Hi all! Greetings from the 'Windy City'...Home of Deep Dish Pizza and the site of my first MINI breakdown

I had just driven into Chicago from a 12 hour drive from NJ yesterday. After a brief stop at a friend's place, I headed to a wedding I was to attend.

As I was cruising up an exit ramp, I switched downshifted to merge with traffic and all of a sudden NO POWER in ANY GEARS. There I was, stuck in traffic, no road shoulder to move onto. (<<<look on my face at that moment)

So after a DOT service truck pulled me off the exit, I started the car again and I started to get A LITTLE feedback in 1st gear - pressing the accelerator I moved very slowly. To get to 10-15mph I was at 4k rpms already. Almost no power with all the gears.

I then tried to move to a better, safer location (I was in the South Side of Chicago, not too safe) . So I slowly crept up to 50 mph (6th gear at 60ph, 6500 rpms is not sexy), but slowly started losing power in any gear. 50mph..then 40mph...all this as the revs stayed high. Luckily, I was able to pull into a Shell Gas Station.

In any case, could anyone guess what this might be? I was guessing a problem with the hydraulic clutch, but I have no idea. 'Winston' is at the MINI dealership here now and I'm waiting for their findings.

My biggest concern right now is warranty coverage. 'Winston' is slightly modified so I'm worried. If it IS the clutch - not affected by any of the mods I dont think - then the mods shouldnt alter the warranty for that part, no?

Any NAM expertise/help is greatly appreciated. I hope everyone has a Whoopa*s Memorial Day Weekend!!!! BBQ BBABBBYYY!!!!

 

Chances are, even with NO mods a clutch wouldn't be covered under warranty (unless it was something that no amount of dealer creativity could blame on you/wear issues). It does sound like that's what it could be, but I tend to blame absolutely everything on a failing clutch, as I live in fear of my own going kablooie. ("My wipers aren't clearing properly -- god, I REALLY can't afford to replace the clutch right now!!!")

So, depending upon how you look at that it could be good news or bad: one one hand, your mods ("slightly modified"? ) probably won't make a difference; on the other hand, you'd likely be footing the bill anyway.

Whatever the outcome -- sorry to hear that it happened! -- keep us posted.

GOOD LUCK!

 

Did you get any dash warning lights during this episode? (EML, Check Engine, etc?)


It seems to me your throttle body may have crapped out and the ECU went into "Home limp" mode. What I am trying to say is that your breakdown may have been caused by the electronics/computer and not an actual mechanical part like the clutch.

I believe MINIUSA (Check this with them while you are waiting to hear from the dealer) will reimburse you trip expenses related to the breakdown but I don't remember if they have a mile radius limitation distance from your actual place of residence to receive coverage. They should pay your meals, lodging, etc expenses due to the breakdown.


Keep us posted and good luck.

 

Ok I found it. I have good news for you. This is from the "Book of Maintenance" brochure:


"Our mission is to keep you motoring. That's why our Roadside Assistance program includes Sign and Dash Towing services, trip interruption benefits, as well as other roadside services.

Whether you're stranded across country with a dead battery, parked in your own driveway with a flat tire, or even need directions from Miami to Seattle, Roadside assistance is ready to help, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And, if you should experience trouble more than 100 miles from home, we'll pay for your meals, lodging and transportation*."

*Limitations apply, contact MINIUSA for more details.

 

I was told, when I bought my car, that there was no limit to distance, and that, if I wanted, I could receive a car to get me back home/on with my travel and that MINI would then flatbed my car to wherever I was and swap with me. This could be proverbial smoke up the heiney, but I'd push for it (oh heck, I'd push for something -- at LEAST the lodging/food -- but it may depend on whether or not you're outside of your maintenance warranty.

Hadn't considered "safety mode" -- see, like I said; I blame everything on the clutch. (but would the safety mode result in the weird RPMs?)

 

The symptoms about the car struggling to build speed and RPM's in first gear right after the breakdown suggest that the ECU went into "Home limp mode". The Throttle body control (E-gas pedal sensors) may be the culprit here.

Hopefully, the problem is not related to any mods in the car. I doubt the mods have anything to do with it. What year is the car? Mileage? Build date?

 

C4!!! IF YOU"RE EVER IN THE NY/NY AREA, I'M BUYIN YOU A BEER! Thanks so much for finding that, I'm trying to contact MINIUSA now and will post how that goes (for future reference). Thats HUGE - I hope that I'm covered.

Thanks everyone above for taking a minute out of your NAMing to post, I really appreciate it. :smile: Beers All Around!

ps- if anyone else has any helpful advise, I'm all ears :smile: thanks!!!

 

I'll take you up on it next time I am in NY!


Glad to help and hope that everything works out for you.

Cheers

 

'Winston' is an 04' mc40 that I got last summer. I've logged about 18800 mile with him thus far.

Yanno, know that you mention it - when I turned off the car (to see if something needed to reset - I know it works with Benzes), my Pioneer Avic-n1 I was using to naviagate went to some Grey screen i've never seen before - as if it was opening up from a complete reset - before it went to the navi screen.

If the ecu is the problem, then a reflash or cold reset/boot is what they'd do? If its the throttle body - then isnt that affected by the GIAC that was installed?

 

Hopefully there is an error code(s) stored in the ECU memory for retrieval. Once the dealer hooks it up to the GT-1 computer they should be able to view these codes to pinpoint the cause of the problem, assuming that in fact for some reason the car went suddenly into "Home Limp Mode".

The throttle body is suspect but then again the breakdown may not be related to it. I am not sure how your GIAC may have an impact on it since I don't have it myself.

The "gray screen" in your NAV may be a symptom of something going on in the electrics/electronics.

It is likely the dealer will clearup all adaptive settings from memory and see if the car returns to normal driveability, but the key here is to determine if there are service codes stored in memory for them to look at.

 

Couldn't be limp home mode with these symtoms. It's gotta be the clutch.

 

I'm sorry this had to happen to you in Chicago! We're always very happy to see visiting MINIs I'm guessing you took Winston to either Patrick or Jacobs?

 

Could be

 

Hahaha, thanks Paul. Yep, took Winston to Patrick MINI over in Shaumburg, left key in drop box last night. Have you dealt with them before? I gave them a call up this morning and and let them know that I'm visiting from NJ and they said they'd look at it right away since that's the case. Service guy I spoke with was really nice.

 

The only way the revs are going to be higher than normal is if
the mechanical connection between the clutch disc and the
pressure plate is slipping.

 

Pete that makes sense. Let's see what the dealer has to say about the problem.

 

Seems like you would have smelled the clutch burning if the RPM of the car was much higher than it should be for a given speed?

 

...and it was triggered by a downshift.

Although a clutch shouldn't go at 18K mi. Hopefully, if it is that, it may still be covered in some way. Good luck.

 

I take my Saab to Patrick, they're always really nice. A bit on the slow side, but nice.

 

clutch is covered for 3yr/36000 miles assuming no abuse...

 

One more comment on the throttle body: when you press the gas pedal, all you're really actuating is the TB. More fuel is delivered in an attempt to keep the proper A/F ratio. However, I have heard that a malfunctioning TB can allow an engine to run. If the TB isn't opening properly, the exhaust manifold will glow red, and eventually probably catch fire or melt off the car.

Since he was able to drive it around without flames leaping out or horrible noxious odors, I'd guess that's not it.

I wonder if maybe the clutch isn't so much burnt out, but somehow stuck in a half-way engaged position. Did your clutch pedal return to full height or feel funny at all?

Funny thought: did you, by any chance, have the parking brake engaged? I tried that once; managed to drive a Mercury Sable half a mile before realizing why the car had NO power. Fortunately, I had it on extended loan from a dealer.

 

You mean 4 years/50K miles?

 

no.. that is for the normal warranty
the clutch and brakes are covered under the maintenance warranty.

 

If your mini only has 18000 miles on it I sure hope they cover it under warranty. If not then they can pay the remaining notes on it. You can send this in with no payment each month if they don't. LOL

 

wildone...

Unless I'm missing something, nothing on that sticker's warranty/maintenance list puts MINI on the line for covering wear items. A full maintenance warranty suggests that your maintenance is free -- not necessarily wear items. And the 4yr/50K warranty is limited -- generally "limited" excludes wear items unless, as someone else pointed out, the wear item is showing some type of defect of material that has expedited it's wear.

I'm not saying that they shouldn't cover it -- indeed, it would be a nice backing of their product if they did -- just that they probably don't have to. It's likely at the discretion of the dealership. 18K on a clutch is absurd... assuming Bri isn't habitually riding her clutch. I don't mean to suggest that she's anything but a fabulous driver, but look at it from a dealers perspective: perhaps my left foot never leaves the clutch pedal, I routinely slip the clutch to hold myself steady on hills, and I've just taught 6 of my closest friends how to drive stick using my car. My clutch craps out and I take it in, demanding warranty service. Should the dealer be on the line for that?

Sending in a sticker clipping which doesn't expressly state warrantied wear items, along with no payment, will likely get you nothing but a brief interaction with the repo man/woman...