The 2003 Mini Cooper is a compact coupe. It comes standard with a 1.6-liter, four-cylinder inline engine and front-wheel drive. If your Mini Cooper is exhibiting signs of engine trouble, pull up the diagnostic codes from the computer. The car's computer creates diagnostic codes when it detects malfunctions in the engine. You can retrieve these codes using an On-board Diagnostic (OBD-ii) scanner.
Park the Mini Cooper and turn off the engine. Pulling the codes won't work while the engine is running.
Look under the driver's-side dash. The OBD diagnostics connector is located under the dash.
Plug the OBD II scanner into the diagnostic connector and turn it on.
Turn the ignition key on without starting the Mini Cooper. All electrical equipment and dash instruments will come on, but the engine will be off when the key is in the correct position.
Respond to the prompts on the scanner's screen, answering questions that identify the make, model and year of your Mini Cooper. Choose the option to read the diagnostic codes.
Write down the codes and check their meanings in your service manual or online.
