Your MINI Cooper has vacuum hoses in the engine that route the vacuum pressure to various components to power them. One of these components is your power steering pump. As the vacuum hoses age, they can spring leaks. When this happens, you will start to have problems with your MINI Cooper’s engine. MMS Automotive is going to list the signs that your automobile has a vacuum leak below. We can find the leaking vacuum hose and replace it.
Check Engine Warning
One of the first things that will happen is your check engine light will turn on. This is because the leaking vacuum hose is filling your MINI Cooper’s engine with air. When this happens, system sensors report errors due to the excess air. These errors are reported to the main computer chip, the engine control module, and the module turns on the check engine light to let you know there’s a problem with the engine. In this case, that problem happens to be a vacuum hose leak.
Hissing or Suction Sounds
Another sign that you have a vacuum leak in your engine is hissing or suction sounds coming from the engine. Vacuum leaks are not silent. Rather, a minor leak will make hissing sounds directly from the vacuum hose. If the hose is leaking severely, it will sound like a household vacuum cleaner hose. If you trace the sound directly to its source, you will be able to see which vacuum hose is leaking in your MINI Cooper’s engine. If you can’t find it, don’t worry. We will.
Performance Problems
The more air that is released into the engine the harder it is for the engine to perform efficiently. Unfortunately, the vacuum leak will cause hesitation when you try to accelerate your MINI, and engine performance problems as you pick up speed. Specifically, the engine will sputter and hiccup at high speeds and struggle to produce power when it is under stress. This is because the engine is being starved for fuel because the excess air is overtaking it.
Sporadic RPMs
Finally, you may be able to see your engine’s vacuum leak. If you keep an eye on the tachometer on the dashboard, you might see the needle moving up and down sporadically. This is an indication that the RPMs are increasing every time a burst of air comes out of the leaking vacuum hose.
Call MMS Automotive in South Bay, CA, today if you suspect your MINI Cooper or BMW’s engine has a vacuum leak. We will find the leak and fix it.
