Hello. I have a 2004 Cooper S with 167,000 miles.

On cold starts, after the car has sat overnight, the car doesn’t start on the first try. The engine cranks and the starter spins but it sputters half on and then turns off. I have to turn the key again and it starts right up. Any idea what may cause this?

The issue doesn’t happen for the rest of the day. After the car has sat a few hours, the engine starts up albeit a little slowly sometimes.

The weather is warm currently but I fear for colder months. It seems to be temperature dependent as anything under 80 degrees causes this. The two days we had 80+, the car started on the first try with effort. I have changed the battery but have yet to do plugs and wires.

Thank you for any info.

Might want to do a compression test... or check fuel pump.
Piston rings may be worn causing hard starts when cold due to low compression or a fuel injector or pump might be failing causing the fuel system to take longer to re pressurize..
try priming the fuel pump a few times befor starting it by turning key all way forward but not starring. You should gear the fuel pump prime which will be a buzzing sound for 15sec or so then stop..do that a few times and try starting it , if it helps its fir sure a fuel related issue..
Any cel codes pressnt ?

There’s a bunch of old threads on this issue. It seems to be very common with some minis over the years and may have to do with fuel blends.

Thank you so much for your response. I do have to prime the fuel pump a few times for it to turn over on cold starts. The buzzing sound doesn’t last for 15 seconds tho more like 5 but I do wait longer. How long does it take to prime?

It seems like a fuel related issue. There are no CEL/SES/EML codes present.

Thank you! I have searched but have not found any related to my issue yet surprisingly. If you can find one, please link.

This one detailed a bunch of different issues and has several links throughout.