Hello, I searched this forum for “hiccup” or “stutter” but couldn’t find anything related to my issue—grateful if anyone can help shed light on what might be going wrong.

My Mini is a 2012 Mini Countryman D (R60?), 1.6 Diesel turbo, 151,000 miles, with 50,000 miles in my ownership.

A year ago it experienced a very brief stutter (less than half a second) when driving steadily above 55mph. It never happens at lower speeds, in town, or under acceleration—only at constant cruising speed. This fault reappeared 4 months later and steadily got worse. It now occurs every 5 to 10 minutes. The issue feels electrical—just a sharp loss of power for a fraction of a second.

Alongside the hiccup, 3 orange warning lights sometimes flash up:

• ABS
• Anti-skid
• Tyre pressure (not always)

Cruise control always deactivates when this second fault occurs. These warning lights only appeared twice in the first year, but since I replaced an ABS sensor (which was showing an error), they now appear far more frequently.

The two faults seem connected, but this morning the warning lights came on when I started the Mini from cold.

The mechanics are in good condition; the turbo shows only minor oil seepage, and the car is well maintained despite its very modest value (under £1,500).

Diagnostics so far:

• One non-BMW mechanic mentioned an “EVAC” error but was unable to provide a code or written report, simply told me to go to BMW. I felt that he was trying to simply get rid of me...
• BMW dealer quoted £198 + VAT for diagnostics (next slot was in 15 days).
• Another local mechanic ran diagnostics and found error 452A Particulate Filter System (image attached). Given the high cost, he offered to clean it but said that 4 electronic modules are involved, and warned that replacing them would exceed the car’s value. He advised scrapping my Mini!

I’d rather not scrap a car that is otherwise perfect as I’ve looked after it carefully, so I’m reaching out to see if anyone has had similar symptoms—brief high-speed stutter, warning lights, and a 452A code—or if there’s any known electrical fault that could cause this.

Thank you in advance for any help and thank you for reading.

Tommaso


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We dont have the diesels here in the USA so i never worked on them.. :(

Not many people on here have them. The D and the SD never came to the USA because of the VW diesel gate.

The code you are getting are not really related, did you have a footwell module recall in the UK? Looks like its an electrical issue. Here in the USA we did with the sunroof drains leaking and dripping water on to the floor an footwell module.

 

Good afternoon and thank you for your time and expertise. My Mini does not have a sunroof but that is the error code. I can only add that the hiccup does not occur once the orange ABS and anti-skid warning lights have appeared as a consequence of a hiccup.