Recent content by hp79

I noticed the cigar jack inside the center arm rest is always powered on, and I have a microUSB charger plugged in there all times. I never lock the door when I park in my garage and I can see that may drain the battery if left for very very long time.

No, after replacing the fuse everything has been fine and it's been 18 months now. Weird thing is that my MINI 2015 also got a blown fuse for the cigar jack within couple weeks of purchase in November 2014. After replacing that fuse, it's also working fine too.

Or get a MINI F56 that gives flat peak torque starting from 1250rpm. It's amazing what a 3 cylinder 170 lb-ft torque 134hp turbo engine can do. It's really fun car to drive, bursts with a strong pull, and gets good gas mileage too. Down side is every optional add-ons are way overpriced, and...

Of course they will save money wherever they can. What company doesn't want to save cost? Those expensive parts you mentioned are all part of the selling features that help the car sell well. Better performance, better gas mileage, good safety cage. Battery is not something that they would...

I wish Mazda used AGMs, but it's probably not needed and they wanted to save cost where ever they can. I tried looking mine with a flashlight and still couldn't see it. I think one day I can unscrew the tops for each cell and check. I just wanted to check since I've been cycling the battery more...

I know the battery is supposed to be a no-maintenance item, but there's a window on the side that shows how much liquid is inside. I tried to look at the level but I couldn't distinguish the liquid from the plastic shell. Maybe it was too dark. Does anyone have any experience replenishing the...

Is there such thing as low coolant light in any other cars? If coolant is low, you might get a hot coolant warning but otherwise, I think it's part of a routine check that you should be doing. I would just add a bit distilled water, or maybe buy a qt of pre-mixed from the dealer or Amazon and...

I tried pressing the start/stop button while driving in an empty parking lot while coasting in N just in case to protect my transmission. Nothing happened. I think you have to hold it for more than couple seconds to shut it off. All cars with start/stop button I tried works this way so you don't...

Wouldn't a block heater help on gas mileage though? I find it gets very bad gas mileage when it's cold, and I'm not even talking about freezing cold.

What's a FL22 type? Is this different from Prestone stuff? Manual says replace at 120k miles or 10 years, then 60k miles or 5 years. If using "others", first replacement at 60k miles or 4 years, then every 2 years. Maybe this is the schedule if I switch to Prestone? -edit: okay, it seems Ford...

I've been using a dash cam recorder to keep recording during parked until certain voltage is reached. After a year, I disabled that standby feature because I think it's killing the battery. I measured about 12.15V (no load) after a day sitting in a 60F garage while my brand new MINI Hardtop with...

How the heck does something blow up just from trying to replace the trunk light to an LED one? Did you guys short circuit it or something? I replaced most of the interior lights with LEDs almost right away when I got my CX-5 last year. Front dome lights, middle dome lights, trunk light. You got...

I bought a 2015 MINI Hardtop with mostly base config ($24300) last month, and that doesn't even have bluetooth streaming. They charge you a lot if you want bluetooth streaming in addition with screen upgrades and stuff. The base infotaiment does have bluetooth phone, USB, and AUX. The USB works...

When I bought a 3 year old used 2007 Hyundai Elantra, I brought a Fumoto Valve and asked my Hyundai dealer if they can install that instead of the drain plug during a free oil change. They said no problems and I used that for almost 4 years. All DIY oil changes after that free oil change...

Thanks for your followup comment. It was very helpful and easy to adjust. I just lowered mine a little bit. On rainy days, the light seemed too dark so I first replaced the bulb tonight with a 4000K color and brighter burning bulb. It was still not as bright as I wanted, so I lowered the throw a...