I'm finally going to sell my beloved 2002 Mini Cooper. It taught my son how to drive a stick and has been fun for me, but it doesn't get used enough to really make sense to keep....

In California, you need a smog test to sell a car. Ordinarily that isn't an issue for me. However, Murphy's Law has bitten me. I was planning on taking the car in for the smog on Monday so I spent Saturday cleaning. While doing this, I noticed that the CEL was lit, so I pulled out my OBD2 reader. It said there was a P0456 alarm which tripped 13 miles prior (I guess the car is sensing that it might be moving on and is rebelling!). The EVAP is usually the gas cap so I checked that; sure enough, the rubber seal was cracked, so I replaced the cap and reset the ECU. I wish I hadn't done that!

All of my normal tests are passing fine now, but the "Comprehensive Component Monitor" test keeps showing up as incomplete. I've put over 340 miles on the car now and I still can't get the darned thing to complete. I've tried to follow the 'drive cycle' of

1. Cold car, start engine and idle for 2:30
2. Attempt to find a place I can drive 20-30MPH for 3:15
3. Drive on freeway at 50-55MPH for 15 minutes
4. Find a place to park and idle for 5 minutes

The problem with that is.... Driving 20-30MPH for 3:15 is really freakin hard! I keep hitting stop lights. On average, it takes me about 4 attempts before I get the time in. So, question #1 is.... Does that invalidate the test? If you literally have to start/idle/drive without abortive attempts, then that is near impossible.... Driving the 55MHP on the freeway is pretty easy, but it takes me a little while to get to the freeway. So, question #2 is... Does driving on city streets (stop signs, lights, etc) to get to the freeway invalidate the freeway test?.... And that gets me the final idle. I can't coast to a stop on an offramp or some driver behind me will kill me... So I exit the offramp, find a safe place to stop (another 2-3 minutes of city driving) and then perform the final test. Question #3 is.... Does this extra driving invalidate the freeway testing?

For the life of me, I don't know how I ever could have met the criteria of a perfect 'drive cycle' as it has been laid out, and yet I've never noticed a CCM issue before. I've seen that an engine that doesn't reach 200 degree F can be an issue, but I've seen 205 on my car, so that isn't it. And I've been religious about keeping under 60MPH and 3000RPM. But that also means that I've been very timid with the acceleration and such. Other drive cycles for cars seem to imply that you should accelerate normally, etc.

I've called numerous dealers and shops to find out if there is any way to tell *what* part of the test hasn't completed. Most don't even know what a CCM test is, which is discouraging..... I did notice on a NJ BAR website that there is apparently a byte of information for which each bit represents a separate test. If you look at that byte, you can see the tests that haven't been completed, but that is the only place I've ever seen that has mentioned some information about the CCM (and it was not specific to a Mini, by the way). And, of course, I don't have any information on how to retrieve that mythical byte.... Finally, others have also told me that the CCM is a continuous test and the drive cycle is largely unimportant.

So, the question is... Does anyone here really know what the CCM is testing? If so, can you please let me know? And does anyone here know the fastest way to actually complete the test? I know my car is complaining about being sold, but at this point she may end up at the junkyard if I cannot resolve this problem. I'd hate to see that happen, but CA is friggin rigid about the requirement for ALL tests to pass.

*ANY* help is appreciated!

 

So, you have no codes? Just not all monitors set?

 

I had the same problem on my 2004 and I had to complete the "drive cycle" 3-4 times before it finally reset. Here's what's listed for my 2004:

For a 2004 Mini Cooper drive cycle to complete emissions monitors, start with a cold soak, then accelerate to 20-30 mph for 3 minutes and 15 seconds, followed by 40-60 mph for 15 minutes, decelerate, and idle for 5 minutes.

Here's another blurb I found: "Make sure your starts and stops include a minimum of 5 min of key off time for the ECU to reset, and at least 2 or more of both cold and warm starts."

Good luck.

 

Thanks cooper48.... I'm wondering though. Do you know how rigid a drive cycle really is? It isn't realistic for me to be able to decelerate down from 60MPH, for instance, and then just stop for 15 minutes. If I were on a track, that would be easy. But I'd be coming off a freeway offramp or expressway. I need to find a safe place to park

 

It seems like Murphy has a funny sense of humor. I was pulling my hair out so I posted here to determine if I was missing something critical..... And then, on my next drive.... Voila! The Mini decided it was time to let me pass her to a new owner, and the CCM completed. I drove to the smog station immediately, and there was NO line! That was surreal. I now have a freshly minted smog cert.

What is really interesting is that on this last drive, I largely gave up trying to baby the car through a drive cycle. I just "drove" it..... Anyhow, thanks to cooper48 for the thoughts and anyone else that may have wanted to post something but didn't have any new suggestion. It is all appreciated.