My 2010 Cooper Hardtop Camden Edition just started overheating. of course, no dealerships open. Roadside assistance recommended a tow, but I have no alternate transportation and am a single mom to a 7 month old. She then recommended that I check coolant levels (it was almost empty). She asked me to buy high grade, phosphate free coolant - which only Advanced Auto Parts had in stock. I added that and since, my car seems fine. What on earth caused a 2010 car with 27K miles to have such a major issue? No radiator leak... no previous problems... is due for service now (scheduled to take it in next week) and had last service almost a year ago.

Has anyone else had this issue??

Worried this is a bigger problem... and can NOT afford to be without a reliable car.

Thanks,
Stephanie

 

Stephanie, the coolant had to go somewhere! Only 2 places it can go: 1) on the ground from a leak in the cooling system or 2) into the engine through at bad head gasket or perhaps bad intake gasket. Unfortunately, on the ground would be the better option as it would suggest a cooling system leak which will be much cheaper to fix than a head gasket repair. I say unfortunately because I would have thought you would have seen antifreeze on the pavement under your car if you actually had a leak. Have you looked under your car to see if the underside is wet? Have you smelled a hot/sweet smell when driving? Do you get white smoke out of your exhaust when driving? If you look at the end of the exhaust pipe, AFTER driving it for a while, do you see wettness and if you put a drop of the wetness to your tongue is it sweet?
If you really want some insight to the problem, give answers to these questions and I'm sure you'll get some good feedback! Good luck, Ron

 

Stephanie, did you mix the new antifreeze with water? The mix is 50% antifreeze to 50% water. If you didn't, thought you'd like to know for the future, however, if you didn't mix it this time, you're ok since a service is upcoming shortly.

 

Because I'm terrified of messing something up, I had a mechanic friend take care of the coolant situation. He did mix 50/50 with distilled water (or something like that). I love working on older cars, but these new engines are just so technology enabled, I'm scared to mess it up.

 

Thanks, Ron!

I have never seen coolant in my garage or under the car - and I've been watching for it religiously since this happened. The underside of the car doesn't look wet at all. no hot or sweet smell while driving and have not noticed white exhaust. Will have my dad watch for that today and will also check for moisture on the exhaust pipe. Thanks for such a thorough answer - I appreciate the virtual diagnosis more than you can imagine!

My last mini (2006) started acting up around 40K miles and the cost of the extended warranty was so high, that I just bought this new one instead. That one was an S convertible, which I LOVED... it only got 18 mpg though, so I figured there was a bigger issue and didn't want to risk being out of warranty.

 

Stephanie, you are very welcome. I'm pleased to help anyway I can and I wish you the best of luck with your mini. Hopefully, it will not be a major problem. Enjoy the Holidays! Regards, Ron