I just recently purchased a used 2005 mini cooper (automatic transmission). It passed both a safety and emissions test on Aug 22nd /2008. I picked it up from the used car dealer on the 23rd. I noticed a slight but obvious jerk on slow accelleration from a stopped position. I thought that it may not have been driven for a while and that it would simply work itself out. I guess I was wrong. It seems to happen everytime (from a stopped position), and in either forward or reverse. It jerks about 2-3x and then as I pick-up speed the car runs smoothly. At city and highway speeds the car seems to drive wonderful. It just seems to have problems from a stopped position.

Any ideas on what may be going on here (spark plugs, fuel pump, electronics, transmission, etc.)? It's Sunday today and I don't have access to any professional help. I plan to find a local mechanic that specializes in European cars to take a look at the car sometime this coming week. The car is still under warranty (one year) but I'm 2 hrs from a mini / BMW dealer.

The other thing I noticed was that the service indicator icon / light was on. I figured out how to work the diagnostic computer and my oil change indicator read -12,000k. I think the oil change reading past due is likely why my service indicator is lite. I was not to happy about this! I was hoping that someone simply forgot to reset the indicator. I called the mechanic who did the safety and he said that they checked the oil levels but never changed the oil. I won't really know whether the oil has been changed until I see a mechanic next week. Maybe they can tell by the filter, oil chemistry, etc.? I did a carfax report before I purchased the car and it said the last recorded BMW service was at 35K. After that there was no service history, other than the change in ownership. My current reading is 61K, so it's possible that an oil change has not been done. However, the oil does seem to be topped off? The dealer should have fixed this before letting me drive away, and I should have been a little more educated on the mini's before driving away myself. I was relying on the mechanic to have checked all this for me. I should have required it to be taken to a BMW mechanic rather than a regular mechanic?

Thanks in advance for any insight / help you may be able to provide.

Other than the above few problems I'm really happy with the mini (Metallic Gold, black top, black leather, premium package, sunroof, well maintained interior & exterior, etc.).

Cheers

 

--Hey there Spirit, congrats on your "new" MINI.
I own a 2005 MCSA and it did have some acceleration issues at first. A lot of it was fixed when the dealer did a software update in 2007. If your car hasn't been serviced in 25k miles then it's likely that it didn't get last years update.

I would ask the dealer if the software on the ECU is up to date.

As you may have noticed driving a MINI takes a little finesse. You can't drive it like you would a japanese compact car. For instance if you are stopped at a turn and you accelerate hard the MINI will buck and complain. You'll experience some power fluctuations from the engine that are basically dynamic stability control cutting off power to the wheels because it is noticing wheel slippage. This creates a little bit of yo-yo jerky motion until you finish turning and also stop flooring the accelerator.

My auto also experiences some ugly shifting behavior between 15 to 20 mph when it is between 3rd and 2nd gear. If I am moving in that speed range and I am slowing down the transmission will painfully shift into second gear which feels like some one rear ended me.

That last issue really bothers me. Now that I have moved away from Hawaii I'm hoping one of the dealers on the east coast will help me resolve this issue.

Hope this helps.

 

"The car is still under warranty (one year) but I'm 2 hrs from a mini / BMW dealer."

Is that the MINI USA warranty? If so get it to the dealer, spend a few hundred to have the oil change and other updates done right. If the trans is in need to work they will know. A few hundred now may save you $1000's later.

 

Thanks Pyratio! That was really helpful. I will definitely take the car to a dealer ASAP.

AutoX, my warranty is Canadian (4yrs / 80K). I will be calling the dealer Monday. Like you said, I'd much rather spend a little now than a lot $$$$ later. I just live in a small town and I'm not a big fan of driving up to the city through all the traffic, etc..

Just finished detailing the car inside and out. I was not sure if I'd like the Gold but now I think it looks really good.

Thanks again for all your help, much appreciated!