Got a question for you Mini lovers out there. We did a two-day trip down to the Sand Dunes this weekend. We had a slight hiccup on the way there that kind of screwed with my confidence in regards to future road trips using this car. We were about 25 miles east of Alamosa when the car started to completely loose power every time I stepped on the throttle. This was going up that pass that is just to the east of Alamosa. I would down shift and the car would suddenly come back to life but as soon as I got above 3.5K it would do it in the lower gear as well. Now this was intermittent but it did get worse every time it happened. We finally pulled over when it was safe to do so but we left the car idling and did not turn it off because I was afraid we could not turn it on again. I opened the hood and checked for any visible things that may of popped out at me but nothing stood out. The engine did not run any hotter than normal and no smoke was coming out of the tail pipe. It also idled real smooth.
So being in the middle of nowhere we decided to press on. From that point I babied the thing all the way to Alamosa keeping it under 70 mph with no hiccups further on after. I checked to make sure all the fluids were in order once we came into town and they all looked good. The next day we drove it to the dunes with no problems other than it seemed a bit underpowered. The rest of the way home was without incident as well. Again, it still seems a bit more sluggish now then when we left but it seems to run all right. Does anyone have any idea of what may have been the problem that caused those off and on power losses?

Oh about the car. It's a MCS 2002 with 48K on it. No mods, all stock.

 

First guess: gasoline contaminated with water [pour a bottle of fuel antifreeze into the next tank]

Second guess: loose spark plug wires [varify each physical connection. This means pull them, look at them, make especially sure the caps are in contact with the wire located in the center of the insulation, and re-connecting them]

Third guess: leaking spark plug wires [run the engine in the dark with the hood up. Look for fine electrical arcs, especially when revving engine]

Bonus guess: spark plug electrodes are shot. Have you ever changed the plugs?

Another bonus guess: low fuel pump pressure. Get a guage and check it.

By the way, I routinely use a 1964 Chevy pickup and a 1992 Isuzu Trooper. One has 4 times your mileage. The other has 8. The point in sharing this with you is to indicate there is no reason an auto with 48,000 miles can't be trusted. Just be sure to check all the silly stuff mentioned above.

 

I agree with the suggestions above. And if your car is out of tune, and the plugs are gummed up, it could make a difference. I generally change my plugs every 30K miles, no matter what the car. Just did my MINI, even though I only have 21K on it, and the plugs looked great. Worth checking into.