Mini coopers have a mind of their own with all of the fancy screens with no gauges except for a middle speedometer. One day it came on flashing saying that the engine was hot. We do frequent oil changes and we have added coolant as needed. We take very good care of our car.

Anyways, we took it in to the Mini dealership after seeing the light come on ONCE and they found that the thermostat had failed as well as the engine temperature sensor. So without warning there was no coolant flowing into the engine for who knows how long. This, of course, cracked the engine and completely killed it. We also got a second opinion at a Mini certified repair shop, and they said the exact same thing as the dealer. We had to put in a brand new engine. It was out of its warranty for about a year. We love the car, so we decided to replace the engine. It wasn't a cheap repair, but we plan to keep it for a long time. We will get the thermostat checked regularly. Beware of this!