intermittent air conditioning
 

I hope someone out there has a thought on an issue I've been having with my 2003 Mini Cooper S with around 60,000 miles on it.

For the past two summers, the air conditioning has been intermittant. The lights for the fan and temperature remain on but no air blows -- cold or hot. Sometimes it goes back on by itself after a few minutes of driving. Sometimes slapping the passenger side of the middle column (where the controls and radio are) makes it come back on. And sometimes it stays off for a day or two before spontaneously coming back to life. Our local supermarket speed bumps sometimes turn it on if you hit them just right, too. Since the dealership is 100 miles away, taking it there is no use since it turns with no warning and we can't leave it there overnight. Besides, we took it there twice while it was still under warranty and they couldn't find anything wrong with it.

Has anyone seen this behavior in their Mini? Summer is coming and Texas gets HOT.

Thanks.

Lisa
Austin TX
2003 Mini Cooper S