Today I was taking a pretty sharp turn at a good speed, in fact maybe too good a speed . Anyways when I hit the middle of the turn the power in the Mini seemed as if it just shut down. I was literally coasting thru the latter half of the turn because there was no power or shall I say no continued acceleration. At first I thought the engine had just gone dead during the turn. But I could still hear the engine and everything else was functional. I was in 4th or 5th gear at the time of the turn and the acceleration via the pedal going dead. I hit pedal to the floor and nothing at all, just air and space. No power, no RPM’s, no MPH, nothing .

Anyways I just coasted over to the curb, put my foot on the brake, shifted over to D... Then lo and behold everything was fine and back to normal. It really scared me though because if I had of had someone right upon me making the turn as fast as I was making it. No doubt I’d be reporting a just got rear-ended post instead of just a loss of acceleration power post. Anyone know what might have happened? This isn’t how DSC works by shutting down the power to accelerate is it? I don't think it is but I'm just trying to figure out what happened.

 

Yikes! I can assure you that is not the way DSC is supposed to (or had worked) for me...

Did you notice any lights on in dashboard at any time? I dunno if service can help you, but just in case you threw a code or anything they can track I'd take it in ASAP to get the issue addressed and at least on record.

 

Make sure you have enough fuel in the tank. A good long sweeper can sometimes cause the fuel to slosh to one side of the tank, starving the engine of fuel. Keep at least a quarter tank for fun in the curves. :smile:

 

The traction control part of DSC can / will reduce engine power if it sees too much wheel spin - you normally experience this when hard accelerating from a standstill but it is possible that you triggered an engine power cutback because of excessive sliding.

The DSC part (the "step up" from ASC+T) uses brakes to try and control the slide through a curve - this would be less likely to reduce engine power.

Finally, since you mention "D" assume you are driving the auto box: the auto box is designed to not shift during a DSC / ASC+T event, to avoid making things worse. Perhaps you had some combined slippage / engine power reduction / too-high-gear due to the auto being unable to shift and bring back power after DSC reduced engine speed.

All the above is "educated guessing"


Remember of course that "you canna' change the laws of physics" - DSC can only do so much. When/if you do lose control of the MINI, you will REALLY lose it!

 

My guess is that it was not your DSC that kicked in, but another feature of Anti-lock brakes called "Corner Braking Control" which kicks in if you brake heavily during a turn (never a great idea, by the way).

It applies more braking to the inside wheel(s) and is part of standard MINI ABS (so it can't be shut off like your DSC can).

The best illustration of the way CBC works is the way you can turn a shopping cart by stepping on the rear wheel on the side you want to turn.

 

Really? The MINI has this feature? That sounds like a Mercedes thing!

 

Yes it has it...along with EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution). I like how the ads call it alphabet brakes. ABS, CBC, EBD (Standard), and ASC/DSC (optional). Lots of acronyms...reminds me of work.

 

Bluezone:

You know, I was just thinkin': Maybe your MINI was just being "bad" and needed a "time out"? Maybe it was like playing too wildly too close to the coffee table?

 

You might also want to check tire pressure. I don't experience this as much in the MINI, but I know that a few BMW's I've driven react like this (or weirder) when tire pressures differ or are low.

 

Yes, all MINI's have standard four-channel ABS, which incorporates:
ABS
CBC (Corner Brake Control)
EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution)
MSR (Engine Torque Control)

DSC also performs all the functions of ASC+T. ASC and DSC can be shut off by their toggle switch, but all ABS and sub-functions of ABS always remain active.

 

Wrong! All US Spec Coopers DO NOT have ASC+T as standard equipment, in fact is not even offered!. DSC is available as an extra cost option.

All US Spec Cooper S have ASC+T Standard and DSC optional.

ASC+T and Xenon lights are standard on Canadian spec MC and MCS.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks guys your views on what may have happened. Minis really have a lot of underlined features. It can get kind of confusing sometimes on what does what and why in a real driving situation.

 

You're right, and I corrected my original post...

 

I noticed when AutoXing with the DSC off, that coming out of some sharp turns and hitting the throttle that my engine didn't produce the full amount of power. It was as if some hidden controller decided it didn't want me to have full power even though I was no longer in the turn. Whatever it was, I couldn't disable it. I assume that the traction control part of the DSC stays engaged if it detects some kind of wheel slippage even if the braking part of the program is shut off. Anyone else notice this kind of "Big Brother" interference?

 

Just yank all that crap and add a carb! Ha Ha Ha