Was accelerating last night and at about 4500 RPM the engine simply stopped accelerating and there was absolutely no power. The RPMs dropped down to idle no matter where the throttle was. The Check Engine, DSC, and the EML or whatever lights all came on. I had to pull over and shut it off. When I turned it back on, everything seemed fine. It did it again, so I shut down again. Third time, I accelerated real easy and shifted early so I could get home (had the baby in back and didn't want to get stranded). I'm going to take it in today. Its got 1200 miles on it. Any ideas? It's also been stalling once in a while lately.

Thanks....

 

Is it a CVT?

 

Manual.

 

Were you driving through high standing water? I drove through water and had the same problem, only once though. They said I probably got the O2 sensor wet.
interesting....

 

No water....standing air only. Took it in this morning. They said there's a recall on the strut bushings also.....FYI.

 

Just heard back from the dealership. They said they need to replace a wiring harness and they don't have it in stock, so they'll need the car for a few days. However, they couldn't reproduce the problem. I guess the code from the Check Engine light was enough to pinpoint the problem.

 

Yeah, for what it's worth, this has been a commonly reported problem (mostly on Coopers...I don't think I've read about it with MCSs) with some part of the canbus (sp?)...which is basically what stands as the "wiring harness" in a MINI. At least they didn't try to tell you it had something to do with the strut bushings.

 

jsun's right. Definately cannabis related.

 

>>jsun's right. Definately cannabis related.

hahahhaaa.

 

As soon as I read your post I thought "wiring harness!" Had mine replaced a few months ago.

 

My car is supposed to be done tonight (Tuesday). Seems excessive to be there almost a week for this fix. I'm not very happy. The excuse was that there are not many Mini technicians qualified to replace a wiring harness at Irvine Mini in SoCal. I'm also angry that I couldn't get a loaner car.

It sucks that an $19K car with 1200 miles has to be in the shop for almost a week. My $80 Porsche is more complicated and what little service it needed was done promptly without a headache like this. Maybe I should have bought something else :evil:

 

I had the exact same problem with my 2006 MCS manual yesterday. It is at the dealer now. If someone has any current info I would appreciate it. Otherwise, I will post the diagnosis when I get it.

 

I got my MCS back today. They replaced the throttle valve which according to them was getting stuck in the open position. So far everything seems OK. Will let you know if I have any further problems.

 

I had a similar thing happen last night on my 05 MCS/JCW, but it was coming right off a traffic light. I had just launched, and the thing basically shut down. It recovered a second or so later, no check engine or EML light. Since then, it seems slightly less neck snapping in its acceleration.

I've had the car for less than a week, there are 7300 miles on it, and as far as I know it has never been serviced. Does that sound familiar to anyone?

 

Maybe you should have.

 

because it isn't as common as you seem to imply.

 

that was in 2003 when he made the statement.

 

Wet, snow or anything causing traction loss souncs like DSC kicking in, but that would flash a light while it was active.

 

I've now had this happen twice on my 03 MCS. About a month ago, I was on the freeway in 6th, put my foot down and the car went into limp-home mode with the SES light on. I pulled over, stopped the engine, restarted it and had no more problems. After about 2 or 3 days, the SES light went off.
Sunday night, coming back from LA, I was in 6th, going downhill, put my foot down to pass a baby SUV and the same thing happened. I pulled over, stopped and re-started the engine, and had no more problems on the rest of the trip home.
I have an appointment on Wed to get the code read at Desert MINI. I will update details when I get them.