New owner of MINI Cooper S R56
#1
02-01-2016, 01:09 AM
New owner of MINI Cooper S R56
Hi, everyone. I just bought a 2010 mini cooper s R56 for about 2 months. Everything of it is fun and fresh to me. I'm so addicted to the classic appearance and I'll make it more chic and attractive. Any modified suggestions? 
#2
02-01-2016, 05:30 PM
Welcome to MINI Cooper Forums! Congratulations on the purchase of your R56! Looks like you've got the blacked out headlights. Very nice. You should get the black trim headlight rings to complete your color scheme! Left one here and right one here. How many miles are on her? What maintenance has been done so far?
#4
02-02-2016, 10:36 AM
None of this is meant to scare you about your MINI. Just some good common knowledge that can help you troubleshoot with any possible issues that may arise in the future. Let me know if you have any questions about them.
If you haven't already, you're about due for a carbon clean up. Just about every 50,000 miles (80,000 km in your case) the intake valves need to be cleaned to maintain optimum engine performance. MINI R56 N14 engine (not N18's) models with a turbocharged engine utilize direct injection. This style injector sprays fuel directly into the cylinder and is mounted in the rear of the cylinder head. With the design of this injector efficiency and injection control greatly increases. The down side is the lack of fuel spraying on the back of the intake valve. This removes the cleaning effect port fuel injection engines get, a real benefit new engine designs need. Add in a crankcase breather and oil vapors, and you have a real problem. As the engines tick up in mileage, oil residue, often referred to as carbon builds up on the back of the intake valve. This build up is not like valve carbon of the past, which was dry and solid. This valve build up is mushy and wet, due to the origin being from crankcase vapors. Once the build-up reaches the maximum tolerable level, the engine will begin to run rough and misfire. You may have a rough idle, poor acceleration, stalling or single to multiple cylinder misfires.
For other items, be sure to keep up on routine maintenance needs as it will most definitely help prolong the life of your MINI. There are some common oil leak and coolant leak issues with the R56 as there are a lot of plastic parts on them. The thermostat is a problem area as it tends to start as hairline crack and pool on top of the transmission. The valve cover itself can start leaking at the PCV valve, making it so you have to replace the whole thing. The N14 engines have HPFP issues, there is an open recall about them right now. You may want to call your local dealer and make sure there are no open recalls for your MINI. The oil turbo line can tend to leak as the rubber o-ring inside them fails.
Your MINI may not have any of these issues, but these are good problem areas to inspect. The most important thing is to make sure you enjoy your MINI and take care of it and it will return the favor. If you want to read up on more things you can always check out or tech articles on our site under MINI > tech info (tab at top) > R56 articles. There is a lot of great information in each individual article.
If you haven't already, you're about due for a carbon clean up. Just about every 50,000 miles (80,000 km in your case) the intake valves need to be cleaned to maintain optimum engine performance. MINI R56 N14 engine (not N18's) models with a turbocharged engine utilize direct injection. This style injector sprays fuel directly into the cylinder and is mounted in the rear of the cylinder head. With the design of this injector efficiency and injection control greatly increases. The down side is the lack of fuel spraying on the back of the intake valve. This removes the cleaning effect port fuel injection engines get, a real benefit new engine designs need. Add in a crankcase breather and oil vapors, and you have a real problem. As the engines tick up in mileage, oil residue, often referred to as carbon builds up on the back of the intake valve. This build up is not like valve carbon of the past, which was dry and solid. This valve build up is mushy and wet, due to the origin being from crankcase vapors. Once the build-up reaches the maximum tolerable level, the engine will begin to run rough and misfire. You may have a rough idle, poor acceleration, stalling or single to multiple cylinder misfires.
For other items, be sure to keep up on routine maintenance needs as it will most definitely help prolong the life of your MINI. There are some common oil leak and coolant leak issues with the R56 as there are a lot of plastic parts on them. The thermostat is a problem area as it tends to start as hairline crack and pool on top of the transmission. The valve cover itself can start leaking at the PCV valve, making it so you have to replace the whole thing. The N14 engines have HPFP issues, there is an open recall about them right now. You may want to call your local dealer and make sure there are no open recalls for your MINI. The oil turbo line can tend to leak as the rubber o-ring inside them fails.
Your MINI may not have any of these issues, but these are good problem areas to inspect. The most important thing is to make sure you enjoy your MINI and take care of it and it will return the favor. If you want to read up on more things you can always check out or tech articles on our site under MINI > tech info (tab at top) > R56 articles. There is a lot of great information in each individual article.
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