Hey y'all, I've got a strange situation I cannot quite figure out on my own. I have a 2012 Mini (base) that recently started acting up. We just got tons of snow with wind chills in the negatives where I live, and I had trouble starting my Mini today. It struggled to start a few times, just continuously cranking, but not turning over. Eventually, I got it to start, and it would run fine.

Also, my fuel gauge, both times I got it to start today, was reading significantly lower than my actual fuel level. As I drove, my fuel level kept reading higher. So, I took my scan tool and got a few codes:

P3202: Powertrain CAN, CAN Chip Cut-Off
P144B: Fuel Level/Fuel Consumption Correlation
2F52: Engine oil pressure control, static
3091: PT-CAN Communication Failure
275F: DFES DTCM.DFC FSTRnpl C - fuel fill level sensor
9C75: Over/Undervoltage
9C6C: 12V Supply stepper motor/reference switch

Along with a few other voltage codes and such. Am I looking at a battery issue, HPFP, fuel sensor, or something else? TIA

 

James, I think you suspicion of a battery issue would be a good place to start. Extreme cold temperatures can cause problems with batteries, and computers don't like under or over voltage conditions. I'd start with testing the battery CCA against what the battery label says it's supposed to be, and then check the battery voltage. Some testers can even check your charging system, but you can do that with a multimeter. Since we don't know if the faults you've listed are currently active or in history (not currently active faults), I'd perform a full system scan, clear all the DTCs and see what comes back. I wonder if you had some water in the fuel tank that froze and cause problems with indication and fuel delivery. I believe there is a product called Heat that you can add to your fuel tank to get rid of any water that may have accumulated. Remember fuels with ethanol will draw moisture out of the air that's in the tank and that moisture will settle in the bottom of the tank. If that water freezes, you'll have all sorts of problems.

 

These cars rely heavily on correct battery voltage. A low or dying battery can cause all sorts of unrelated issues. I would get a new battery, reset all codes, and see if anything comes back.

 

Okay, perfect, thank you so much! I'm away at college right now, so I don't have all my nice tools with me, so I'll run over to an auto store today and have them test my battery. I'll update y'all on what ends up happening.

As for the fuel, shortly before this storm, I had put maybe $20 in from a station I had never been to. Could that have been my cause? I just want to avoid this in the future.

Again, thank you so much!

 

As for the fuel, shortly before this storm, I had put maybe $20 in from a station I had never been to. Could that have been my cause? I just want to avoid this in the future.

Again, thank you so much![/QUOTE]

Yes; always use a Top Tier fuel in your MINI!

 

Perfect, lesson learned! Thank you for the info, I just found some Top Tier stations near me, so I'll be relying on them!

 

How old is the battery?

 

Replaced the battery and dumped a bottle of HEET in the fuel tank (many thanks to mkov), and she is back like nothing happened! The battery was almost 8 years old (BMW branded), so it was definitely time for a replacement. All is well now, so thanks to y'all for helping me!