i took 2009 MCS to dealership like 2 times already for same reason ....

on the invoice it said " alcohol content of fuel is 15% checked faults and there was misfire faults in cylinders 1 and 3 and blah blah blah~~~~the max allowed is 10%" and they told me use top tier gas stations and use 91 grade fuel....

anyways, that was the first one and 2 weeks later CEL came on again so i took the car back to dealership on this monday july 12, 2010 and they told me alcohol content is higher than before ! ( i was told it was 20% ) but they didn't find any issues( they told to me try chevron gas station next time) and reset CEL so we picked up car yesterday, (july 13, 2010) and this morning when my wife started the engine i heard some knockings and it sounded like it was going to stall for about 2 seconds and runs just fine like nothing happened and my wife drove off and 2 min after she called me and said " CEL is on again ! " CEL is on for third times !!!

purchased back in august 2009 and around 7600 miles on odometer... i've been using 91 grades @ shell

now, does anyone have this fuel/alcohol problems ???

 

91 ... that's mid grade isn't it?

MINI says high octane which I believe is more than 91 & which I've run in my MINIs (and Mini) since 2002 and have had nary a problem (I believe 'high' is 93 and going beyond 95 is a waste of dollars)

BTW the most common additive to raise octane is alcohol but I've heard of dealers playing this game with folks for several years.

Run the good stuff for a while and maybe you can chase the gremlins out of your car.

p.s. I use Shell alot - premium SHELL . . . (do the math, it really isn't costing much per tank to use the fuel recommended by the company and YES it does make a difference now doesn't it?)

 

91 octane is top grade in mine and many other areas of the US over 3,000 feet.

 

i'm in socal and over here 91 is premium grade......

 

This test kit is cheap and easy to use.

http://www.fueltestkit.com/order.html

And the dye makes it a bit easier to use.

If you search eBay there are cheaper ones. I use it at the track to be sure that my fuel has no more than 10% alcohol. In the 20-30 tests I have done this year all of them had 10% exactly other than the race fuel at Summit Point which has no alcohol at all. We have tested name brand fuel from all over western Virginia and, again, all had exactly 10%.

There are also how to test videos on YouTube if you want to make your own test vial.

Rich

 

I use shell here in Tucson and haven't ever had any issues

 

thank you for ur inputs and yeah i should try that fuel test kits !

thank you Rich !

 

91 octane is considered premium grade; the MINI owner's manual calls for 91 octane or greater. If the MINI manual doesn't say this already, it's generally recommended to buy premium grade fuel from the so-called "top tier" retailers (see http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html). Personally, I run Chevron, Shell, Texaco, and Sunoco (depending on what I can find where I am when I need fuel) almost exclusively in my vehicles, including those that accept regular unleaded. I've never experienced any fuel-system-related problems with these brands.

I'm not sure if these "bad gas" brush-offs from MINI/BMW are a feeble attempt to absolve themselves of responsibility; or if there really is a lot of "bad" gasoline out there at the so-called "bargain" retailers, even in premium grades; or whether MINI's are just finicky about fuel. But I was under the impression that E10 (a blend of 90% gasoline & 10% ethanol) was the most commonly available (if not the only) gasohol blend available for general consumption in this country, which MINI apparently acknowledges as acceptable. I'm not personally aware of any retailers that offer E15 (which is what MINI is claiming was in your tank) or higher, and in fact, the sale of any gasohol blend beyond E10 is still illegal in some states. At the other end of the spectrum, E85 is apparently coming into broader use, but is still not even close to widespread, as the supply is not commonly accessible to the general public (i.e., it's for fleet or government use).

 

Google MINI Cooper Brazil. You will bring up official BMW announcements about MINIs now being sold in Brazil. FYI minimum ethanol content in Brazil is 25%.

 

I've been running 93 octane Sunoco which is 10% ethanol. It even has the 10% label right on the pump. 27,000 miles no problems.

 

I am not there and not seeing the vehicle but by your description you are falling prey to the MINI high pressure fuel pump shuffle. High pressure fuel pumps on the MINI are known to start with intermittent failures before total failure. This intermittent failure occurs often at start-up and the reason the vehicle coughs and stutters is a lack of enough fuel pump pressure to adequately supply the engine. This will also cause missing from fuel starvation and turn on the check engine light.

You take the car to the dealer and under pressure from MINI, they use their totally inaccurate ten cent "bubble" testers to tell you the alcohol content is too high in the fuel. Over time, either you will become irate enough to demand repair or the pump will totally fail and you will be stuck somewhere. The dealers all know what is going on but if they don't follow the procedure they will not be paid for the repair.

When I had the problem at 4,000 miles on my '09, they tested the fuel and reported 22% alcohol. Over a 48 hour period I had the car to the dealer twice and offered to pay for a real fuel test myself. They finally found the pressure far below specs at start-up and replaced the pump. I proceeded to drive the car on the same tank of fuel another 300 miles with no problems. That fuel was the same Shell premium I run in all my other cars as well.

Logically, it is ridiculous for MINI to be playing this game. There are a lot of vehicles now running direct injection and high pressure fuel pumps. MINI/BMW seem to be the only manufacturer trying to blame the American fuel supply for what is obviously a manufacturing problem. It is ludicrous for them to assume that Shell or any other fuel supplier suddenly decides to ship tankers full of highly diluted fuel when every State has a 10% limit and highly regulates it.

If one wants to know why MINI has the lowest Customer Satisfaction ratings in the industry, here is a good example of their obstinate refusal to accept their problems and take care of their customer. Great product that is letting some "bean counter" try very hard to ruin their reputation!

 

Change gas stations. Yes, Shell is top tier, and yes 91 is premium gas. 15% and up is illegal unless it is markes as such. Save your reciepts in case there is engine damage. It could just be a dealer brush off, but too much alcohol isn't an unheard of thing.

YMMV

 

again, i appreciate for all ur inputs !

jallen4, timfitz63, thank you for ur information !

i'll try to update this.... have a nice weekend y'all

 

It is really stupid to think that the gas companys use more alcohol then allowed. They do have to pay for it. I think some of these dealers do not even want to work on peoples cars if a lot of time is involved. They only want to sell them & do a little maintenance on them. Changing the fuel pump requires time. We all know that ethanol is not the problem. If it is, BMW needs to come out with a pump that will handle the ethanol. I'm sure they don't want a nighmare with recalls like Toyota has been having by trying to cover up defects in their cars. That would be the most stupid thing any car company could ever do. They will always be caught eventualy when trying to cover up their defects.
I would be willing to bet that BMW Mini has already put out a bulletin on this fuel pump problem but the dealers usually don't read them.

I'm wondering if the pumps are made by BMW or sourced out to other company's. I also wonder if only one source makes the pumps or two or three sources are used. It seems that not everyone has this problem.

 

It is very frustrating to me that BMW issues a 10 year warranty on the HPFP on their BMW line but not the MINI. Its pretty clear to me that its a fairly widespread problem for MINIs too and probably made by the same manufacturer to identical specs. I don't know why everyone doesn't get the problem but it may be due to regional weather conditions or driving style or maybe as BMW states, fuel mixtures. The last seems pretty unlikely given that the fuel you get at the pump has a high probability of being formulated by a different brand than the one on the station.