So, '12 All4, 30k miles. Automatic. I'm getting a weird misfire when in the low end of the gear, mostly on hills. They have replaced a plug once, and after two dealerships, it seems that the consensous is bad gas. Saying the only codes are knock sensors.

I get 90% of my fuel frōm Wawa, Royal Farms, Sheetz, 711. Not oil company gas stations. They are blaming that these cheap stations buy crap gas.....i believe this.

My lease is up soon so I'm at my wits end. Is this a thing???? Why IS this an issue? 1000s of people get gas at the same place everyday, and it seems not to be a common thing, but this is the only thing they suggest....go to another gas station????

What's the deal? There arr too many threads about misfiring, so it's a LOT to go through.

 

It's a really easy thing to test. Next time fill up with top tier premium, 93 octane if available, try to recreate the problem.

What octane gas are you using?

 

I agree. You should try gas from a large corporation. Also, if you aren't buying premium that's a problem. I know the sales people say 89 octane is okay, but I haven't bought anything under 91 octane (I live in Cali) for years, even with my normally aspirated cars. To me, saving $2 per 10 gallons (on average) isn't worth the gamble. Imagine eating food near expiration date just to save $2 per week. Feed your car the good stuff

 

Well, just got back from picking her up. They said the computer read knocking on all 4 cylinders, clean plugs, and working coils. Got a nice speech from both of the service guys about this. Yes, apparently I shouldn't have been getting gas from the places that are EVERYWHERE (and have awesome food and selection of stuff to stop for)...but only top-tier 91. I was told that mid-grade is fine as well, so for the last 3 damn years, I've been using mid-grade at apparently crap places.

This is, well....news and shock to me. Never had a problem with anything before...but of course, I've never had a turbo'ed engine before. So my life has been wrong this entire time. ARRRRRGGGG!!!

Well...now I know. I'm guessing this will fix it. it just sucks because there are no local oil company gas stations close to me, or anywhere near my normal travel paths. The question is now, to keep the Mini post-lease date, or get something that can run any fuel, like my Fit Then again, I wonder what happens if I put top tier into that!!!

 

My owner's manual specifically states top tier not sure about yours.

The cost savings (~$50 to $100) on medium grade to premium is minimal over the coarse of a year. It's a good idea to use premium for high compression turbocharged cars.

You might try the stations you have been going to but select the premium over the medium and see how it performs.

 

I go premium fuel at all times in this car. We do the same in my wife's car too, except on long road trips, where I'll cheat a little, and put in a tank of mid-grade, or even regular (my mechanic told me he did that, too).

These little 1.6L turbo engines are so "tuned", I don't want to mess with potential costly repairs later. I get my gas from RaceTrack (southwest franchiser?), QT, and Costco.

I've never had a knocking problem.

Gas is so insanely cheap right now, it seems like premium costs 50% less than what basic regular cost a year ago.

 

Non-top tier gas should not make your car knock. Are you using 87 octane gas?

 

According to the manual.
Recommended gasoline grades
AKI 91
John Cooper Works AKI 93
Minimum AKI 89

Top tier gas is recommended by the manual but not using it should not make it knock. A low octane will make it knock.
"If drivability problems are encountered, we recommend switching to a high quality gasoline brand and a higher octane for a few tankfuls. To avoid harmful engine deposits, it is highly recommend to purchase gasoline from BP or Top Tier Retailers. Failure to comply with these recommendations may results in a need for unscheduled maintenance."

It is my understanding that top tiers provide detergents in their gas...to minimize carbon buildup due to the design of the direct injector engine exhaust. I figure paying a few cents more per gallon prevents a $800 carbon service.

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers/

 

Like my Integra, you won't feel a difference from running premium fuel. It'll run cleaner and better, but you won't notice. I still use premium on a almost dead stock car. The Mini, however, needs 91 or higher.

I can't imagine which moron in the factory said it would be a good idea to recommend 89 for an engine with 10.5:1 compression AND a turbocharger. Even turbo cars with 8.5:1 compression require premium fuel!

If I were ending my lease now I'd get a 2016 HT S. But that's me

 

I will occasionally fill up and the non-petroleum places like the grocery stores out here where I have a discount card and I'm due to get .10 , .20 , etc.. off per gallon but I always get the premium grade. That's more the exception than therule for me though... The rest of the time, I will use the more typical gas stations like Shell, Valero, Phillips 66, Conoco, etc... Even when I fill up at the grocery store stations, after the tank get's to half empty, I will top it off with premium gas from a petroleum based gas station.

I'm not referring to the OP with this comment, - I can't really understand people who act like the difference in cost between premium and the lower grades is such a drastic cost factor... At the last gas station I was at, the difference was about 20 cents from the cheapest to premium... It's a dollar or two each fill up. I can skip a pop and a candy bar a month and make that difference up. I get it that times are tough for some, but if that's the case and that buck or two a month is THAT problematic for you, then you prolly shouldn't be driving a MINI in the first place.

I know there are countless articles and reports out there claiming that you can use the cheapest grade and it makes no difference, but not in the MINI. Like another poster mentioned on here, It's a high compression - turbo-charged engine.... It requires the premium fuel. In my old Honda Accord and Honda Element, I could run the cheap stuff and just get a knock, but no performance drop... This motor is different.

It's not a high performance luxury car like a Mercedes or BMW, but it is a higher end car that is tuned to have better performance than the typical car of it's size.

I would add that if it's a matter of convenience, you could also pick up some bottles of octane boost and add them in before you fill up at the cheaper gas stations.