So my 08 Cooper S is giving me issues yet again, this started about a week or so ago, I took it to one local mechanic and then to Healix in Philly and no one was able to ID the issues.

The car starts and stalls immediately, if I start it and give it some gas then it stays on. This morning it did the same thing and after giving it some gas it seemed fine, i took off and it started sputtering (for lack of better word?) while driving.

I thought it might be the HPFP but Healix doesn't seem to think so.
Any thoughts?

 

Videos are private. Are you getting a check engine? Have you read the codes?

 

Yup...no vids...
Helix is pretty good at identifying stuff....
Check you oil level... And smell it...just a hunch..
Some diesel motors can do something kinda similar when an injector starts to "stream"...
Usually results in lots of the fuel ending up in the oil....reving it helps to burn the fuel and smooths it out for a bit...only have heard of ONE mini doing it on here, but direct injection in direct injection...

 

Whoops! Sorry I just changed the privacy on the video

 

Yes, check engine light is on.

First shop didn't have the machine to read the MINI codes, so I took it to Healix, there were 4 different codes but what I was told was that these particular codes could be anything, in other words the codes themselves didn't narrow the issue out.

 

Is it fine once it's warmed up? When was the last time the valves were cleaned?

 

For the past few days it was fine after i finally got it to start up and stay on, but today even after it seems fine and i take off, it starts popping, gurgling etc.

I had the walnut blast done about 2 years ago.

 

You should really find what codes you're getting. That idle sounds exactly like my car when the HPFP died.

 

HPFP did that to me.

 

Just got an oil change three days ago and having similar problems, albiet not as severe. I like the gurgling and popping sounds like a 2012. I'm also not stalling, just not idling consistently. Advice?

 

EXACT same thing my 2011 R56S was doing when my HPFP was on it's way out. New one (still under warranty---barely) fixed the issues.

 

I'm not a big car guy, but I was told some of them were random misfires in the cylinders, I asked if it was the fuel pump, was told no because if it was it would throw code for the fuel pump.

If it is the fuel pump, I am out of warranty at 130k miles, has anyone paid out of pocket to have this done?

 

I think it's a relatively straight forward DIY too, fyi. Haven't done it myself though.

 

LOL I would probably cause more damage than good. I'm hoping for the best. I've put so much money into this car, its getting tiring. I'm almost tempted to just go trade it in.

 

I have a question for everyone who had this happening. Did your car sound the same? Because on some extremely cold mornings I will get the rpm drop and almost die. I have to feed the gas to keep it running well. It'll sputter a little bit too. But when this is happening to my car, it doesn't sound like the OP's car does. A follow up question to the OP, is the sound I am hearing your exhaust? Or is it from the front near the HPFP? The noise is just really throwing me off. Plus I don't get the warning lights when it happens, but I have an '07 and the don't throw lights when they should like '08 and up.

 

Hold on a second, Chris. You called to come in that day for a quick scan of codes. We read the codes, which was for multiple misfires, and said that you needed further diagnosis, and we set an appointment.

"I took it to one local mechanic and then to Healix in Philly and no one was able to ID the issues."

^This^ implies that we were unable to diagnose the problem, which is not the case. We just couldn't work on your car at that moment.

 

In all fairness to helix, that should have been stated from the OP. Those guys are actually the premier facility in these parts. If all they did was scan and no further diagnosis. That's not hardly finding out what's wrong. Just cause you read a code and there nothing there or there's loads of misfires doesn't mean the couldn't fix the car. Anybody that has a scanner can do that much.

 

It's not uncommon to have multiple misfiring as an early symptom of a HPFP failure without specific codes, the next step should be to measure both fuel pumps separately and see if there in specs at cold start-up. my 2 cents

What is that noise when you're dipping below 1000 RPMs?

 

Another vote for HPFP. Mine didn't throw a code until the end, when it wouldn't even start. Before that it was just hard to start first thing.

 

Yes, it sounds the same. You get a very unsteady idle and a pop and burble sound. It almost sounds like a car with heavily overlapping racing cams idling. The noise is from the exhaust. The HPFP won't make any noises.

Your problem sounds different. Maybe carbon?

 

Hey guys, sorry I work nights and I'm just reading this, and to be honest the day I posted this I had about 3 hrs of sleep. Yes, codes were read at healix and was told it could be a number of things and they'd need it longer. I brought it back on Monday eve and they had it for early morning g work which confirmed it was the hpfp, on my way to picking it up.

My post was in no way bashing or shedding negative light on Healix.. I went there for a reason!

 

I thought so last year, so I walnut shell blasted my intake valves. Same issue this year.

 

How many miles are on your MCS? I'm just under 60,000 and no signs of a HPFP going bad except for a rare event where I'm at a light and it feels like one cylinder fires late almost causing a stall. Never had a problem at cold start up.

 

My Cooper has 132K, but that's kind of how it started