I just bought a 2005 Mini Cooper with the SES light on. Error message said misfired piston, so got a tune up and an ignition coil. Went off for about a day and back on. Put fuel injector cleaner in. Went off for a day and back on. What to do? In this for several hundred bucks thus far.
ps. Went to the dealer initially because light has been on since the beginning. They said oh well warranty has expired.
Many folks wrongly assume maintenance is the answer to Service Engine Soon lights. When you approach a mechanic don’t mention the lack of maintenance and your own theory. Simply state the issue and ask to have it corrected.
A simple $200 repair can turn into a tune up that makes cash for mechanic but does not address the issue at hand. When you are ready to maintain it, do it then, if required by mechanic to perform repair then do it. Otherwise you painting your own answer and repair bill total.
Go back to the dealer. They should evaluate for free since they seemed to mess up the initial diagnosis.
You said you had an “eror message”. Exactly what are the codes?
First, we must ascertain whether the Service Engine Soon light and the Check Engine Light are one in the same…Some cars have both a service nag light and an OBD-2 system failure light…Lets assume it’s a OBD-2 light, then the codes can be read (for free at most parts stores) and those codes will point to the problem area…Have the codes read and post them back here…
thanks for the comments. since i just bought the car i didn’t really mind having a tune up and the fuel injector cleaner helped it run more smoothly, but i certainly do see the point about just leaving it until i need maintenance done or i am writing my own repair bill. that is precisely what i will do. thanks again.