2022 Mini SE - In Focus: Active Grill Shutters

If I was designing a rather weak piece of plastic in a vulnerable location, I'd make the mounting points breakaway so they don't get destroyed if hit with a rock or road debris.

My guess is they accidentally made the breakaway a bit too weak so they are popping off with the slightest bit of force. It could also be a tolerance issue where only some of parts breakaway too easily. I'm curious if @GvilleGuy will have his pop off again at some point...

Or it could just be a misaligned factory robot that nobody has caught yet. Without the sport mode conversation about cooling, would anyone really have noticed?

 

It would seem silly to include a motorized set of shutters and then simply have them close when the car is turned on and open when the car is turned off. My guess is that the shutters open when one of the cooling systems reaches a certain temperature (different thresholds for different cooling systems).

While it's interesting to watch the shutters opening and closing, we want to know what's triggering their opening. I expect there's a coolant temperature signal available on the OBDII interface if you know which PID to examine (I don't). That data combined with a video of the shutters opening would explain things. Perhaps there's also a "shutters opening" signal on the OBDII interface? I wonder the same thing about a "heat-pump handing off to restive heater" signal.

 

About a month ago in a heavy rain, an idiot in a Caddy crossover came barrelling off a freeway exit ramp & immediately crossed 3 lanes of traffic on the frontage road, right in front of me. I slammed on the brakes to try to avoid hitting her, but my right front (thankfully protected just a little bit by a tow hook mounted plate frame) impacted the Caddy's right rear. Thankfully not much damage, but still no loose shutters on my SE despite everything!

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I keep thinking about the shutters, and can't figure out their purpose. If they're normally closed while driving, why is that? To act as an air dam keeping the front on the ground, or do the opposite and minimize drag? I would think having them open during driving would be most beneficial for cooling purposes. If they somehow open while driving during certain conditions, the impact of having them open can't be that significant.

 

Automotive aerodynamics is extremely complex and I'm not going to pretend to be an expert but I can at least explain a bit.

To be perfectly clear, the sole purpose of the active shutters is to reduce drag so they will be closed as much as possible and will open only when more cooling is required.

Here's a random picture from Audi showing airflow through a typical radiator. After going through the engine bay it gets dumped out underneath the car (and probably a bit through the wheel arches) which disrupts the smooth flow the designer worked hard to achieve with the flat underbody. This is what causes the increased drag (through rather complex interactions with the rest of the airflow, especially at the rear of the car).


The control of the shutters is going to be a lot more complex than I think you are assuming. They will open/close based on a combination of outside temperature, coolant temperature, AC demand, vehicle speed, and possibly more.

The shutters close off the lower and middle grille opening, and as a rough guess that's approximately 75% of the total open area. That reduction in area will significantly reduce the airflow through the radiator which will also significantly reduce the cooling capacity.

 

This is random but just wanted to thank the OP for pointing this out. I've been on the fence buying this car... still debating colors and options but this is something I'll definitely be looking out for if I do purchase the car. Thank you

 

That's very informative, but my 2021 front end is completely different from the ICE version. Not sure if the air flow is similar enough that the same active grille shutters would make sense. It does look like the 2022 LCI frontend is more similar across drivetrains. Nobody on YouTube does wind tunnel tests?

 

I wish more automakers published wind tunnel testing! "Tuft testing" is generally the best you'll find on YouTube.

The 2021 is definitely more different than the 2022s but still not that different. Really there's just more closed off area in the grille which is exactly what the shutters are trying to accomplish

 

Nothing earth shattering to report, but we stopped by the dealer/service today without an appointment or anything and they reattached the right side of the shutters in about 15 minutes. The person at the desk didn't know what I was talking about, when we arrived (this may say more about me than them), but it's easy enough to show someone. I'm not sure if the mechanics had done this fix before.

 

Chiming in, upon checking my LCI 2022 Mini SE the grill shutter assembly was loose on the drivers side. Car has not been in any accidents. I live in Los Angeles and the roads are notoriously bad especially near downtown. Perhaps bad roads were enough to break them loose.

 

24000 miles on my 2021 SE, and I checked my active grille shutters yesterday and they seem fine.

 

I'm at the dealer now having them fix the same issue (left side loose but right side tight). Took a walk around the lot and they had 3 2022 SE's on the lot and 1 of them had both sides loose but the other 2 were perfect. I talked to the tech and he said the bumper has a u-hook that the active grill shutter attaches to and it looks like my left side didn't clear the hump to get attached to the bumper at the factory.

 

So the shutter section simply ‘snaps’ into place? That does not sound confidence building.

I guess it’s good that this item was discovered. It apparently should be something that every SE owner would be wise to check from time to time.

So the short list is now:
Check…
1. Tire pressure
2. Wheel torque
3. Coolant level
4. Washer fluid
5. Shutters

Am I missing anything?


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You also need to check that you have a sufficient charge to get you where you're going.

 

This is a big deal! When I got my SE the dealer hadn't gotten it fully charged, and I don't think I'm the only SE owner who experienced that. Part of the problem is the SE is defaulted to a slower charge rate, even for level 2, and dealers may not realize to change the setting.

 

When I got my SE it was at 23% charge level and the dealer advised me to drive in Green Plus mode. I managed to get home but then found that the charger at my parking spot was not in operation. I now have another parking spot with a functioning charger.

 

I'm glad this did not happen to me. My dealer is 90 miles from my home. If the car was not fully charged, it would have been a very long trip.

 

My dealer fixed my loose grill shutters, while I was there I also inspected an Enigmatic black iconic LCI 2022 and the grill shutters were loose on the passenger side of the new SE. Mentioned it to my service advisor and well see if they fix it before the car finds an owner.