I had the 3.1 fix done yesterday on my mc. I am not pleased. It does smooth out acceleration and deceleration somewhat, but it seems slower and less get up and go. Before the fix, the car would have a burst of speed over 4k, felt like a turbo boost, it took off. Now it is smoother, but no extra kick above 4k, but it is smoother. Now although smoother, i have to give it more gas to accelerate; it seems less responsive and to lag. Finally my trip computer shows 24mpg; used to show 28-29.
I don't know if the computer needs to relearn the new program, or if bmw and sunoco have teamed together to design this fix (I will be buying more gas, if the mileage drop on my computer is accurate).

So far, I have not been pleased. I will call the dealer tomorrow. Maybe BMW will come out with an 'unfix' -- if so, I can't wait to get back to the way it was before it was fixed. Today felt like driving any other car.

Any suggestions or similar experiences?

Steve

 

My car was buit in august and is not plagued with cold starting problems.
I must say that fuel economy is bad, below 20 miles to the gallon in the city and I'm not racing the car at every corner.
I suspect the first production cars were adjusted to give good fuel economy and meet by far environment standards but failed to work properly.
Once the fuel consumption measured and established by federal authorities, the cars are tuned differently but take care for fuel economy. It is a guess but I know my car works fine but needs a lot of gas to do so.

 

My MC arrived in August, and didn't have cold start problems before the 3.1 fix. I called MINI and they haven't had any feedback on the 3.1 fix. I called the dealer and spoke to the tech who said that it was a computer update, that he didn't know much about what was changed in the fix, and there is no way to tweak it or undo it. He said the car will be relearning how I drive over the next several hundred miles, and suggested that the performance may improve. He said he had no other complaints or feedback from customers who have had the fix.

Did many others have the fix? Did you find your mileage and performance decreased. Did it improve with time after the fix? Wednesday it felt like a mini; today it drives like a honda....

Any others have feedback?

 

Here's a copy of an earlier post of mine re: the 3.1 fix...
I have nothing but good things to say about this 3.1 fix...
To address the mileage....it wasn't great before the fix and still isn't great after the fix...
I get approx 26 mpg.
Performance is incredible ..in all gears....at all rpms...

Here's the post.....
Well...here's da scoop
Showed up at 7:00AM.......and was out driving.....again...at 7:45AM.
My observations.... since my MCS is now....3.1-ified.

1. IT STARTS...1ST TIME......EVERY TIME.......so far .
I'm waiting for tomorrow morn'n to truly ....test this out...fingers & toes crossed.

2. 1st & 2nd gear....has an entirely new ...feel to it....
The hesitation is gone and has been replaced with.....
best word to describe it is.....POWER....
The thing we all like about 3rd gear... (and we all know what I'm talking about), is now a part of both 1st & 2nd gear... This is truly a special....added ...upgrade

This is all I have to report so far....
I am truly pleased with this 3.1 upgrade...
EVERYONE WITH A 2002 MCS...... MUST.......GO FOR THIS 3.1 UPGRADE!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is not an option...IT IS.......MANDATORY!!!!!!!!!

Peace,
D
Started my MCS this morn'n and I'm ecstatic to report that it started ...
1ST TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The motoring gods have heard & answered my prayers...
(& that software 3.1 upgrade didn't hurt either)

3.1 upgrade.... for a MCS 2002 is MANDATORY!!!!!!

Peace
D
_________________


_________________
2002 MCS:pure silver/black top,lapis int.,all pkgs,17"ROH rims,

 

D:
I remember your post about the 3.1, and was eagerly anticipating a big improvement. I didn't have a cold start problem before, and just a small hesitation when engine came to idle (which is still there after the fix). I was getting 30+ mpg.
Before the fix, the car was incredibly responsive- just a touch on the gas and I took off. I never needed to press the gas more than about half way. Over 4k there was an additional burst of power-- felt like a turbo boost. It was a joy to drive.

After 'the fix' the car has much less pep. Today several times I had the gas to the floor to get moving. I was driving the xpressway in 4th, where before I could easily accelerate at 70 in 5th. Also, I'm getting 23 mpg now. The car drives a little smoother after the fix; but it feels like any other car with a small 4 cylinder now.

In short, I definately don't like 'the fix'-- I'm going to call the dealer on Mon. If this fix, and 8 mpg less is better, I'm gonna give BMW an earfull. Seriously, I won't be inclined to keep the car if this is how it's going to run. The technician said that if there was a problem with the fix, the car's computer would have shown it, and the car wouldn't have started. I hope there was some other error.

As I thought about it today, several years ago I purchased a new model car. After about 3 months, there was a computer update. I got the update, and lost 3 mpg and thought the car performed worse-- I remember telling the dealer-- but it wasn't as bad as with the mini fix. I wonder if manufacturers have the cars set one way to sell them, but maybe they don't meet EPA standards, so they have a 'fix' (neuter?)after you purchase the car to bring it in line with EPA tests.

I sure know I'm gonna fuss about this-- I now have a MINI that acts like a Civic with moderate hypoglycemia, or maybe seasonal affective disorder-- I want my MINI back!!

 

DrSteven, my car was built Aug 18. It has been running great overall, no cold start problems. However I thought 1st gear was a little soft not the power I expected. It really needs some gas to get off the line. Anyway I called the tech at Motor City MINI on Friday, he did not think that the FIX would change much, their opinion was if its not broke don't fix it. So I am going to pass on it for now. Also I have been getting about 25 miles to gallon in city and I kind of have a lead foot. What happens once the programming is done anyway? It can't be undone can it? I think MINIUSA should come out with some definitive explanations to help quantifive what these updates will do. Hope you can get it corrected.

 

dr
I'm truly...sorry to hear about your ...3.1 problems...
My MCS is ....certainly more robust ....due to the fix, and now has all the power you unfortunately have lost....
I 'm sorry to say I have no answers and/or insight as to how the fix can affect ..two cars..... so completely...different.
I'm close w/ the dealer and the head tech @ Hassell Mini on Long Island , so I've give them a call Monday. Let me see if they can shed some light on this ...situation.
If you'd like to talk..... please e-mail me ..and I'll we'll try to hook up if you'd like??
Peace,
D

 

I thought the 3.1 fix is just for the MCS, not the MC?????????

 

>>DrSteven, my car was built Aug 18. It has been running great overall, no cold start problems. However I thought 1st gear was a little soft not the power I expected. It really needs some gas to get off the line. Anyway I called the tech at Motor City MINI on Friday, he did not think that the FIX would change much, their opinion was if its not broke don't fix it. So I am going to pass on it for now. Also I have been getting about 25 miles to gallon in city and I kind of have a lead foot. What happens once the programming is done anyway? It can't be undone can it? I think MINIUSA should come out with some definitive explanations to help quantifive what these updates will do. Hope you can get it corrected.

Thanks for your support. I'm glad to know you will wait on this fix until we get some clarification-- maybe it will save you being disappointed. Maybe there's some differences in performance across minis. As I mentioned, I don't think I had my gas pedal past half way before the fix. I never needed it. It was quick, and as I mentioned, once it hit 4K just took off. I hardly had it over 5500. Today I was 'lead-footed.' The car seemed sluggish-- took alot of gas and several seconds to feel acceleration. It had a little pep above 5000, but nothing like what it was before. Also, as I mentioned, my mileage was consistently at or above 30 from day one-- in combined city/hghway driving. I enjoyed peppy acceleration in city driving, and on the highway was regularly was cruising at 75-90-- so I wasn't going slowly. I don't understand why we should have this much variability from car to car.

I don't know what the fix did to my car, but it feels like the timing is retarded. The engine is slower, and noisier at idle-- it used to just purr. When I called the dealer, the service manager for MINI is out for several days due to illness (he is excellent). The fill-in didn't know anything about the 3.1, and let me speak to the tech, who said that I needed to call MINI, and also maybe wait a few hundred miles to see if it gets better. After driving today, the tech's response isn't gonna fly-- i'm pissed, but it's not my job to call MINI and find out what has happened, and I don't believe this is something that will work out in several hundred miles. I'm going to call the dealer on Mon, speak with the general manager and either get some info, or have them take the car and redo the update and check things that may be related (eg fuel pump and lines). Perhaps the update went fine, but may have surfaced something else that is not working or needs recalibrating. Maybe something was knocked out of adjustment. I can't accept that the car has 8mpg less and is running better!!
I will let you know what I find out, of course.
Thanks,
Steve

 

>>I'm truly...sorry to hear about your ...3.1 problems...
>>My MCS is ....certainly more robust ....due to the fix, and now has all the power you unfortunately have lost....
(((well, I'll tell the tech that at least I have found out who got my lost horsepower!!)))

>>I 'm sorry to say I have no answers and/or insight as to how the fix can affect ..two cars..... so completely...different.
(((Yes that puzzles me too. Increases my hunch that there was a problem in the update installation on my car, perhaps the tech installed the wrong update for my MC; or there may have been other systems that needed to be adjusted along with the update that the tech forgot, or perhaps there was a secondary problem that surfaced or resulted from the changes in the update-- or maybe the update was a joint venture between Sunoco and Honda-- cause I will need more Sunoco and have a car that acts like a Honda!!!)))
>>I'm close w/ the dealer and the head tech @ Hassell Mini on Long Island , so I've give them a call Monday. Let me see if they can shed some light on this ...situation.
(((Hey, thanks alot!! If you hear anything, feel free to email me-- or call. Since the service manager for mini in Col is out ill, I was going to call Cincinnati MINI and ask what they know and would suggest. If your dealer has ideas or would like to talk-- you/he is welcome to call me/leave message at 614 487 9338. I have a hunch that the tech missed a step in the installation (I sure hope there is a fix, fix)))

>>If you'd like to talk..... please e-mail me ..and I'll we'll try to hook up if you'd like??

((D, Again thanks for your help, Steve))
>>Peace,
>>D
>>

 

DrSteve there is a thread on first page of Beneath the Bonnet forum with additional thoughts on this issue.

 

>>I thought the 3.1 fix is just for the MCS, not the MC?????????

I thought it was for both MC and MCS-- but if you are right, that would go a LONG way toward explaining what the problem might be with my MC. It's kinda ironic, but before the fix, I had thought that is what my MC acted like (an MCS). It was so responsive, and felt like it had a turbo over 4K-- a real type A 'car-sonality'....

I'll let the group know what I find out on Mon.

Steve

 

>>DrSteve there is a thread on first page of Beneath the Bonnet forum with additional thoughts on this issue.

Thanks, I'm on it...
Steve
>>

 

>>I thought the 3.1 fix is just for the MCS, not the MC?????????

I thought it was for both MC and MCS-- but if you are right, that would go a LONG way toward explaining what the problem might be with my MC. It's kinda ironic, but before the fix, I had thought that is what my MC acted like (an MCS). It was so responsive, and felt like it had a turbo over 4K-- a real type A 'car-sonality'....

I'll let the group know what I find out on Mon.

Steve--- 'out looking for a fix'

 

I spoke to Cincinnati MINI service today (the MINI service manager in Columbus is out for the week). They said my 7 mpg drop and loss of quickness on acceleration did not sound normal. They didn't know what the problem might be, but suggested I take it back in and have it redone and checked. They said my service manager can call technical support for MINI to get additional help, if redoing the update doesn't solve the problem. They said there weren't any additional adjustments or recalibrations that needed to be done when installing the 3.1.
I sure hope they can get it back to the way it was!!!
If anyone else finds out info on problems with the 3.1, pls let me know.
Thx!

 

CD #32 performance update
Well, I am not too impressed with the software update downloaded onto my car's ECU yesterday morning. In a nutshell here is what's going on post-update:

1)Sudden idle RPM drop still happening on a cold engine. The car does not shrudder as badly as before but when the idle dropped again this morning (Ambient temperature around 67F, no humidity and crisp air)both, the "Check Engine" and "EML" warning lights came on for a about a second and then went away as soon as the idle RPM's recovered and bounced back to around 1K. Before the update, the car would threaten to quit on a cold engine but neither dash warning lights would ever light up. This is the first time ever the Check Engine and EML lights suddenly lit up when the RPM's dropped. Car ran fine after reaching normal temperature.

2) Car feels much more smoother during acceleration and braking. That "jerky" feeling or "Yo-yoing" when accelerating or letting off the gas pedal has completely gone away. Now the throttle has a more linear, natural response than ever before.

3)Car seems a bit slower off the line and takes a bit more pedal travel to get it moving off the line.

4)Idle is in my opinion rougher than before the update.

5)Idle also bounces back and forth (Between 800 to 1,100 RPM)when stopped in "D" and the A/C is on.


I am giving it a few more days to see if car "adapts" to the new engine calibration, but I am not holding my breath that these few remaining wrinkles will iron out by themselves.

Anyway, I put a call to MINIUSA this morning and the rep that I have been working with in regards to this issue has been extremely responsive and attentive to my situation. I told him about my experience after getting the software update and he told me that the engineers back at Corporate office were extremely interested and eager to see if the cold engine near stall problem had been or not addressed with yesterday's update. He compiled my comments and sent out an e-mail to the Corporate office to speed up things a bit. He said that they are currently working on it and as soon as a new software fix becomes available known to resolve this annoying problem in the MC 5 speed and CVT models, he will let me know right away (And I believe him).

I don't want to try to install any more software updates until MINIUSA gives me total assurance that the next software fix "Is it".

I am very pleased about MINIUSA's attitude and eagerness to help thruought this saga. But still I am getting a bit bummed about this problem happening on a 2 month old car with just 1,350 miles on the odo.

All I want is a car that runs smoothly and that doesn't threaten to quit on a cold engine.

I am kinda worried about the Check Engine and EML lights. These went off this morning, but like I said, before the update, they have never lighted up before
:evil: :evil:

 

Does mini want more of us to call them?? After the update, my MC is running similar to what you described-- there is idle variation between 9 and 1200, smoother but slower off line and slower acceleration at each shift, more pedal travel (less responsive), and mileage is 23 when it used to be 31+; what's worse is I didn't have a cold start problem or idle variation before the update, and I was getting almost 50% better mileage!! They may call it update, I call it uptheirs! I hope they come up with a fix-fix.

 

I got the 3.1 update on my 5-speed Cooper last week. Solved the rough idle and nearly stall problems with no apparent negative impact. If I notice anything, my dealer wants me to bring the MINI back.

 

Drstevenj, I really hope you get this worked out. It would be terrible if this persisted long enough (and the response from MINI was unsatisfactory enough) to make you actually get rid of the car.

This never seriously made me consider not buying the car, but I've never liked this whole idea of an electronic throttle, with the engine's performance and response being controlled by a computer. Perfectly designed, I could see it being great, maybe even superior, but BMW doesn't seem to have gotten this down yet, even though they've apparently had it on other cars for a while. Maybe the interface with the MINI engine has presented them with new difficulties somehow.

It's frustrating to listen to people's stories about their car's performance changing drastically for the worse, just because a technician fiddled around with some chips (or whatever it is they do). With an actual mechanical problem, you bring a car in, the techs diagnose the problem, and they're usually able to tell when it has been fixed, and when the problem has been eliminated. With this computer system, I get the impression that these guys have no idea what they're REALLY doing. It's like they're just hooking the car up to a computer, entering in commands, juggling 3.1 CDs or whatever, and when the almighty computer says the fix is complete, they call you up and give your car back. No test run, no final check, because what's the point? They don't even know what to look for! It's like every car has its own performance and driving style for some reason, and MINI uses these across-the-board CD "fixes" without knowing whether they will be improving anything or not.

Thankfully, my MINI's engine performance and responsiveness is great, although I have no idea whether my car was built before or after this enigmatic 3.1 CD fix appeared. I don't blame you for being upset about this. You've got a great car with a great engine, capable of unbelievable handling and response, and it's all screwed up by a stupid computer program! Very disappointing.