My 2012 Countryman S All4 is doing the same thing, with the same code. Highway speeds and put it under a load, like going up an incline where you have to push on the accelerator but not enough to downshift, and the half-engine malfunction light pops up and it goes into limp mode, right?
Mine was diagnosed as the wastegate not closing fully, resulting in a loss of boost and the codes being thrown at me.
I had been trying for a few months to diagnose the problem.
The solution: Just ordered an upgraded turbo from JMTC. You will need to replace your turbo most likely.
They diagnosed mine by running it down the freeway hooked up to their computer to read boost pressure and saw it wasn’t where it was supposed to be, and it threw the code on them as well. Then they inspected the wastegate with a borescope and saw it is not closing fully under vacuum.
It sounds like you are having the exact same issue. If it’s not a 2011 you won’t be covered under the warranty extension, I’m going through that battle as we speak. I finally said screw it, and decided to fix it myself ASAP, so I ordered a replacement today.
That really sucks, I definitely feel for you, it’s an expensive fix. The dealership wants over $3500 to do the repair. I just ordered a JCW type turbo, all the install parts, and a couple of other things as well, and am still way under half of what the dealership wants to charge. If you are able, you can save $ by doing it yourself.
I don’t know about yours but mine is an automatic. Here’s what to do in the meantime until you get it fixed: I have just been manually downshifting a gear before an incline that I think (or know from experience) will trigger the code and limp mode. Just downshift before you need to give it more gas, and you won’t throw the code, rpm and boost go up and the ECU thinks all is well. It’s a half measure for sure, but it may save your sanity until you can fix it.
If you like, I’ll let you know how it went doing mine myself, I’ll probably try to do it next weekend, if everything arrives by then.
Good luck

No issues as far as ordering it went. I placed the order on Saturday, they sent me a tracking number the same day, it is supposed to be here on Wednesday. They say that their JM40/JCW turbo will fit right on a Cooper S and will work with stock components, although to get the full benefit of its potential, they recommend a tune and a few minor mods. I’m doing some of the mods with the turbo, like the charge pipes and I already have a good intake. I will put on a hi-flow DP when I get a tune.... but who knows when (or if) I’ll actually ever get around to that, lol.
I’m going to wait and see how it does just with what I’m putting on it first.
Arric at JMTurbo Coopers was really prompt about returning emails and answering the questions that I had. So far a top notch experience.

Do you have a boost gauge to see what the new turbo is doing? A misfire above 3000 rpm could also be caused by too much boost. It’s an issue I had right after the replacement. I had to adjust the wastegate a little bit to dial it in. Just a thought if you can’t figure it out. When I put my foot in it, it bucked and misfired, and threw a cyl 3 misfire code. Was just simply pushing too much boost.

I just installed a JM40 on my ‘12, the the intake fits as is, with the spacer in place. Although the JCW compressor is 40mm the turbo inlet is the same size as the factory 37mm unit. The factory JCW turbo does have a larger inlet bore though.

Good deal, glad to hear that’s all it was!
yeah, that one is different I’m sure, lol. As far as I know, on the JM40 they still use the factory MCS turbo sized housing but with the 40mm compressor inside.

Same here...same symptoms....same fix

There is the service position that will move the front radiator support bracket and almost everything else out almost 3” to make more room to work. It’s worh learning how to do, once you’ve done it, it’s very easy to do.
Another thing to try sanity-wise. When I was still trying to figure mine out, it went into limp-mode so often under a load just like you. But it usually happened on the freeway or highway on inclines. I kind of learned where it was likely to do it, and started manually (automatic trans) downshifting before the hill. If you drop a gear and raise the rpms a bit, the ECU expects to see a different boost level, which will change with the engine speed and load. Try it, it just might help you stay sane until it’s taken care of.
Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Darksideblues42 you said you got the JMTC S42mm turbo, correct? How do you like it? And what boost psi are you running at? Do you have a tune?
Sorry for the barrage of questions, but I’m just curious. I’m quite happy with the JM40. It was making too much boost when I first installed it. I had to adjust the wastegate a bit to get it down to where the ECU wasn’t fighting it. I’m not sure how much, but when I put my foot in it, I hit the boost/fuel cut-off and went right into limp mode! Lol. So over 25 I think it is. Right now I’ve got it turned down so I’m maxing out at about 17.5 psi, and the car is much happier. But it’s just on the factory ECU settings. I’m getting a tune from MarioKart in a few weeks.

Yeah, sort of like that.... sorry.... I’ll go sit in my corner again. ;-)
Well, that’s about all I’ve got. Sounds like you know what to look for. Just a thought, did you monitor or log the boost pressure when it was driving? I ask because I thought my wastegate looked like it was closing fine, but when I watched a boost gauge (just an app on my phone and $10 dongle from Amazon) I wasn’t hitting anywhere near the normal boost level, and as soon as it would hit about 6 psi it would start to head backs down, because it couldn’t build or hold enough pressure. Where it went into limp-mode it was expecting boost and getting none. It would barely stop pulling vacuum under those circumstances. Now in the same places and situations when I apply just slight increase in throttle, it jumps right up to 13 psi and just pulls like it never did. You might have done this already, but it may be another idea for trying to diagnose it. Just a thought, anyway good luck! Keep us informed on how it’s going.

Holy cow! You really did tear it down! I’ll bet it gave you all kinds of room though. I kinda wish I had done that, probably wouldn’t have taken as long with small turns at a time on the wrenches, lol. That probably made things easier.
Ok, so we are both pretty close right now to the same number. anything more and the car wasn’t happy. That’s a bummer about the tune. Mario just told me this morning in an answer about the pop and burbles that I asked, told me that it still only does it in sport, but will probably do it a bit more than now when turned on. As he put it, I’ll be able to be stealth around town and a public nuisance when I want to, lol.
But I totally see it from your side, and it’s not worth the risk. What a dumb law.

that’s funny, I’m not really thrilled with the little bit of lag I get between the car and the gauge using DashCmd. I was thinking of trying to see if I can just monitor it with my Schwaben as well!

My only issue is that I’m getting a real brief quick whislte not when the DV dumps but when the wastegate is relieving pressure. it’s just a real short little tea kettle type whistle. At a certain lower rpm it does it I think I may have a small leak in my intake tube. Sounds (from inside the car) like that’s what it is coming from. That’s where it dumps to, so...... The factory replacement is not cheap. I’d rather by an aftermarket one, but the ones I’ve seen don’t have a spot for the pvc or egr or whatever that is that plugs into the smaller tube coming off of it, or for the electrical connector. But the one that’s on there is a little bit torn up on the end and at the hose clamp (thanks Seattle MINI!) So for now, I went and got some carb cleaner to find the leak, and some epoxy and fix-it tape....lol....so I’m cheap! Ha ha..... going for the temporary fix for now!

Haven’t checked out the leak yet, but I did go out and play around with The Schwaben for a few. You can live stream data and log it too. You can customize what ones you want, like coolant temp (handy) and MAP pressure, as well as pressure after the throttle body and vacuum before. The only issue is that it reads in hectopascals (hPa) and the conversion is too much math to do in my head, especially when I’m driving, lol.
The google tells me that 1 hPa = 0.015 psi.
It can be done but it will take more brain power than I can sacrifice while driving.
Sooooo..... I have been checking out boost gauges, wow! By the time you buy a decent gauge, the adapter for the MAP sensor to add a vacuum port for it, and some way to mount the gauge.... you are beyond what it costs to just buy a scangauge 2. So I’m thinking I’ll probably just go ahead and order one of those up in the next few weeks or so. It seems like a better option, because it offeres multiple gauges and can do some other things as well.
Anybody have any other options they know about? I’m trying to figure this out. The Dash Commander app works pretty well actually. I’ve got it set so I can watch boost, coolant temp, intake/ambient air temp, MAP/MAF, and oil temp.
Really not too shabby for a free app and $10 dongle.
I just would like something a little more permanent that won’t kill my phone battery.

Wow, so I may need to replace that sooner than later, lol. I checked it out, and the pipe was torn under the hose clamp, like halfway around the thing. There was a good 1/8” gap there!
Hopefully my temporary fix will hold for a bit, until I figure out what way I’m going to go. Maybe a CAI? Who knows! Lol.
A bunch of epoxy and some pressure tape for good measure. Seems ok for now.https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...3804fcc0ea.jpg
UPDATE: Well it seems to be pretty solid again now, but did nothing for the noise. I think I may possibly just be getting a little bit of the classic turbo whistle....not really sure because this is the first car I’ve owned with a turbo, and it didn’t make it before the swap, but that doesn’t mean much because I wasn’t making full boost before. And there are some different parts on there now like the DP and IC-pipe....hard to say, gauge doesn’t show any loss of boost pressure and the performance is great. Guess I just whistle now, lol.

It sure is Light Coffee :-) yeah, mine was pulling like crazy! Still is, but after talking with MarioKart I adjusted it back more, down to the factory levels, because I’d be way overboosting when I get my tune if I don’t. Still pulls like mad though. The cool thing is that even at factory PSI level, you and I (you more than me with that 42) will still make more power than stock. Even at the same PSI, a bigger compressor on the turbo will move a larger volume of air. Still pulls great, but a bit less than when I had 17psi.

No way! With the 42 on there? Damn! Hopefully it was just a fluke of some sort? Have you checked the boost controller or whatever it’s called?i think it’s somewhere under the intake manifold maybe? I’ll have to look into it to remember correctly. Wow what a PITA! I’m anxious to hear what you discover. Good luck man, we both went through kind of the same thing with our turbo’s, so I definitely feel for you. Keep me updated please. Good hunting!

On a side note, I got Mario up here about a week and a half ago, so we met up and he did a stage 3 RPM tune on my Duncan. Holy crap! Completely different animal now! I thought it pulled after the turbo upgrade..... now I’m pushing around 22.5 PSI @ 5k and i can’t even put it into words! Just makes me giggle like a schoolgirl, lol. And the increase in boost along with adding a GFB DV+ has almost completely eliminated that funky hooting noise I was trying to locate. Very happy with the combo of the turbo and tune! When I did the turbo upgrade, I had absolutely no intention of getting a tune for a long while if ever. Then was only thinking stage 1. But a few phone calls with Mario and deciding that with the money I saved on labor, I could do the DP and tune and still come out less than just having the turbo replacement done at the shop. So a little self justification and I was on the phone with Mario. By the time we hung up an hour later.... I was getting stage 3 lmao! Made sense though, because of the turbo change and what not. And I thought about it afterwards and everyone I see who gets a stage 1 or 2 almost immediately starts talking about working towards the next stage up... so I’m just ahead of the game, ha ha! Did you get tuned?? Maybe that might help all the upgrades play well together? Just a thought. Keep us posted!
the other reason I’m asking about a tune is also why I turned my boost down to factory levels before the tune. I was looking at it kind of like a tuner box does... more boost = more power.... but more boost on stock map means even leaner AFR’s and pulled timing, or knock (yikes) so I didn’t wa t to increase the boost without adjusting other parameters with a remap to try to keep the motor happy and not grenade it! Lol

Jeez, what a PITA! I’m not sure at this point. That turbo is still a K03 isn’t it? Or is it a K04? How quick and at what rpm does it spool up? The only thing tha is coming to mind right at the moment, is that maybe the bigger turbo just doesn’t spool quite as quickly as the smaller factory one, and it’s expecting some boost under load that is just not there yet. Just an idea. Does it only do it under load, like trying to accelerate on the highway or go up a hill......again? Does downshifting before acclelerating keep it from happening? And finally...... I’m sure you would know already, but is there a chance that the turbo is faulty? You are making plenty of boost so I doubt it, but I’m just throwing crap out there to see what sticks, so to speak. Hmmmm.... maybe it’s something simple like just a little wastegate adjustment? We can hope. Good luck buddy, let me know what happens or if anything sounds plausible.

Edit: After thinking about it for a few, I’m thinking that spooling up probably isn’t the issue. I believe Mario had this same turbo on his R60 until just the other day, and I know a few others who have it and aren’t having the issue. That said, I believe they are all running a tune with it though. So maybe? I’m installing one for someone else this coming weekend, I’ll maybe have a better feel for it then, since mine is only 40mm. But that Countryman is tuned too. Sheesh.... that’s a real head scratcher ..... I’ll keep the hamster wheel in my skull going and see if I can think of anything else.

Wow.... I don’t know, but honestly, it sounds a lot like the wastegate symptoms that had us both replacing our turbos to begin with. How frustrating for you. My guess is that you are making boost, so probably not the problem but worth checking to eliminate it from the discussion. Can you check it with a vacuum pump? Are you losing any boost? Or does it hold strong? Maybe the issue is as simple as changing parameters with a tune, I don’t know. I guess I would double check the turbo and wastegate for proper function and adjustment on the wg. Then maybe the boost control solenoid?

Just wondering if you ever solved your low boost code issue? I’m hoping so. I installed Mariokart’s old 42mm turbo on a R60 a while back, and although it does spool a little later, it’s really not much. I liked it though! Got me thinking about going bigger, lol. A friend of mine just bought a CMS and they got that dang code last night. We’ll see how that one turns out, lol.
Hope all is now good to go.

Sorry buddy, I don’t think I’m much help, the new turbo fixed it for me.
From the sounds of it, you just about replaced everything but the turbo. That’s probably where your problem has been all along. But it’s a tough one to figure out sometimes. Mine was finally diagnosed when I gave up and took it to a mechanic who then drove it hooked up to their computer and logged everything. Maybe you could use torque or dash command or some other way to monitor boost and drive it while watching what it does. Under load the ECU will call for a certain amount of boost to match, if it doesn’t see as much as it called for, it throws the code and limp mode. If you can see what it’s doing you may be able to tell what’s going on.
untuned going down the freeway, going up an incline when you tip your foot in just a bit to maintain speed, I was seeing it hit 10psi boost targets with hardly any throttle increase. If you are not seeing a decent amount of pressure under a load condition like that, you need a new turbo. The wastegate can be adjusted correctly and look like it’s sealing, even if it isn’t. Mine looked good visually and with a vacuum pump actuating it was good too. But it was toast just the same.
Try watching you boost levels for a bit, it may help you figure this out. Normal boost pressure on these is right about 11psi max with brief overboost up to about 15psi.
Good luck, I know that it’s frustrating! Hang in there. It took about 6 months to figure mine out, and that includes paying a couple of different mechanics too! Let us know how it goes and what kind of numbers you get