Hey Y'all!

I have a 2005 Mini Cooper Sport, R53, manual 6 speed, and there are two things glaring at me!

1) when I'm driving, and I reach 65mph then go to 70mph, as soon as I get off the accelerator, I feel the car shudder! Kinda like a tire is out of balance (feels like it's under the Bonnet?), but could it be something else, maybe a Clutch? When I re-apply pressure on the accelerator, load the engine, it goes away, let off, and shudder. If I drive below 65, slow down then speed up, back to 65mph, and get off the accelerator, all is good!

2) the security alarm goes off for no reason, after I lock the car, wait for a hour or so, sometimes 20min, then the alarm goes off. It will do this until I unlock the car. Now, I have heard of the Body Control Module (BCM) needing to be replaced, if this is so, is this a DIY task? I try to do as much on this Go Cart, by myself, but the thought of taking this Guy back to a dealer for work to be done..., OUCH!

Anyway, this is what I'm experiencing, needed to consult you Motoring GURU's!

Thanks!
Lou

 

While I certainly don't consider myself a "Mini Guru"; I've owned my '04 R53 since new and have practically replaced / upgraded everything myself (largely in part from the help here on NAM)...
My alarm constantly goes off at random. Especially when the temps dip down into the 50ºs.
I / my Mini, has also lived most of it's life in hot/subtropics of FL. So during the summer months the alarm didn't go off at random as much. I've never bothered to have the dealer/ or a pro try to investigate the cause.
Although, in my case (at 50º), I suspect that temperature changes may cause fluctuation between the alarm components and the body to falsely trigger the alarm (??). I don't imagine it's a BCM issue unless there may have been water ingress (?).
Just my guess.
I don't know enough about accessing the computer with NCExpert (or the like) to see if there might be an immobilizer/alarm sensitivity setting in there.
Hopefully one of the more experienced members will chime in with an answer or confirm.

The "shudder" issue may be due to a couple of things that come to mind:
1) Worn motor mounts top and bottom (also inspect that the gearbox/transmission mount bolts (driver side) haven't come loose).
2) Worn Axles
3) Worn tie rods
4) If you still have the original rubber core crank pulley/harmonic balancer on the car; It maybe starting to come apart or wobble. I would recommend upgrading to a fluid dampened or an ATI.

 

Thanks!

this is good to know! I changed out the CV Joints / Axles before, the Boots deteriorated. This R53 has low mileage, I too bought it new, so dry rot could be an issue here. Been meaning to replace all bushings, and I'll look into the Damper, makes sense!

No water ingress, so, as you say, just the temps down here in South Texas!

Thanks Again!!!

Lou

 

Oh BTW - I forgot to mention one other important part on the car that may result in the shudder effect - Worn control arm bushings.
Even low mileage Mini's have been prone to front control arm bushings deteriorating. Mine were nearly shot and had to be replaced @ 57K.
I have since replaced them again @ 90K with Powerflex polyurethane bushings. Hopefully they will last a long time if not indefinitely.

Also, you may want to inspect your front struts for leakage. It might also be worth inspecting your top strut mounts and the strut housing for mushrooming. At the very least; check the tightness of the 3 nuts (each side).
They should all be torqued to 25 foot pounds.

 

Here2Go,

Thanks again! I will put this car up on stands and begin inspecting everything. I've seen Bushing Kits for the car, comes with struts, all bushings, tie-rods, and Control Arm bushings!

I've seen great reviews on the Polyurethane bushings, I want to install these as well.

I'll keep you posted
Thanks Again!
Lou