White smoke from exhaust after idling for a few minutes
Asked by Abraised Sep 11, 2019 at 10:09 AM about the 2011 MINI Cooper S Hatchback
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I have a 2011 Mini Cooper S, I purchased it
with around 77k miles on it a few months
ago. When the car stays still and idles for a
few minutes and then you drive after idling it
white smoke comes out of the exhaust. The
car does need new spark plugs and they will
Be replaced soon but I’m curious as to what
might be causing it, I was told that because
it’s turbocharged it will burn oil more and I
figured that was it as I need a top up every
now and again.
If you guys have any input it would be
appreciated, thanks!
5 Answers
White smoke out the exhaust is an indication you are burning coolant. I suspect your will be replacing the head gaskets. A mechanic can test for this by perform a cylinder pressure and or cylinder leak down test.
Hi.... I'm driving R56 mini CooperS my problem was smoke on tail pipe, burning oil, oil pressure warning light on dash after driving short distance, some said is a Head gasket, Valve seal, some said oil pressure warning light is caused by loose oil pump chain, But I solved all that by changing Thermostat only and all the problem was gone, no more Smoke, oil light and burning oil
Hi Thilingwi Was your car running hot before changing your thermostat?
I’ve seen this issue come up a lot and I think most people are saying they have the 2007 - 2011 Mini Cooper S. Nobody seems to really know what is causing it. But the 2 most common solutions have been (a) replace thermostat or (b) add oil stabilizer to your engine oil and just add some every oil change. I’m having the same issue and I don’t drive my Mini a lot, so I’m gong to try the oil stabilizer first. If that doesn’t work I’ll look into the thermostat. I replaced my thermostat on my 1996 Honda Civic way back younger and it was easy but a 1996 Honda Civic was a much simpler vehicle. I’m not sure how much goes into thermostat replacement for a 2007 Cooper S. Anyone have any advice on level of difficulty please let me know. And just for context, I’m not a tinker type DIY weekend garage person. I know enough and have simple skills and tools.
Has anyone got a solution to this problem? I have a 2009 Cooper with the same issue, and the white smoke might come up once or twice only during a drive. The car seems fine, and there is no oil in the coolant.
