I am posting this for someone else who doesn't go on forums much. 2011 MCS bought new last feb, in the cooler temps (between 30-40 degrees) first start of the day it will start up, then die imediately. After that sometimes to will start the 2nd time and run really rough then smooth out, sometimes will die again unless you keep reving it alittle with the clutch in to "clear it out". Car has had its HPFP replaced (due to that and a driveability issue), and some evap valve, otherwise it runs great. Anyone else had this issue? This has been to the dealership many times and they still can't figure it out. This person is about to give up on it and see what they can do under lemon law, but i am curious as to what is causing the problem and if anyone here has had the same issue and had it fixed.

 

When I had mine it had been in the shop for this many times and the said every time they could not reproduce the issue. The last time before I got rid of it they ended up flashing the computer and it seemed to help a lot.

 

My '11 wouldn't start one day (after starting and driving just fine 10 minutes before). Dealer had to replace the valvetronic actuator motor--solved the problem. Perhaps something to mention to the dealer?

 

(Moderators please forgive the repost...)


Sigh...
Took my 2012 MCS (8500Km so far) in on Monday for a similar problem - stumbled a couple of times when cold and wet out - somewhat random occurence - and after a minute or less of running all is OK.
No CELs or fault codes logged.
On Friday, the problem got worse - 4 presses of the start button, where it would crank, catch for a split second, and then die. Finally, on the 4th attempt, I had to give the engine a bit of 'gas' to keep it running - the equivalent of trying to run an unloaded engine at 1500RPM or so. After less than 30 seconds of operation, the problem vanished again! Still no CEL or codes.
The only common points were that the outside air temp was between 0C and 5C each time, and it was wet out - either damp or raining, after an overnight or longer of sitting. My car is parked outside - the garage is too full of reno debris and parts these days! :(
I don't suspect the fuel itself, as I have used Esso, Petro Canada, Shell, and Costco with no difference - in all cases 91 octane, and the stumble occured for sure with Esso, Costco, and Petro Canada fuels.
I have also noted that on start up, after a onvernight of sitting, the engine coolant temp does not match the outside air temp - I have an EcoRoute HD and a Garmin GPS to display my guages, and have noted that the coolant temp is usually 20 or more degrees C higher than the engine air intake temperature. My service advisor did add that point to the fault description given to the tech...

MINI Markham has had 'Summons' for 2 days so far - the dealership reports back regularly with "no concrete findings so far. Keep the rental, and we will keep trouble shooting..."

I will report back on the fix - I hope - and suffer the Ford Fiesta rental in the mean time... :( :( :(
E

 

This happened to my wife 07 MINI. It was due to excessive carbon buildup.

 

Got the car back, and of course, no fault found...

Sigh... I will continue to film each start attempt until it faults again - though I suspect the lense will assure perfect operation until the camera is forgotten!

Best of luck to the OP - I hope the friend has better luck!
E

 

So I too have been bitten by the stalling issue.

Was driving yesterday, car had been running for quite a while running errands. Pulled into a left turn lane and she died. Try to restart it and no matter what I tried it would start and then die right away. So I called for a tow. Waiting for the tow and trying to start it again, toward the end of my wait, it was starting and stayed running longer, but were talking seconds here.

Oh and mine thru a check engine light right away.

So it has now been towed to the dealer and am waiting to see what they say.

My Tag Line now is; Didn't even put 1000mi on it before trouble. (trip comp was clear when i bout it and not since)

 

Update:
For the last few months my dad was told to run NON premium in it by the dealership, he was doing so, problem went away, started to run premium in it again due to outside daytime temps rising, problem is back. I wonder if this could be timing related, on a turbo car with lower octane the computer is going to retard timing to prevent detonation right? then with premium it will advance it back where it was, causing hard starts/backfires? Just a thought.

 

Just got my girl friends 2011 cooper s back for the same issue (plus the water pump recall)
My dealer just replaced a bunch of small sensors (the list was pretty long) but the problem was resolved.

It does however make an obnoxious tick now at start up and for the first 5 minuets of driving.

 

Really make sure your oil level is adequate! It's very hard to correctly read with the horrible dipstick but these cars notoriously run low and the low oil light only comes on when it's ridiculously low

 

I'll check it tonight. Though I would have thought the dealer would have done that. They were "nice" enough to suggest buying new tires. Plus it didn't do it before they worked on it.

Regardless I made them tow it to the dealership because it stalled on her so much. That's when they finally fixed the issue.

 

I know I’m waaaaay late to this but my 2011 Mini S has the exact same issue and the check engine light is yellow and your dash looks exactly like mine does. Did you ever figure out the issue? Mine will start but shakes and then cuts off. I’ve had it break down twice now where I needed a tow. I added octane booster and ISO Heet and it seemed to work for about two months but now the issue is back. I’m new to owning a MINI so bear with me, if you even see this 😂

 

The person I was posting for ended up having the HPFP replaced yet again, ran great and 2 weeks later traded it in for a 2010 CPO Audi A4 6spd before it could break down again.

 

There are a bunch of issues which can lead you to this. Best if you're able to get someone to pull error codes from your car and go from there. Also, if you're new to this car and it's a 2011, I really hope you'd have some mechanical inclination to which lots of typical problems will come at you and hopefully you're rich enough to start throwing money down this pit or you can pull the repair off on your own. Repair bills can be quite costly on these cars is what I'm saying. However, if you're able to keep up with the maintenance, these are actually fun little go-karts to have on the public roads.