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Was this happening last summer to the 02-04 Mini's as well? Or is it only happening this year and our short memories have faded beyond remembering it....?
I’ve had my MCS almost 3 years now. August 02 build and have never had one problem with it. No yo-yo, no stumble, no anything. I have posted many times over the last 3 years that I have one of the most reliable MINI’s that has ever been built. I even have stone chips in my windshield the size of a nickel and the windshield won’t break. Other than on road trips about 3 times a year, I buy my 93 octane gas at the same station every week. In the history of owning my MCS I have never had a stalling problem. Other than the oil being changed, I’ve never had one thing changed or go wrong with my MINI
A little over a month ago I had my 02 MCS in to the dealer for the emissions recall update. Until then I had the original v32 programmed in to the car. I had never upgraded once. The philosophy, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
The dealer installed the newest update at the time, v40 I believe it was and my MCS has had nothing but stalling problems since.
Now it’s very hard to start in the morning, I can’t even pull out of my flat driveway without stalling and it’s getting worse daily. I’ll sit at a stop light and hear the engine sputter, choke and even die now and then. It runs and idles rough. Pickup off the line is terrible. None of this has ever happened – ever to my MCS with v32.
It has nothing to do with the gas a certain time of the year, the outside temperature or wet/cold/hot conditions. It is the ECU program alone and my indestructible MCS has been ruined because of it.
The dealer installed the newest update at the time, v40 I believe it was and my MCS has had nothing but stalling problems since.
It has nothing to do with the gas a certain time of the year, the outside temperature or wet/cold/hot conditions. It is the ECU program alone and my indestructible MCS has been ruined because of it.
Thank you Sndwave, for bringing this back on topic, and for clarifying the issue as one concerning the ECU program alone. This is the point other posters have been making. And as I have mentioned earlier, BMW has had several years to work on this issue, and I can't understand why it has not yet been resolved.
I've had my '05 MCS since May 31st. It starts the first time, everytime, with no rough idle that I can discern... However, sometimes - not always - upon starting out in either first or even trying to accelerate out of second gear there will be some hesitation - scary amounts of hesitation - but then once I get going she screams...
I first thought it to be my clutching abilities but I now know it to likely be this ECU issue. I sort of avoid the hesitation now by giving a bit more gas and letting out on the clutch a little more slowly (almost to the point of squealing the tires).
I think this may be more attributed to a "cold" engine than one at temperature... who knows... Anyway I still ABOSLUTELY LOVE MY MCS!!!
HBB w/ black bonnet stripes
sunroof
6 spd
17" s-lites
black n blue leather seats
auto ac
rear fog
chromed and body color dash w/ big speedo in the middle
AUX for XM
center armrest
big smiles
I've had my '05 MCS since May 31st. It starts the first time, everytime, with no rough idle that I can discern... However, sometimes - not always - upon starting out in either first or even trying to accelerate out of second gear there will be some hesitation - scary amounts of hesitation - but then once I get going she screams...
Turn your DSC off and see if it still hesitates. This sounds like classic DCS kicking in.
Just thought I'd mention that I'm having this same problem now. Car always started up vigorously, quickly and without a hitch, but since around early May it now stalls after the first morning start. Second start is perfect.
I use 93 all the time and have recently been using 100 at the track. This does not make it any better. This is all too weird.
Don't like it as to me if my car is suffering this problem then it may not be running at 100% when I push it on the track.
Wonder if this will all just go away or if in fact there will be a fix. I'm not crazy about being reflashed by the dealer...
i took my car a '04 JCW equipped car to ft lauderdale Mini, last saturday to fix a leak they left when I went in for my first oil change a month earlier, and the fu...rs upgraded my software and now my car stalls at starting, like when it seats for long time and sometimes when just moving a few feet. I totally forgot to tell them not to flash the ecu and they went ahead and did....I never had any of the problems you guys have, and now i'm screwed..........
1. Rough Idle at start - Have 250 miles on car and last 3 mornings after parking overnight for 13 hrs in the garage. Start car, idle is rough, it stumbles and then picks up the RPM and goes on fine.
2. Weird stumble/hesitation in Second gear - The YOYO I guess.
3. Grey door panels cracking inside the car - saw this within 3 hrs of pick up. They will replace when they put the roof rack on Monday morning.
yup, count me in the list. I got v40 (from v38), which improved highway econ a bit. Smoothed the yo/yo out a tad mode (nearly imperceptable). Tho my idle with the A/C on is lumpy when it's really hot. Almost like I'm going to stall Running around 950RPM...
I have 3 problems:
1. A rough idle
2. The stall on start
3. The VERY SERIOUS hesitation about 30 seconds following cold-start. I stop at a major street and the car is downright dangerous to drive. You floor it in 1st and it just sits there for 1-2 seconds, then takes off like a bat out of hell. Not predictable. UNSAFE.
I'm very concerned about this.
Yes, I've recently rec'd the emmissions update as well.
Has anyone contacted AutoWeek? C&D? Etc? Perhaps a bit of publicity will get BMW to take these issues seriously and release a S/W fix. The first two issues are just downright annoying, but the 3rd is a safety problem to me.
I've had the stall on start problem SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR. The hesitation and rough idle appear to be a result of the latest S/W update.
These problems really make me want to sell the car.
sndwave, thanks. You just said what I was going to say. I have an August 02 MCS also and it was always great, now after the "upgrade" it has been more problems than ever before. When I asked the SM which version of software was installed he could not or would not tell me. Whatever it was I want my v32 back!!!!!!!!
Besides the cold start problem I now have a problem with acceleration from a standstill. I push down on the accelerator pedal and .... like nothing happens .. not a linear response. The cars starts to move very slowly, feed more gas, nothing .... back off on the pedal and then it will take off. Very annoying and very dangerous when trying to merge with moving traffic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sndwave
I’ve had my MCS almost 3 years now. August 02 build and have never had one problem with it. No yo-yo, no stumble, no anything. I have posted many times over the last 3 years that I have one of the most reliable MINI’s that has ever been built. I even have stone chips in my windshield the size of a nickel and the windshield won’t break. Other than on road trips about 3 times a year, I buy my 93 octane gas at the same station every week. In the history of owning my MCS I have never had a stalling problem. Other than the oil being changed, I’ve never had one thing changed or go wrong with my MINI
A little over a month ago I had my 02 MCS in to the dealer for the emissions recall update. Until then I had the original v32 programmed in to the car. I had never upgraded once. The philosophy, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
The dealer installed the newest update at the time, v40 I believe it was and my MCS has had nothing but stalling problems since.
Now it’s very hard to start in the morning, I can’t even pull out of my flat driveway without stalling and it’s getting worse daily. I’ll sit at a stop light and hear the engine sputter, choke and even die now and then. It runs and idles rough. Pickup off the line is terrible. None of this has ever happened – ever to my MCS with v32.
It has nothing to do with the gas a certain time of the year, the outside temperature or wet/cold/hot conditions. It is the ECU program alone and my indestructible MCS has been ruined because of it.
Recently, before starting the car, I have done the following:
1) Turn key to ON position for 10 seconds but don't try to start the car
2) Turn key to OFF position
3) Turn key to ON position and start the car
Since the problems only seem to manifest themselves in the morning on the first start of the day, it'll take some time to find out if this really works. But, the past 3 starts have been smooth and successful when done in this manner.
__________________ http://www.ross-tech.net/andy/frink.gif
"Well, sure, the Frinkiac-7 looks impressive, don't touch it, but I predict that within 100 years, computers will be twice as powerful, 10,000 times larger, and so expensive that only the five richest kings of Europe will own them."
I have this problem and it freaks me out. It is actually making my car stall out. My dealer told me it was probably bad gas. A friend of mine is a VW tech and told me it could be the A/C compressor kicking in due to the auto climate control. I'd just like it to not happen, every time it does my wife says, "I'm telling you, you should have gotten the R32. I am thinking about taking her in to be hypnotized to take the words VW, Volkswagen, and R32 out of her vocabulary.
If some one has a solution to the problem (for the R32 lover or the Mini cold start idling attitude) please let me know. I want to stay married and i love my '05 MCS.
If some one has a solution to the problem (for the R32 lover or the Mini cold start idling attitude) please let me know. I want to stay married and i love my '05 MCS.
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Solution: Go out and start car 1 minute before wife arrives.
Seriously, Mini and BMW aren't going to do anything about this unless:
1.) There's a safety issue to address that may result in recalls, lawsuits, and bad publicity.
2.) People stop buying the NEW cars because of this issue. (New car sales are the backbone of income for any car manufacturer)
Having issues with a previous model is usually not top priority, so we need to prove one of the 2 above escalations to Mini in order to get some action on this. Right now it's just an annoyance factor up there with slow power windows, and cup holder complaints.
__________________
'07 MCS, Astro Blk, Rota RB wheels Hyper Black, Shrader Rear Seat Delete
'05 MCS, Chili Red (SOLD)
Weekend Warrior: '99 supercharged Mustang
815 hp at the wheels...
There has to be a reason, that BMW cannot resolve this issue. It simply cannot be that they have CHOSEN to let this fester, as some of the angry posters on this thread suggest; (justifiably, and I say that as one, who has replaced his '03). Sure, it may be worse, for some owners, aggravated by poor gas, and temperature/humidity extremes-- but these are issues that can aggravate ANY out of tune car-- none of these are relevant-- or the cause; (Sndwave, we hear you... !). Any MINI owner should be concerned, am I not justified in worry that this could impair my resale value, should it become widespread/public? BMW is spending tons of money on warranty service, they cannot be regarding this problem as inconsequential, even aside from customer satisfaction issues. So the question is, once again, why--? why can't BMW resolve this problem?
Though i've never had the car stall on me i have had the idle drop scarilly low several times on initial startup. The easy solution is when you're done driving, hit the a/c button BEFORE you turn the car off. That will prevent the compressor from starting up when you first start the car. Once its running, then you can turn the a/c back on. It's really annoying, yes, but it works
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Kathy: QUICK616, MMC #88
BRG/B, bonnet stripes, chrome mirror caps, Auto-up, Alta stubby antennae, Alta 15%, Alta CAI, Alta light bar w/Ion yellow IPF lamps, PIAA Rally lamps, 20% tint, Body matched interior bits, Custom hood scoop grill, auxiliary OEM switch panel
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To be perfectly honest...I was thrilled to see this thread. Same thing happened to me in my '05 after I started it upon return from a 4 day trip. Now I know its inherent to the car. Has only happened once, and I don't think either cold or AC were an issue.
I've had the stumble before to, but it hasn't been an issue lately.
The fancier the electronics in these things, the more problematic they become.
Now if I can get the dealer to finally fix the damn 'check engine soon' light problem, I'll be golden.
The easy solution is when you're done driving, hit the a/c button BEFORE you turn the car off. That will prevent the compressor from starting up when you first start the car. Once its running, then you can turn the a/c back on. It's really annoying, yes, but it works
Problem is, this thread has also concerned constant idle drop/stumbling irrespective of ANY other issues of weather, temperature, and electricals either on or off. The idle on my '03 dropped periously low almost EVERY time the clutch was depressed/car out of gear. This made everything from rush hour traffic to parking lot navigating unbearable and dangerous. There are other threads on this issue as well, possibly they need to be combined?
[font=Arial]I'm with MINI USA. Software for this issue on '05 MINI's with the JCW kit has just been released. If you are experiencing stalling, please contact your MINI dealer to see if this software update may correct the problem you are experiencing. If you have any questions, please phone us at (866) ASK MINI or email[/font][font=Arial][size=2][font=Arial] [/font][/size][/font][font=Arial][font=Arial]us at [/font][/font][font=Arial][size=2][font=Arial][size=3]MINI.Assistance@askMINIUSA.COM[/size].[/font][/size][/font]
just got the emissions fix a month or two ago...the only problem i'm having is it sounds like it's gonna stall when i'm at a stoplight--as long as i tap the accelerator, it goes back to normal, and so far, it does not happen until i have turned off the car and back on again. have not experienced the lack of power or stumble issue after engaging in first gear.
i have noticed that the car makes the same sound when turning off that it does when turning it to the on position (before engine start, like the fuel pump is priming)...is that normal? don't remember hearing it before...
[font=Arial]I'm with MINI USA. Software for this issue on '05 MINI's with the JCW kit has just been released. If you are experiencing stalling, please contact your MINI dealer to see if this software update may correct the problem you are experiencing. If you have any questions, please phone us at (866) ASK MINI or email[/font][font=Arial][size=2][font=Arial] [/font][/size][/font][font=Arial][font=Arial]us at [/font][/font][font=Arial][size=2][font=Arial][size=3]MINI.Assistance@askMINIUSA.COM[/size].[/font][/size][/font]
MINI USA Customer Relations
I just had to go in for a simple warranty issue for one of my rear seat latches. While I was waiting for them to inspect it, I told one of the technicians of my 05 MCS sputtering in the mornings. He told me that MINI is aware of the problem and is issuing a recall by next month. It supposidly is a software problem and is easily fixed.......according to my MINI dealer. So, there has been enough complaining and letters for MINI to REALLY take a look at this. It's sad we all have to kick and scream to get them to notice that there really is a problem
Running around 950RPM...
