Hi all,

I've searched for anything here in the threads so I apologize if this has been diagnosed previously.

The car has a stumble at start up and intermittent stumble on idle. Car has been to the dealer for years to fix this. A lot of money later and claims 'this will fix it' the car is fine for a few days than comes back.

Replaced:

All coils and plugs
High pressure fuel pump
Valve cover and attached hoses
Battery
Waterpumps
Lots of programing
De-carbonization - 2x in 1.5 years!
A/F sending unit cleaned many times
Air cleaner

Maybe more I have to check. Now I'm told they want to do a compression and leak down. This sounds silly. There's no smoke coming out of the exhaust to warrant this and unless I'm thinking incorrectly cannot diagnose an intermittent issue.

 

Manual or auto?

See if these threads might help a bit.
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-Luccia

 

Auto

 

I have seen somewhere about this issue of hesitation in relation to the auto transmissions. Some even said in relation to some software issues. Definitely read through those threads. Post #151. Not sure if your situation is the same or not, but might give you an idea.

-Luccia

 

This is a 2007. No stumble at acceleration. Only idle or start up. They've reprogrammed the car several times trying to fix it. I wonder if there was anything special done to that person's 2011 car?

 

Then them wanting to do a compression and leak down test makes me think that they feel it is engine related now. The best thing to do would be to use the spark plugs as your indicator. Look for heavy ashy deposits. This is a good sign that your valves are in trouble. The multiple carbon cleanings are usually what happens when the cars have cylinder head/valve issues. If you have access to a borescope with a mirror attachment you can crank the engine over with the spark plugs removed and see the valves. Look for ash and white stuff around the valve seats. If you see heavy ash the cylinder head may need to be replaced or gone through to remedy valve issues like burnt valves, dropped seats etc. Good luck.

-Luccia

 

How about an Indy mechanic. Post up location maybe someone has a good recommendation for you. Past warranty time I'd steer clear of dealer unless something special is being offered by them.

 

I looked at the spark plugs again when they replaced the valve cover and they looked fine to the techs and myself. I'm losing or have lost faith in their opinions which always cost a lot and do not resolve the issue.

Minnie - Live in Portland Oregon. Actually we went to the dealer because the independent shop we started to use screwed up and we found the dealer here wasn't much more than the independent and they have all the parts and warranty.

The dealer claimed the valve cover and hose were the reason it needed decarbonization even though they just did it. They seem to blame everything else and solve nothing. Although the car runs better with the head de-carboned. But it should've have needed it so soon. Car gets premium gas and actually now Real Gas which is more expensive but doesn't contain the alcohol etc additives.

 

What about fuel? or injector cleaning?

 

You probably didn't see it but Premium is used and now Real Gas as referenced above. Injectors were cleaned several times including during the de-carb.

 

Who did you use? I'm in Portland as well. Many options here.

The most honest mechanic I've met is Cycle Metrics, west side. He can't or won't do everything as he doesn't have software for Mini, he is mostly motorcycles and japanese or american cars, but he is brutally upfront and will send you away quickly if he can't tackle the issue. Might be worth a trip to at least discuss the problem.

DynaSport was that the one you used? If so they are just about dealer cost now, and they did screw up on me once so I stopped going.

Portland Autohaus gets good reviews, I talked to him about an issue and he seemed honest and upfront on how he does business. I solved the problem on my own before going, but he was my next stop.

 

Wow!!! Minnie. I'm been hoping to connect with a local mini owner but figured the chances were remote. It was the place on Powell. Their prices approached the dealer so that's how we ended up at the dealer. Someone once told me about a place in Lake Oswego.

What do you think about that place Madness Motorworks in Beverton? Unless its easy to diagnose I'm going to live with it. Its more of an annoyance than an engine hinderance.

Just do not have any faith in troubleshooting right now. And this last round was $$$$ so I don't have the budget to go somewhere else for now. But knowing a good place for the future would be great.

 

Do a search on here for Madness, has some negative reactions from the online selling. Maybe in person they are ok, but I have stayed away.

 

Whoops. Always trying to keep the money in Oregon if possible. I'll check - thanks.