 

probably ignition related but better to wait and see . mine did that when the coil pack went .

 

Did you check to make sure all 4 spark plugs are tight and where they should be? A lose/missing plug will def. cause an asthmatic sounding engine with a bad case of the shakes.

 

oh no...sorry to hear. hopefully everything comes out ok!!
but just think of driving your car once you get it back. the joy it'll bring to your face.
mmmm..i cant wait till tomorrow morning when i drive mine.
warranty should cover everything..right?

 

Hello! Thank you all for your replies! I couldn't sleep well these past 2 nights because I kept thinking about my car. Will have to wait and see what's wrong on Monday.

To 3cocinas,
I didn't do any engine mods so I have no idea what could've caused it since I've only had the car for less than a year. I've called my dealership in mini of mountain view (in CA) yesterday (Saturday) and they said the service dept are closed during the weekends. Only sales dept are open and i doubt my sales rep can answer any questions related to the car being serviced (tried a simple questions once and he couldn't answer it before).

To Moe4me,
I didn't check the engine because I wouldn't know what to look at anyways. I'm a car newbie. =P


Thank you all again

 

Here's hoping that the dealer finds and fixes the problem quickly. Definitely let us know what they find. Best of luck!