Hey gang. My 2013 JCW N18 with 96000 miles, never given me any problems (2nd owner and had it since 48K miles) I’m driving down the road and suddenly an Icon pops up on dash showing an engine symbol that’s half orange. Power died and had to go to the side of the road. Waited a minute, then it cranked and did fine. Next day, same thing but it cut off twice and then finally on the third day wouldn’t crank at all. Took it to a bmw/min shop. It threw codes for high pressure fuel pump and O2 sensor. They replaced those. They test drove it and it stranded them and they had to tow it and then they replaced low pressure fuel pump. So after I paid $2700 for those 3 items, I drove it for 2 days and then the same darn thing happened. Towed it back to them, and they said code thrown was High Pressure sensor for another $800. All good now, right!?! 2 more days it’s fine, then exact same thing happens again. I was able, after letting it sit in a random parking lot overnight, drive it with the normal “engine light” glowing, to the shop and leave it. They’ve been out of town and will be back tomorrow to find my JCW back in their lot again. So firstly, does it sound as though they are fixing the correct issues? Does anyone have the same experience with this engine that could shoot me a little guidance? I don’t have this kind of money to just keep having them replace stuff and hope it hits and fixes it at some point. I’m seriously considering selling it because my family can’t afford these catastrophic repairs. We love this car, largely because it’s been issue-free and I know it’s getting up there, but…I can’t pay BMW tax bracket repair costs. I’m a pretty handy guy, but deep engine trouble is over my head. Any help would be extremely appreciated! Thanks everyone!

 

It's a crime that many mechanics throw parts at cars rather than doing thoughtful diagnostics. You may want to consider filing a lawsuit in small claims court.

 

When my mini did this i discovered it was the fuel pump relay located on the circuit board. I took it apart and repaired it by simply soldering the pins of that fuel pump relay back on to the circuit board.

This is an easy repair but you'll need to know how to solder and you'll have to remove the circuit board out of the car. To do this repair you'll need to seperate the circuit boards, there are 2 sandwiched ttogether. I may still have pictures of this repair but there are several online guides on how to do it.

 

Frustrating, for sure. If you have any mechanical ability, and want to keep the car around, I would suggest investing in a BMW / Mini code scanner. Then, at least you will be able to see what codes are being stored for any issues you have, and won't have to rely on a shop to diagnose. The biggest issue with keeping these cars on the road is that when things go wrong and you have to pay a mechanic, the bills rack up quick! If you can read the codes at home and perform even basic troubleshooting, you'll be in a better place to keep the car on the road.

This scanner is common on the forums:
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben...599sch01a~scf/

Once you get the codes, plug them in here for diagnostics:
https://bmwfault.codes/

 

Thanks, man! I saw where ECS Tuning sells a "Genuine Mini" replacement fuse box for $519 I think it was. Since I'm assuming you have to remove the fuse box to be able to solder the board, was it difficult to remove it and then reinstall the fuse box? I can solder, but might be worth it to me to just replace the fuse box, so other issues don't rise up with it. Like there not being power sent to the cigarette lighter, which I would like to use as a charging port.

 

Thanks very much for the advice and the links! I'm actually thinking that I'd like to get it back running and then sell it. Unfortunately can't seem to find the time to work on the car, and being a teacher and having 2 kids in college, funds are not there either. Loved the car until this happened but seeing more and more they aren't as reliable as I thought 5 years ago when we got it.
Thanks again!

 

The fuse box is real easy to remove. A few wires and bolt if i recall correctly. The entire job is probably easier than replacing anything else in the mini. You shouldn't need a new fuse assembly because your fuel relay is the focus. I also recommend replacing the relay itself which I purchased on digikey.com. it was around 9 dollars so I ordered 2. When I did the repair it was obvious the relay solder joints came apart due to heat. I could see that the relay pin was disconnected from the Printed circuit board.

 

Thanks much for your reply floodhound! You mentioned you might have photos - if that's something you can scare up without trouble, it would help me figure out which relay is the culprit, but I'll dig around on the Net if not, so no worries if they're buried on a cloud somewhere.
Thanks again!