2008 Mini half engine light

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08-07-2018, 03:20 PM

djinva

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Join Date: Aug 2018

Posts: 2

2008 Mini half engine light

I just bought a 2008 Mini S and I am not familiar with them at all. This is what I was told by the PO who is my neighbor and I trust they are telling me the truth. The car has 150k, engine was replaced a few thousand miles ago, but the turbo was not. At the same time the clutch was replaced. About 800 miles ago the half check engine light came on so they took it to a Mini dealer. They are telling me it was diagnosed as a bad turbo and they quoted a price to replace it that exceeds the value of the car.

I just drove it and it seems to run fine, I have never driven one before so I have nothing to compare it to. It does not have the power I expected, but if the turbo is bad I guess it wouldn't.

Before I buy a turbo I would like to confirm that is the problem. Or if the half engine light is something else I would like to figure it out. I read that using a scan tool does not work on a half engine light.

Please someone educate me.

08-09-2018, 01:26 PM

djinva

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Anyone out there with any knowledge on these turbos and diagnosing them?

09-05-2018, 09:51 PM

Patch

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Join Date: Feb 2018

Location: Az

Posts: 4

Do yourself a favor and invest in an obd reader. I use bluedriver but I’m certainly not suggesting it is the right one for you. With that and an app on your phone, you can read most codes. The half engine light is limp mode and doesn’t necessarily indicate a bad turbo. My sons came on with boost deviation which was caused by a bad blow off valve. These have a known failure mode of the diaphragm tearing and or the plastic collar wearing out due to thermal cycling. I’m sure others can chime in with what else can activate limp mode.