Trying to fix this myself as this is my only vehicle I purchased it brand new and at almost 60 that’s something! Put the vehicle in “service mode” which means almost removing the front end to get at anything under the hood. This ride has never been in an accident which means the fault code directs you a vacuum leak between the supercharger and the throttle body which is plastic which upon an impact breaks. That’s the area I have been advised to check and so far have not seen anything obvious.
The fault code #1498(courtesy of local parts place code reader) appears at idle upon startup after about 5 seconds of the engine running. The EML light goes on and the “check engine” light stays on even before the EML light appears. Any practical information appreciated on what to look for especially from those who have worked on these rides or have had the same problem. Thanks for your time, gjd.
The tricky thing about vacuum leaks is they can’t be seen or felt. I have a little bit of experience with the Minis… mostly regular maintenance and pulley upgrades to spool the supercharger at lower RPM. Do you have a vacuum gauge? You’d have to reference a manual to see if and where a pressure test port is on this manifold, and check to see if the pressure is in spec and constant at idle. Finding the actual leak is aided greatly by a smoke diagnostic machine, which allows you to feed smoke into the system to visually see where it’s leaking, but these machines aren’t cheap and so far as I know not readily available in parts store buy it and return it loaner programs.
Interesting find regarding the inlet plenum:
Replace the inlet duct assembly, P/N 17 51 1 524 439, with a new like part. Measures to improve the quality of the plastic weld have been implemented.
Thanks for the comments. Dealership would have to order the above part which costs about $115.00. Looking at it to replace it looks like the supercharger might have to be removed. The hoses for the inlet plenum disappear under the s/c so I’m not sure on how to remove it so I orderred a Bentley repair manual. The job really looks like it’s going to be a JOB.
Picked up a cheap cigar and will be blowing smoke into that are via a hose in order to locate the vaccuum leak. It’s about the “technical” avenue I have in an attempt to find this problem visually.
If all else fails to the dealership I will go kicking and screaming (to myself). But not until I’m satisfied the inlet duct assembly is intact.
Anybody out there ever replace one?
Here’s an update. Blew cigar smoke into the most likely problem area until my lips almost caught on fire. No luck in finding the obvious vaccuum leak. Pulled everything apart to get to the plastic duct work between the s/c and throttle body but ran into a snag. Two plastic vaccuum hose run into the duct which have a red collar keeper which keeps the hoses from pulling out. Is there a special pliers or a collar disconnector to relieve those red keepers?
Also, the dealership printout of that area which is vin specific shows only ONE hose going into the duct work but mine has TWO. It’s the same part # listed in the post above and matches the part # on the printout and the part I’m trying to remove.
Can’t inspect the plastic duct work until it’s removed from the vehicle but those vaccuum hoses must be released first.
thanks for the help,
gjd.
Anybody ever remove one of those red collar keepers?
I’ve got a message sent out to a friend who is a Mini geek. I’ve never messed around with the intake plenums or removed the supercharger on one of these cars… any chance you could upload a picture to photobucket or some other online picture hosting service and give us a link? If I got a good look at the clamp I’m pretty sure I could tell you what kind of tool you need.
Man, wish I was computer savvy enough to post photos, but I’m not. Sorry.
It’s not hard. If you can take an digital picture, you’re halfway there. Just take the card from the camera, and put it in the slot in your computer so you can read it. It’ll show up in “My Computer” (or “Computer”) like another drive, under the “Removable Storage” area. open it, double-click your way to the photo, and then come back here, and hit the “Attach a file” link just below the post box.
If you have a USB cable, then it’s a bit different, but should show up the same way.
If it’s just a phone, then all bets are off. They’re all different.
Ok, let’s try this.
OK…I get the “assist” for getting the photo’s uploaded. Punt! it’s over to you, now. 
To remove the plastic vaccuum hoses depress red collar and at the same time pull the hose and it releases easily. Sounds simple but being cautious extends the learning time.
The fix was one of the vaccuum hoses(gray one) had a loose fit that was supposed to be held in place by two blue o-rings (this other end is not in photo). The fit was sloppy and my guess was that hitting a pothole or a fat squirrel caused this seal to fail. Getting a visual would have been a real timesaver But all the wires and ductwork hid the failed seal.
Replaced the vaccuum hose and the two blue o-rings and they practically snapped together and it is now a very snug fit.
Test drive proved it was fixed and the cleared scourge code #1489 was put to sleep.
gjd521
Please, if you can refer to the recent thread I started concerning this P1489 code. I’m having the same problem.
Thank you!
yes, I have you must push the red coupling in toward the plenum and then remove the hose. This will release the hose.