The Mini Cooper Failed Its MOT.. TWICE!? 

Cracking videos, it is not just about financial savings, sometimes it is about the satisfaction of doing the work yourself.

Pretty sure that is the button to reset the tyre pressures after you have inflated them to the correct pressure. That is assuming your car has the sensors? 🤔

In Poland this car probably would got positive result of MOT twice for 10 next years ;D

The little button is known as a TPMS button. Inflate tyres to correct pressure and hold it down and it will reset the system allowing it to monitor the pressures incase of deflation. You dont need sensors inside the tyres and this particular system works off the radius of the tyre via the abs system. It monitors the radius of the tyre - loss of pressure = a decrease in radius which flags up the tpms system light on the dashboard.

The mech that did the brake line is level 10. Frickin great job

Great vid. I think your button is for a basic TPS system. Inflate to correct preasure + 1 psi then with ignition on press and hold button for 3 secs. Good luck.

Great job. Never take risks with brakes or steering is a mantra my late father drummed into me over many years and the wisdom of that has shown itself time and time again. It's always good to know your loved ones are driving a safe car.

Know how you feel. Last time I went for a state smog test, they test the gas cap for pressure. Said failed! I just bought it, had receipt. Got kicked out, not the first time. Where I live, lots of people with Mexico license plates. Driving around illegal. No insurance, no registration, no US license to drive. Today went through a school zone, can't believe how many people with Mexico plates taking their kids there. Down south, near the border, our local news station did a segment on all the kids that were crossing the border to go to school here and going back after school!

Had the very same issue with an Astra Coupe back in the day, literally on MOT day! As anyone who has worked on a Coupe will tell you, balancing the handbrake on them can be an arse sometimes. I ended up cludging it on the slack side with a shitload of assorted size washers and a cable clamp from a Shimano cantilever bike brake :) Bloody worked too... tester gave it a bemused look but passed it lol

Your hard work has paid off James, well done .

Great couple of videos.. very well explained.. Keep up the good work.!

When removing the old cable tape a piece of string about 6 foot long inside the cabin side, pull the old cable out making sure to leave some string inside (tie it to the handbrake!) then outside attach the string to your new cable and pull through from inside cabin! 🤗 Your center console plastic securing piece popped out and went behind the seat.... You can see it on the video, im sure you discovered it weeks later lol. Great post on my favourite car

"That's me too fingers, pushes in quite easy" get that on a t-shirt!

Great vids, I like the fact you make a video of ‘my car failed it’s mot twice’ and explain in detail why! Been watching your vids a while now, really good content keep up the good work‼️

What a week...great video..brakes are the most important part of any car ...check your brakes people ....

Great couple of vids. I watched the first one and like you it never crossed my mind the hand brake cable would be a problem. Having watched this vid it now makes perfect sense, hind sight is a wonderful thing!! Keep up the good work 👍😊

The button resets the Tyrer pressures! Great video as always 👍

I think showing the figures are great help. Thank you. I would like to see a future video of you fitting brake pipes and using the flare tool. I have to replace some of my brake lines at some point. Understanding the double flare ends and how you produced them would be a great help.

Excellent demonstration on how to save money. Your efforts are to be admired mate, job well done.

Yes definitely mate! Love the content. I wish I could do youtube videos myself on my combo van but I just don't have the time too. Keep up the hard work, its paying off!!

Excellent video. Reminded me of when I had to do my daughters mini handbrake last year on axle stands. A pain in the a### 👍

Pretty good what do - started me off now again repairing own car so cheers for that

Hi James, The button is for the tyre pressure function that the minis have. This dose depend if you have the correct valves on your wheels. Traction control button is next to the left window switch.

Another great video, I have to do the rear callipers and hand brake cable on my Astra G turbo. I used the company you did for you’re callipers, great price. Keep up the good work.

MY GOD WHAT A JOB, but well done great videos really enjoy watching, keep doing them

That button is to reset the tyre pressure monitoring system, if you change the tyres or pump them up or something. You hold the button on until the lamp comes on in the dash. Then drive until the light goes out and your system is reset. Great vid James, she'll fly thru now 👍🏻

Great idea showing breakdown of costs 👍

I’m not sure if you read my comment on the last video but the brakes should have been bleed before fitting the cables. You can see on the drivers side caliper before you removed the old cables (time 5:25) that the lever is close to the lever stop. I am not slating your work but something you and your viewers can keep in mind for the future. I’ve seen this before with cheap calipers and sometimes winding the pistons back in and pumping them out with the foot brake when all is rebuilt can cure this leaving a better holding, shorter handbrake. Cheers and well done 👍

you did a great job ,,, my hats off to you ,,way to go ,,,,wish you well

Good job. Well done for perservering!!

Looking great with all new disc pads and cables. Nice to see the mini has past. Some saying mini's are crap. All cars need maintenance. They are great fun worth it i think.

13:53 - Little tip for those playing at home, get a 12mm socket and hammer it over the tabs, will free it up to be pulled out from underside of car!

Great video dude, I've been watching since the Corsa vids. Always entertaining

Handy tip for ya james after ya pass that Mot give them brake lines a quick spray down with chain lube for a bit of extra protection against the elements

Another superb video full of highly descriptive content.

Those clips on the handbrake cables (that keep them inside the car), when I replaced mine, the originals were like your replacements. So I guess BMW changed their design at some point. Once again, fantastic video and great work.

Another great video! Great work 💪👍

Its been a labour of love everything you have had to do, but everybody that has watched these videos has gained the knowledge of how to do it thanks to you, a wee heads up , with the brake cables attach a piece of strong cord to the end,then when you pull out of the car ,tie it to the new cable then pull it straight thru.

Nice work, thanks for posting

Being an mot tester myself. They have just done some thing wrong. They are only allowed to retest the items that previously failed. They cant add additional defects.

Done a wicked job on the mini mate they are fun to drive . Just a pig when they go wrong . I'm having trouble with the heater just blowing cold all time

The buttons for the tyre pressure monitoring system. Inflate your tyres to the correct pressure then hold it down to reset light goes off after a couple of mins. I have a r53 cooper s love it

That button is to reset your run flat system. After you have a puncture.. great video pal thanks..

Great work and perservereance, subscribed!

That button is a tyre pressure reset button for when you have checked and inflated your tyres another good one James love your videos as all ways 👍😁

Good stuff mate.. Like the breakdown of price vs Garage I think it great as that is the main reason for doing it always good to have money in the back pocket! I remember I first car before I knew anything about cars, They charged me £300 for brake lines.. Think they were conmen! 😂

Fabulous honest video 👍🏻 Well done mate 😁

Hello James, If your tyre pressure system is 'On' as mentioned in the comment section that can usually be reset after you have got the right pressures in each tyre. However, if you are experiencing a constant symbol being illuminated AFTER you have the correct pressures and reset the button it would probably indicate that the sensors within the wheels need replacing. They usually last for about 4 years or so, depending on manufacturer etc. The problem is that few systems can identify which sensor has 'gone' so the only guarantee of a 'fix' is to replace them all at once. If you have a full size spare then that too will need replacing if the monitoring system includes the 'spare'. Not sure what the price for BMW Mini would be but around 30 quid is about the average(in my experience per wheel) plus fitting at a tyre shop. They are part of the tyre valve so obviously a wheel and tyre removal job.

Awwwww... man that sucks. But as you said, the issues are likely linked, such a car is still a complex piece of work, and you learned a lesson. Experience, and getting Good at stuff aint easy nor cheap. And you got a solid Chunk ogf confidence as well.

You can buy a product called Por15, it's a rust inhibitor, can brush on and will not come off if spray brake cleaner, brake fluid. I would paint calipers, disc where pads don't touch. Comes in colors too, great for things that Rust. Can even paint on rust , encapsultes Rust. Looks Cool, custom job when see through wheels. Look for a similar product, at your local auto paint shop or eBay.

Hi James,what a nightmare,do the work and it fails the M.O.T., nowadays they are strict about cars,what a saving you done by doing it yourself, Result,atleast you got another 12 year ticket.nice work.

Well done and I loved the video and I have learned a bit

You've done well with this car, virtually everyone else would have scrapped this with all the problems it's had since you bought it. 👍👍

I feel your pain James, I hate the fiddly jobs and it's never easy working from the floor. At least you know that the brakes are sorted and that your other half will be safe and the cables should last now until you move the car on in a few years.

Nice work and video. 👍

Liked and subscribed,i have driven the minis a few times and really liked them but have allways been told to leave them alone or get one thats not to old and had full service history,as the 80k service is costly

The button underneath the handbrake is for tyre pressure as mini usually have run flat as standard. If the light with same symbol comes on the dash. Check your pressure, inflate to correct point and then press to rest..after driving for a few minutes it reads the new pressure and the light goes off

I hated replacing my handbrake cables on my Cooper S 😜 Wasn't hard just a pain in the rear cos I have coal shovels for hands. The switch is for tyre pressures

Great video as already mentioned the button is tpms reset

Had a similar problem with handbrake adjustment on an old Honda Civic and MOT guy told me to loosen off / disconnect handbrake cable both sides and then pump the brake pedal hard a few times (I did it 10 times). Then reconnect cables and hey presto it fixed the problem. I do it on all cars that use those wind in rear calipers when I replace discs/pads and it adjusts the handbrake to the right point on both sides. Worth a try before you replace the cable(s), although in your case it looks shot.

Woo, new gloves! Look so much better. I bought a pair from Homebase for £5 the other day, Mechanix ones, really good.

Your whole it's one of those things attitude is the best way to go about it 👍

I bought my first car (R50 Mini) in August and had to replace both handbrake cables and a caliper too. Wish I had seen these videos then 😂

Great video, really enjoyed it top work :)

great video. glad your mini passed the MOT BUDDY

The button on the center console is used to reset the tire pressure light. There will be a warning light on which looks exactly the same as the logo on the button to tell you when the car thinks the tire pressure is not right. Normally just give it a long press if the light lights up. There is no sensor in the wheels, some say it senses through the abs sensors.

Hope you have nailed it mate and it sails through this time......

It's a real pain they did that. In New Zealand you're only inspected ("Warrant of Fitness") on the failed item so if the issues is resolved it's a pass. Also no salt so the underside of cars have no rust. Most failures occur due to something wearing out or perishing.

fantastic video, the only thing that might go wrong is the gearbox apparently if the cars been driven hard gears can strip

Cracking videos and thoroughly explained👍 you do go on though lol🤣

I own a Mini Cooper S R53, that button under the hand break is used to reset the low tire pressure waning light. You have to turn the ignition on but DON'T start the cars engine and then hold the button down until the light on the speedo goes out (or starts flashing can't remember). At that point it is in re-calibration mode and you're supposed to drive the car a little bit to allow the computer to re-adjust to the new tire pressure. Typically if the pressure drops by about 10psi at any given tire pressure it will come on. That's what I found with my cars rear tire.

Great video you do more videos like this Iv enjoy this. And iv learned a thing or 2 as well.

Quinton Hazell, good brand. I used to export for them back in the 1970's. Think they were in Wales if I remember correctly.

Had that before. Fixed up brakes to fail again on the adjustment..always check the handbrake after fiddling with the calipers. I think garages make lots of money out of calipers. Changing a caliper does not add much time at all to a brake and fluid job. That bad cable probably causes the caliper to overheat and mess up in the first place.

17:12 The Chrisfix refference? Anyone? :D Good job James as always

Great video man, really clear and too the point, also impressed with the parts costing, those calipers were a bargain. The button is a DDS reset (Deflation detection system) uses the ABS system to detect a differential wheel speed over a preset time base caused by a low tyre pressure. I am surprised the handbrake efficiency was not identified on the first MOT as you know this is mechanical so shouldn't have been influenced by the service brake imbalance. (Although I wasn't testing so wouldn't criticise too much due to possible variables I am unaware of.) Axel stand placement wasn't ideal, I agree it was unlikely to be unsafe, however as I see you are keen to do things properly, it's worth noting the control arms are not supposed to be load bearing, and this could effect the suspension geometry (minimal I know, but in the mindset of an educational video worth mentioning) Keep up the good work!!

nice tan Good luck with the mini

32:22 Oil leak is a common problem on Mini. In fact, when I carried out a service on my aunt's 04 mini, I noticed the very same issue. I could try a can of Wynn's Stop leak (£6 from Halford). That would softens the rubber/gasket and potentially make the leak goes away (so far I had success on 2 out of 2 cars). Or do a deep investigate into what is leaking and change it. Due to time constraints, I left it on the time being. Anyway, looking forward for you to investigate on this matter further. Good luck =)

From what I can make out on the handbrake cables is that the levers on the calipers wasn’t fully back on the stops which cause the handbrake not to work correctly, when replacing rear calipers you have to Loosen the cables off before fitting the cable to the calipers.

Failed an MOT twice. Welcome to owning a mini 😂 mine gets fixed an immediately breaks 😂

Good job James,.

Preventative maintenance is the key. Get some spray grease on the brake pipes and anything else that is exposed to the elements like suspension arms etc 👍

I love the way you tackle all the jobs James, however I've got one remark....put the axle stands...on a safer spot. Chassis rails ,cos in this vid...they're standing on a particular danger place right now. A slight touch of the car, could have disastrous consequences. Just my 2cents and yre body🤔

Well done m8 getting it done

I've used QH cables for many years, not one problem. However my QH expansion tank on our Z3 cracked after a year. I had only replaced it because the old one looked horrible.

Very good keep up the good work

For a comparison on prices for brakes... I got quikfit to change just the front disks and pads on my Mitsubishi L200 that cost £550! For new Brembo disks and pads all round for my VW EOS fitted by me in a day cost £130 👍

Love your videos and I also love working with cars

The button on the centre console trim is to reset the tpms light.

Nice job but what a ball ache! Changed a hand brake cable in 5 min on a 307 didn't even have to take the wheel off!

If I got a quid for every time you apologise for the lighting conditions... Top content, watched every video in your mini series back to back.

I LIKE YOUR STYLE ... GOOD MAN 👌👌

Enjoyed the video mate 👍

I enjoyed watching this video.

Sounds like a very diligent mot tester! Maybe he just stops when he finds a fail? Amazing you can't adjust either side.

I think I'll drive it off a cliff if I have to, oh boy do I know that feeling

Cracking videos mate, for some people that £665 pounds for a garage to do all that work may have caused them to question wether it was worth it? The next question should be could you buy another Mini with similar mileage and a full MOT? Well you’d be very lucky if you could so yes the car is worth it and in your case even more so as you did most of the work yourself saving you half the cost, plus it’s been a learning curve and you’ve earned out of it.

Great two videos enjoyed 😎

Correct me if im wrong after just having an MOT done, when they do a retest there only ment to retest on the parts they failed it on the first time, not on stuff it passed on first time. Called a Particle re test

the switch is for tyre pressure system, when tyres have been blown up you press and hold it and it will set that pressure in the system. will tell you then when it drops pressure