Purchased recently from someone who knows absolutely nothing about the car. 125K miles, claims maintenance was done when the light called for it and the oil was changed as required. CARFAX came back clean but that doesn't mean too much to me. Please help.

So driving my MCS day-to-day does not create the problem since I keep the RPMs low and legal. Lately though my engine quits as soon as I hit 5500 RPM, no limp mode just quits giving any gas and does not respond to throttle. SES light comes on as well. Pull over, turn the vehicle off, restart and the engine turns over and I can drive again. SES light stays on for 3 cycles and then goes away. As soon as I try to get the RPMs up it does it all over again.

I have not been able to get the codes yet but will cause it again when I get around a shop just to see what it comes out to.

Does anyone know what this is, my head is spinning from everything I have read since it sounds like it can be anything from Throttle Body, Bypass Valve, High Pressure Fuel Pump..all sounding expensive to fix.

 

What are the OBDII codes when you get the SES light?

 

Have to get it hooked up to get the numbers, looks like there are a lot on here who can help me and I am optimistic that I will get the car back to running how it should. Also didn't mention that there is a lack of noise from the SC, from reading some other threads it looks like my SC is shot and will have to be replaced. Just not sure if it is all connected or not..the SC freezing up and causing the cutout at 5500 RPM. The car has 125K on it and I have a feeling the previous owners had it for novelty and it is severely neglected.

Already replacing the tie rods this week and will be fixing the struts all around as well. Car still rides well and I would not know how to tell if the struts were shot or not.

Basically I am riding in a MCS without the SC

 

Thought someone would be able to identify the problem for why the engine would cut out at 5500 rpm, seems like the engine is protecting itself. Does not turn off but just goes to idle and is unresponsive to as far as any reaction to pushing the gas pedal.

 

Just guessing here as I'm also new to Minis but am wondering about your fuel filter. Mini says they don't need replacing but I've seen pics of some that are very black with crud. Possibly you're running out of fuel at high RPM and the computer is reacting to that.

Eric

 

I sort of had the same problem before in my 04 R53 but it only happened during high speed. Basically what would happen is at 170kph it would stop accelerating and I felt like the engine was choking. The RPMs would suddenly drop, all lights on the dash light up then the engine starts up again (because its still in gear, sort of a high speed jump start). I drove mildly after that then reset the ECU when I got home. Maybe after about 2 tankfuls of gas of normal driving, I decided to try it again. No more choking after that.

Long story short, its either the ECU reset that got it or maybe a bad batch of gas

 

My cutout is happening in every gear, engine refuses to go past 5500rpm and then becomes unresponsive to gas pedal.

SES light comes on but goes out after 3 cycles. Looks like I am going to have to do a lot of work to it. Does anyone know of a good shop that has decent prices in the San Diego area?

Supercharger needs replacement along with water pump. Guess I will go ahead and get the throttle body replaced, fuel pumps, and BPV. This is not going to be cheap.

If anyone knows the root casue to the engine cutout I woul appreciate it, I am going to try and get codes on it later this week and will let you all know what I find.

 

I am not a mechanic, however, it sounds like your supercharger is failing at 5500 rpm and your engine is losing oxygen/power, which throws a code.

Fix your supercharger and it is probably a Merry Christmas!!!

 

I really hope it is that simple, but I cannot hear the supercharger working at all. I need to find someone with a supercharger and just compare the engine noise. Appreciate all the help from everyone by the way.

Going to take it in this weekend to a MINI specialist who is going to charge me 95 bucks an hour to give everything a good look. Of course the amount of time is going to go longer if he has to start pulling things off to give a look. I will update everyone and hopefully help someone else out in the process.

 

I am also in San Diego. I have a couple friends who rave over MINI Repair San Diego. http://www.minicooperrepairsandiego.com/.

I have another friend who owns a MCS JCW and he recommends Hans Foreign Car Service, 4306 Pacific Hwy, San Diego, CA 92110 in Loma Portal/Bay Park area.

I would give those two a call. Personally I am going to take my MCSa to MINI Cooper Repair San Diego.

 

I will check them out, was going to take it to http://www.dosebmw.com/ they are an independant repair shop fairly close by. I know the work is not cheap no matter where I go and I am not looking forward to spending a couple of grand to get this thing drivable. I love the car and so does my wife, just want it to be a 'safe' ride now and will get everything else done as time goes. Thanks for the leads Checkmate!

 

In cars I've had past experience with (Not a Mini), these symptoms were often related to failed catalytic converters (as they'll plug up and allow flow of air to usually around 3000rpm where the engine will hit a wall), or a clogged fuel filter (also causes the same thing, but it's fuel starvation this time instead of air).

These may or may not be your issue, but they're both significantly less costly than replacing a supercharger or other major components that you're currently mentioning.

 

Just got a call from the shop (Thanks again to Checkmate) and they said it was the Bypass Valve. Taking it in Friday to get the new valve in and they are going to do a courtesy check of the fluid level in the supercharger just to give me a warm and fuzzy.

Once they install the BPV they will do a smoke check for any air leaks and we will see what goes from there. $400 for the BPV and reprogram if it all works out well..I am keeping my fingers crossed.

 

For those of you following along...

Got the MCS out of the shop on Saturday morning after the new bypass valve was installed, ECU updated, and smoke check conducted. Took it to another shop for the tie rods and alignment and had it on the road by Noon Saturday. What a difference in the before and after, car was screaming again and all the fun I knew it had under the hood was back. Thanks for the help, I will let everyone know the codes it was throwing when I get the paperwork out.

FYI, the car has 125K and the original SC still. Technician says it is in great shape and not looking like anything I will have to worry about for some time still. Now I am not sure if I should install the 15% pulley or not. I think I will leave it as close to stack as possible since that is what it was designed for. Thanks again for the help.