It was time for the annual state inspection, so I took Rufus in at lunch today. Everything was OK on my way there, but when they started the car at the inspection place, the CEL popped on. I've had a "Lean Bank 1" persistent issue when I don't get the car out on the highway for a good cruise every so often, but the CEL means an instant fail. I hopped on the highway, drove 15 miles, turned around and drove back. When I was near the place, I turned off the car, restarted and the CEL went out! WIN! I drove carefully to the inspection station and passed! Woo! Also... on the way home, the "Service Engine Soon" light came on! Thanks, Rufus, for not popping that light while at the inspection place! I'll have to pull out the code reader and figure out the SES this weekend. Maybe the oil service timer just went off...
Usually when someone mentions getting a CEL and state inspection things do not turn out well for the owner. When we go for our E-Check inspection they have signs up stating not to turn your vehicle off while you wait and once you start your tests.
I've been having this issue intermittently for the past year or two. I know that a good highway run in 5th gear solves the problem (higher revs for at least 10-15 minutes) after a restart. I figure that one of my O2 sensors is getting gummed up with something and it needs to burn off. I was VERY happy when it went out after the restart. It was a 2+ hour long ordeal, but at least it's done for the next 12 months. Now I just need to figure out the SES light!
Generally no. I sometimes add some Lucas engine-treatment to the tank, but I haven't been driving the MINI (or even my daily driver) much since COVID and I don't know how it acts in the tank long-term, so I've been skipping it. Hell... during the more locked-down phases of life, I was adding Sta-Bil to our fuel tanks. My wife's car, which is our errand-running and road-trip car, was using a tank of gas every 3 months or so. I think my daily driver made it almost a year on one tank and I was having to try to remember to get it on the road every other week or so. Would some octane booster help? The Lucas additive is more of a lubricant, from what I understand. Any thoughts?
No it could hurt. Some octane boost will kill your O2 some quicker than others. I would not think Lucas would hurt, at least it says it won’t, I have used it also. Another guy I know was using Boostain and he was having O2 troubles. When he pulled his sensor it was a nasty mess.
Holy crap. My Facebook feed just reminded me: It was 5 years ago that I bought Rufus and started driving him home!
Not so much about Rufus, but the GPS that usually resides on his dash... I bought the latest/greatest Garmin unit about 3-4 years back and this thing is brilliant. I took it on a recent England/Wales adventure to use in the rental car (with the Garmin maps for the UK on a micro SD card) and it was spectacular! It was MUCH better than the nav system that came in the Peugeot 3008 rental car (a smaller SUV) we had and, by the end of the trip, I had transitioned to using only the Garmin to get us where we needed to go. I've got a soft-sided case for this with tons of adapters / power cords / mount options for when we travel (it did a great job on a Germany / Switzerland / Austria trip before COVID began). https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/720310/pn/010-02471-00 (I think that this is the largest of the Garmin Drive units... it was the largest when I bought it 3-4 years back) As a person who leads group drives, the newer Garmins have a pre-programmable route system now. You can enter waypoints for a drive in advance and save the collection to memory. My regular MOTD drives are laid in and are easy to call up every year now. My wife got sick and, unfortunately, we had to skip the MINI factory tour, but we did do a drive-by and waved to all of the workers and cars in assembly.
Now I can drive Rufus (well... not the right model or year, but it's pretty close in terms of styling) in the virtual world as well (GTA V online)
Rufus has been running like a top and passing annual inspections for the past few years... just being the perfect garage queen, fun-only car that he is. I did a couple of club drives this year and had some fun. It's hard to believe that I got him over 6 years ago and started the refresh documented here. I did a 4-5 hour drive in early October and then left him in the garage for a few weeks. I went out to do an oil change and noticed a fat blob of fresh, black/green grease inside of the driver's side wheel. It was 2-3 tablespoons and looks like it ran right down the wheel carrier and splattered into the inside of the wheel. Ugh... Axle seal went (and the passenger side was apparently going). New axle on the driver's side and new seals/boots all around. He's ready for a final wash of the year and then the cover goes on for the winter! I love the ultra-high-performance summer tires that I put on, but they turn to glass when the temps get too cool. I'll have to just have fun w/ my wife's Audi in the winter. Her A6 is just about at the end of the factory warranty... I think that an APR tune (yielding 50-ish HP and a bunch of torque) will be going into her car soon. It looks like Rufus and I are going to miss MOTD again next year. I agreed to a big trip w/ my wife next spring without considering the IMPORTANT dates and we will be away that weekend!
Winter is coming quick. The Exige has Falcon RT660 on it. I love them but they don’t like being cold. I’m trying to get all the driving in I can before it gets cold and I have to put it up till spring. I hate winter.