It hasn't been long but so far the new intake manifold seams to be working. Haven't had the problem starting the car in sub 20 degree weather. Still starts a bit rough but after warming up for 5-10 minutes everything sounds fine. Lets hope it stays that way...

 

so first 0 degree day (Fahrenheit)and this problem came back

 

I picked up my car on Dec 12. This is the 3rd time that I have started it in the morning with the rough idling, yellow check engine light and car goes into limp mode. First visit BMW Toronto replaced battery??? Second visit they cleaned the throttle valve and now it is in the shop again. I am very concerned since they do not seem to know what is going on and they are not admitting that this is a widespread issue. Therefore brand new 09's are still having this same issue. I love the car but I wish I had known that it is not meant to be driven in cold weather

 

Happened to me for the second time today. Parked in the garage that got down to about 14 over night and drove ~.5 hour to work, mostly highway. It was -1 when I parked and when I came out around 10 hours later it stalled the first time I started and then I got the lovely engine light of doom the second time, though it was running fine. The light went away after a few seconds, there was no rough idle or anything, and I drove home normally.
Pretty ridiculous for a car like this to have this problem, especially if you think back to all those cool spy photos from cold weather testing.

 

I am just about to have a new heated throttle body put in my cooper S.... Has anyone had this possible fix? did it work? I would definitely be curious. If it doesn't, I will have to start seriously shopping around.

Thanks.

 

Heated? is this the new thing that Mini is trying out now?

 

Well it looks like my "09 MCS can be added to the problem list. I had exactly what was described by many in this thread last night when I was leaving work. The car was parked outside all day with temps in the mid teens. When I went to start the car there was erratic idoling and the engine light came on immediately and the car went into "limp" mode. The odd part of this is this is nothing different from what I have been doing for the past 3 months. The car is kept in the garage at home overnight and 17 mile commute to work where the car sits in a parking lot outside. This is the first problem. Why now???

I called MINI roadside assistance which is deserving of another thread in and of itself! Two hours later the tow truck driver finally called me!

Fortunately I was able to speak with the SA (while waiting for mini roadside assistance to call me back) and he told me that as long as the engine light wasn't red it was okay to drive it. I let the car sit for about 15 minutes and the idol finally steadied and the main light went out but the engine light in the speedo stayed on yellow. They told me to bring it in this morning to be evaluated.

I brought it in to Mini of Pittsburgh and spoke with the SA. He explained that it is a well documented problem and that there is not a permanent fix by MINI usa but he explained that with the first documentation they will change the oil and clean/dry the throttle body and valve as well as a few other small things...forgot the specifics on what they are. He also claims that they have only ever had one MINI which has come back a 2nd time after the first "fix" (although he said many other dealers have had multiple returns). There is a standard which MINI usa is following with this problem and eventually they will put an entire new throttle body in the car if the problem persists.

The good news for me is that I have 3000 miles on my car and wanted to get it in for an early oil change to get rid of the metal shavings from the break in period and have not had a chance. It was also going to cost me approx. $90 to get it done. Since this problem has occurred, it looks like I'll be getting my oil change for free and they gave me a ride to work and will be dropping the car off to me later on today...hoping to view this as making lemonade out of lemons for now.

Reported the problem about MINI roadside assistance to the SA and he said that this is a common complaint and supposedly MINI usa is working on the poor response times as well. Overall I was very pleased with MINI of Pitt professionalism and frank, open replies and explanations.

Hopefully this resolves the problem but with the sounds of what everyone here is experiencing, I'm not counting on it.

 

Hey 09CooperS,

I am not sure where you are in the GTA but try Mini Vaughan West, they took care of my problem, new throttle body and drain.

 

ADD ME TO THE LIST! GRRRR! My MINI did this to me last night after work. I just posted this in New England MINI's page.

Is there something I should do now? My MINI dealer isn't near and not convenient (nor friendly!) so if I can get by without getting it checked, that'd be nice.

Here's the post I put on the other MINI board:

Hi, Everyone.

I have a question on the following:

I have an 2009 Mini Cooper S that I got in Nov. 2008.

It's been pretty cold here in CT and yesterday in Middlesex County where I work (on a windy hill, so wind chill comes into play) it could very well have been around zero or below. I was running late to work and didn't top off my gas tank or add gas line antifreeze ("dry gas"). I was down to three lit up "candy corns" on the gas gauge. I came out of work, about 10 hrs later and the car started, but it was very erratic, surging and stumbling and seeming like it was about to stall. I raced the engine a bit and it seemed smoother at higher rpms, but nearly stalled at idle. I got the warning chime and yellow-lit warning symbol where the digital speedometer is above the steering wheel and later found that it was was the symbol for "full engine power not available; you can continue your journey but use caution and have the engine serviced when you can". Long story short, I tried to drive home and could barely get up one hill (no power to the car). I stopped at the gas station, filled up, and added a bottle of dry gas. I started the car. NO warning chime this time and the warning symbol flashed for a moment and then went off. The car seemed fine on the way home. I stopped at a store very close to my home and afterward the car started with no warning chime or symbol and seems fine now.

My question is: is it possible I was getting the start of some frost/freezing in the gas lines to cause this? Has anyone else experienced this?

Thanks, as always, for the help, advice, and expertise!

 

when do we file a class action law suite?

 

Hi Bettehead - Yes this is the same problem we are all having! Not a gas line problem but more than likely a throttle valve freezing problem.No fix yet - the only way to clear 'limp mode' symptoms is to let engine warm up for a while , shut engine off - start again - if it hasn't cleared then run it a while longer shut down and start again ( repeat as necessary until you get proper idle ). There is no set cold temperature level that this happens.
I would definitely get in touch with the dealer and let them know exactly what has happened- make sure they have some record of the problem- keep on them! This is something that has to be fixed! I really can't believe that this is happening to a 2009 Mini when this problem has been ongoing since 07. Keep checking on this forum for updates.

 

Thanks to all for the advice.

I did just email my MINI service department. Ugh. I really hate to go an hour to them to deal with this, but it seems it's only going to keep happening. It's so discouraging! I got a new job and my commute got longer, so I got the MINI because my other car is my beloved 21 year old Nissan which I didn't want to run into the ground. Now it seems the MINI won't be my "cold weather car" after all!

 

My car has been in for service since Dec 18 for this problem. I just heard from service today that a second beta of the new intake manifold is being tested on two cars here, and seems to be working. Once confirmed, Mini is planning to produce 250 unit batches, and send them out. No eta on that, though. I figure that they are waiting for spring....

I am still looking at my option to have the car bought back by mini. Anyone in Canada have success at a return for this problem?

 

^BIB,

When you say they're beta testing a new manifold, do you think they'll issue a recall for this problem, or simply wait for customers to call up their dealerships upset that their brand new MINIs are conking out??

 

I'm in

 

Just to clarify: does this happen only with the Cooper S or with the base Cooper, too? Just wondering.

 

The approach seems to be to wait for a problem and then fix it - remember that a large % of the cars are not sold in cold climates. IMHO the new manifold should be required on all northern cars sold.

 

Add my '09 Clubman S to the list. It was 10 degrees yesterday and had the same symptoms and explanations as kellypgh. My car was outside. My dealer also changed the oil, but not the filter. I'm on the list to get the updated parts when they come in....

 

From just the contents of this thread, you'd think the parts would be on-hand and ready to go! Why must they even order them? Why aren't they in stock in the dealerships that have cold winters? Makes no sense to me.

Also, I ask again: does this only affect S models or base models as well? Just wondering.

 

I get the impression that they are still testing the new intake (the second redesign) and that that mini has not confirmed it works. Until it works, they will not cast more.

I only have the S, so I can't confirm that the base is also affected. In one conversation with the SA he said that the base was also suffering the problem - but I am not certain that the intake is the same.

 

^ Thanks, BinB.

I hope I can get mine cleared up soon. It's very disappointing to have this happen with a car with 2,000 miles on it.

 

This sounds optimistic. Keeping the fingers crossed on the beta intake. I know this sounds contrary to what is rational....but hopefully the cold weather lingers long enough to test this redesign.

 

...or if you are in the east end, try MINI Durham. They've been completely upfront with me about this issue. Although I positively HATE the freezing cold temps we've been having this winter (spring can't come fast enough), I'd love to return to -15C for a week or two, just so I can see if my newly installed intake manifold fixes anything.

 

My intake manifold was changed in the first week of January. Things were looking good for a couple of weeks, but the same problem happened yesterday. No power.

I am writing a notice of final repair to the BMW corporate office in NJ. Under Massachusetts Lemon Law, failure to repair a new vehicle of a significant defect after 3 attempts (this will be my 3rd) or greater than 15 business days affords the consumer a cash refund or acceptable replacement vehicle if the vehicle is less than 1 year old and under 15,000 miles. Granted, I have 21k, but this is a problem that would not have presented itself until wintertime, regardless of how many miles are on it.

 

I contacted my MINI service guy and he said not to bother taking it in, that there may/may not be a "history" of the event in the computer. He said if it recurs or if the light either stays on constantly or flashes, that I should take it in asap. *shrug* Of course, it's 41 degrees now! It hasn't been as cold as the day the event happened, so like NeO, I'm also hoping for at least a day or so of cold weather so we can all see how our MINIs perform.

Oh, and the service guy did say he's seen a bunch of MINIs act this way. He would not attribute a cause to it. He actually said it could be the ethanol added to gas routinely at gas stations. Huh? How would alcohol increase the presence of condensation? That made no sense to me. I always buy 93 octane, but avoiding gas with added ethanol is hard to do.