I needed a commuter car as I live in Chicago and own two Land Rovers for work which was getting exhausting and speedy on gas driving 3 hours a day if traffic was bad. Had I found this forum I might not have bought a Mini. I see so many on the road I mistakenly thought they were reliable. I love british themed things and knew that maintenance would run me more, but I didn't care. I wanted a AWD city sized car that got good gas mileage, pep, and manual transmission as I love cornering at speed. I had a budget of around $20,000 and found the only Countryman with all I wanted accessory wise (Navi, Btooth, Manual)

Got a good interest rate at Carmax so I bought the thing and profusely turned down their extended warranty which I a starting to regret. Since I have 5 days to get a full return no questions asked on the morning of the 5th day I brought it to my mechanic and he pointed out that an area on the hood had been repainted and that the passenger side wheel well was misaligned and even had a self tapping screw holding it on! BUT, the carfax said no prior accidents. He sai they hodge lodged the wheel well together but the pint was done well excep a chip on the rim where you could see raised clear coat and bump under the paint making obvious the car had even repainted. I was a little pissed but he told me that there was zero indication of frame or internal damage so the damage was cosmetic, he did find a broken radiator support arm which was common on such a low clearance vehicle. I had him switch the oil to Synth and gave him $90 for the change and the overlook. I called Carmax service and explained the isssues and that they needed to be addressed or I was returning the car that hour. The service manager said that the 30 day warranty would cover al that was needed and so I made the service appointment the next day and they gave me a loaner. They ordered a new OEM wheel well trim and fixed everything whilst providing me with a loaner. No haggling, just "OK we will fix it and call you when it's ready" I was pretty happy with the level of service but skeptical of the promises made. While I waited I bought a whole bunch of accessories including a JB+ ecu booster and the ECS led light package.

I get the car back and all was fixed. Since it's 10 degrees in Chicago this time f year I used their garage to put on all the accessories Iposted on their forum from badges to AFE drop in air filter and a MANN charcoal caving filter and the JB+ module. The next day I backed up the car and a plastic piece fell off the bottom of the passenger side with a screw that almost pierced my tire. I listed the part on this forum and it turns out i was a pulley protection cover. I was pissed but called my mechanic, he said not to worry but get it replaced if it's still under warranty. I drove for a few days and after a few hundred miles I loved the way the JB+ made the car drive. That was until today. I drove for 50 miles rapidly to my office and topped off the gas at a well known BP using premium octane and since the roads are salty here I got an express was which was open despite it being like 15F out. As I was turning it of the gas station the car started slipping and jerking when I tried to accelerate and it it shuddered a little bit and threw the check engine light on with the engine half colored in and the engine light on the speedo. The entertainment center read, "Engine Malfunction! Reduced Power, Drive with Caution and see mini mechanic! All I did was go though a car wash. Anyway I limped to a post office and turned the car off and waited a few minutes and turned the car back on. It all went away so I drove it around the block and it still shuddered and stalled a little. I limped to my office by then the Engine Malfuncton sign was on again. I popped the hood open and locked the doors and left it for 20 minutes then pulled the JB+ out and reconnected the stock computer connections and turned the car on again. This time all the warning lights went off except the engine light under the speedo. It shuddered a couple times but went back to normal. Not seeing too may bad reviews on the JB+ I put it back in. That was tonight. On the way home it shuddered a little but didn't theogony the mess. CarMax agreed to give me a loaner tomorrow fix any issue. I am trying to get the problem to reoccur so they see what's happpend to my car and are able to diagosed. ANYOne with tips or suggestions on what to have them check
9 Its Carmax, they are going to do what's ceapest, and figure out how to do as little as possible prior to my warranty running out. I read a bunch of other threads here on NAM al are different from thermostats to new turbos! The only thing triggering this other than bad luck was i installed all the Zika leds on the interior the night before?

 

the said needed new wires that plus 2 and 4 were misfiring? Anyone encounter this problem?

 

Soooo, did I miss something here? You seem to be saying that it runs fine if the JB+ module is not plugged in, but the issue occurs if it is plugged in? Is that right?

 

The minute I unplugged the JB + the car service lights went off. I did this 5 miles from the service center. They were able to pull codes from the previous alert and said that there were cylinder misfires on #2 and #4. So they replaced the wording harness on those two alone. I though lt you should do all 4 at the same time. I asked them to see if any of the plugs were fouled and offered to pay for new ones if they were, they said no, they appear to be in great shape. I then told them auto zone pulled the code for a bad HPFP (not true) and to have them check that. I wanted to address that while I had a full warranty for a few more days. They said they didn't have the tools for that job. The symptoms and codes thrown seem to be in line with a failing HPFP so I am getting a little worried. The only thing that gives me a little comfort is I am. It having any start up issues but from what I hear these misfire codes can be present with a HPFP failure without cold start issues. Is that the truth?

I regret not not getting the maxcare extended warranty for once in my life. After discovering this forum I am seriously doubting the reliability of these vehicles and the brains behind them. I have a 2014 CM S all 4 with the N18 engine. If MINI knew the issues with the N14 why the hell wouldn't they have fixed the HPFP issue in the new design.

I have not not seen one person with a MINI on this forum say "I've got over 150,000 on my mini with no problems just new brakes and oil changes". I guess I am used to Japanese cars.

They are are a blast to drive but it appears that $800 to $2000 every 30 to 50,000mi is the cost of maintenece for these vehicles. Anyone beg to differ?

 

So as I stated previously I had the wireing harnesses replaced on my baby on cylinders 2 and 4. That was carmaxs' official source of problem and they ordered and replaced the pulley cover that fell from the car at no cost. I drive it straight to the local shell and put a full tank of V max in it plus a few ounces of MMF in the fuel. Drove it 45 miles home quite spiritedly and remembered why I love the car. I noticed the lack of the acceleration from taking off the JB+ chip but noticed only one hiccup and studded between 3000 and 4000 rpm. It went away so I figured the computer is realigning the mixture and new wireing etc.

Last night I plastidipped the rear wings and logo and installed a brand new from burger JB+ as the directions stated. Took a 90 mile round trip to dinner with my sweety and on the way home at higher speeds on 4th through 6 gears bucking and hiccups in pickup everyone I accelerate between 3000 and 4000 rpm.

I am really upset. No problems on startup. I have noticed a strange smell like plastic or clutch burning 5 minutes after starting the car at idle then a strange thump when I got to my destination 45 miles in to the round trip. The hesitating and hiccups seem to coincide with the JB+ unit starting to do its job. No engine lights are on.

I want this car, I love the fuel economy, I love the handling. I even and willing to accept $1000 of maintenance a year. I am within 13 days of my 30 day warranty at carmax since in the last 30 days since I bought the car, it's been in the shop 13 of those days so I'm entitled to that time for maintenance.

What is going on? Why is my car hesitating? Carmax on request said they do not have the tools to check the HPFP and to take it to a mini dealer.... of course they would, it's not their money. Tomorrow I bring the car back if taking off the JB+ does not work. Something tells me it is not related.

Any ideas. I searched this forum for similar issues but they never report what the fix was and when they do, the answers are all over the place from redirecting the pvc to HPFP issues, to cracked cylinders!

I am definitely dropping $3333 on the 6 year 60,000 mini extended coverage I was offered. This car points to being awesome but expensive on 80's jaguar levels.

 

I may be missing something, but from what I read, all the issues coincide with the JB+. Just ditch it.

 

Chad:

I have similar strong feelings for the MINI but I am constantly frustrated by the lack of reliability.

Unfortunately I am not very great with automotive maintenance and always take it to the dealer.

When I had a similar light to yours "reduced engine power" they had to do a lot of digging. They replaced the turbo and the VANOS.

I would take it to a dealer, for no charge they can read malfunction codes from your key. Then go from there.

In the future, never buy a european car without a warranty. I put my kids in japanese cars but I drive euros with warranty and extended warrantees.

Good luck

 

I've been digging in to extended warranties as we spoke. I replaced two wireing harnesses and got frustrated when the hiccups started at high revs. I ditched the JB+ and made a local contact through this forum who directed me to an awesome dealer I established a relationship with. I love driving the car. Now that I have some help I feel a lot better about things. This forum has been great.

Thank you

 

Yea the Ziza LEDs would never trigger an engine malfunction. Sounds like in the end it was the tuner. What part of the wiring harness was replaced. Most replace the whole harness for the ignition if there is a problem. Was the car in a wreck before? Maybe basic hood and grille damage and just never noted?