Hi all,

I recently bought a 2004 MCS and I absolutely love it! However, a couple of weeks ago a couple of problems arose:
1. sometimes form a cold start, it won't fire up on the first turn of the key - it just dies.
2. occasionally at traffic lights it gets that engine stumble (feels like it's going to stall but TOUCH WOOD hasn't stalled yet).

i've been reading through posts and have noticed that many mini owners have had similar issues with their MCS. "causes" seem to vary from octane level in the gas, dodgy "summer gas", a lack of ECU upgrades etc. However, i haven't seen too many recent posts (i.e. 2006). My questions are:
1. are people still encountering these problems?
2. are their any cures on the horizon (upgrades etc)
3. what can i do in the interim (should i make sure i have current upgrades/change fuel type)

FYI - i spoke with my MINI service guy in atlanta and he told me that a lot of people are trading their mini's in due to these problems and he also thinks that BMW will be doing a recall soon to get these problems sorted out (obviously, he thinks i should wait it it out)

i'd greatly appreciate any help.
thanks!
murph

 

If you started seeing this recently, you may well be suffering from "summer gas" issues.
For GBMINI, using Sunoco 91 instead of anybodys 93 resolved the issue permanently (see http://www.gbmini.net/mtblog/archive...ld_start.shtml).
If you can't get that, you could try alternating half tanks of 89 and 93

 

Out of convenience I've been using Sunoco 91. On another thread, I learned that Sunoco was not on BMW's list of top-tier gas vendors. Does this bother you? (I'm trying to decide if I'm bothered.)

 

Hey there,

I have a 04 MCS also - I have the latest ECU flash from BMW - and my car still does these things once in a while.

The stubbleing at take off only happens with the AC on in my car. The motor has 0 torque below 1000 RPM - if I take off with 1100-1200 RPM - no problems. OR with the AC off, it runs great all the time and I can take off at 600 RPM with no problems.

I just adjust the way I drive untill BMW has a good fix:impatient - it's not a big deal to me. The car runs great 99.9% of the time and has never left me walking.

 

get new spark plugs installed ... worth a try

 

I still run V31 on the ECU of my '03 MCS. Won't let them update it under any circumstances. The original and still the best. Never a problem with stumble, yo-yo or what have you.

 

I'll buy your V31 !!!!

...Les

 

Doesn't bother me.
See the GBMINI weblog entry - last year GBMINI got "sick" when summer fuel came along; I switched to Sunoco 91 and immediately got an improvement.
For an experiment I tried a different brand of 93 one time - even just pulling out of the gas station after filling, the car was obviously less happy (took longer to start).
The next tank was back to Sunoco 91 and instantly GBMINI was happy again. So I stay with Sunoco 91 (unless I have an emergency empty tank situation!)

 

Whats a Sunoco?

 

Sunoco

 

I get he rumble when idling at lights too. maybe once a month or so. The tach reads fine so it's not about to die, but it does shake a bit. My GF's MC does the same thing too. so I guess it's a fairly common problem.

 

I had mine at Classic the other week and asked about "the fix" for this problem. The service guy says it should be out soon. Uh huh. However, I did not take him up on his offer to sell me a bridge either.

...Les

 

I often mix 89 and 93 @ 50/50 and this works fine. Or I just deal with the cold start and do the early morning 'double-tap' to get 'er started up. A few minutes of warm up and she runs fine all day... I like to think I am waiting for the next 'stage' to be clear, and I am warming up the beast

If you are focused on having every last hp available all the time, then deal with the cold start issues. If you'd rather a smooth running engine, just step down in the octane range, and you'll be fine. The MINI ECU has a knock sensor, so it won't blow up, you'll just have less power available at full throttle.

RM2k5

 

I got the JCW upgrade to avoid this problem

Another suggestion I've seen around the cold start issue is to turn the key to position 2, and while the chirping is going fasten your seatbelt and get situated, then start the car. That little bit of wait seems to help.

 

I hava an '04 also. I get te balky start up also, but only rarely. Seems more likely to happen on cooler mornings. I have not experienced what you are referring to at idle.

 

The last few mornings here in CO have been below freezing and I notice my 05 MCS is having difficulty starting. Must be the cold mornings combined with the summer gas mixture becuase I rarely have this problem. Last time this happened I just topped off the tank with 89 octane to mix in with the 91 and that seemed to help. I think this problem is endemic to BMWs and their tempermental Siemens ECUs. Jimbo

 

My 03 MCS did this since brand new. It seemed that one of the software updates fixed the problem. But now my new 06 (700 miles at that point) did it a few times last week. Is the lower octane fuel really better for this problem? What about power, does the 91 give you less seat of the pants or fuel economy than 93?

 

I have an '04 MCS and is does the same thing. It does it only in the spring and summer so I guess it's the gas. I've told the dealer about the problem the last two times it was in, they upgrade the program but it still does it. On the receipt it says BMW is aware of the problem . Anyhow, I've waited for it to stall and it never does. It mostly does the stalling thing when I'm waiting at a drive-through some where.

My '04 is trouble free otherwise so I just live with it's little starting/stall problems .