My my...good to see that this thread has started to die down a bit. Perhaps its a function of the weather warming too. Anyways...I was surfing the mini site, and found a nice little accessory that mini should give us for all our troubles....

http://accessories.mini.com/internet...Path%3D/COM/en

That remote starter looks awesome...how nice would it be start your car in the cold with your cell phone.

 

About a week and a half ago, my 5-day old 2009 Clubman S had the exact same symptoms as mentioned in this thread:

* Temp had dropped a few degrees below freezing while car parked for several hours
* Took 2 or 3 attempts to start
* Reduced power enigne light came on
* Engine ran rough and rpm was erratic
* After driving a short distance and restarting, engine ran fine but check engine light stayed on

* I also notice a very strong sulphur odor from the exhaust

Took it into my dealer and they took two days to fix it; I also sent them the posts re the new manifold mentioned on this thread. In the end they replaced the fuel pump stating that it was only putting out 3.5 bar instead of the rated 5 bar, and they could fully reproduce the problem at will. So far so good, but the temp has warmed up here (Canadian West Coast).

They also said that BMW would not replace the manifold unless the car was in one of the known problematic cold regions of Canada or the US! That it is only a certain humidity and cold that causes it, such as Edmonton and the East US coast.

I'm not agreeing with that, and think that it's B.S. that I (we) have to wait until we're stranded somewhere in the freezing cold until BMW will provide the fix....What happens if I decide to take a roadtrip to Edmonton next January?

So far my car is ok; new fuel pump starts the car up everytime. I'll have to see what next winter brings, but there could be more than one cause to this problem (I hope). I'm not totaly impressed with BMW for not updating a car that they know can not be driven everywhere in this country...it could be a safety issue if I'm stranded with my two young sons in sub-zero weather in the middle of nowhere...so I'm thinking of taking it up with Transport Canada...

 

dvhone,

I really really agree with your last paragraph above. I'm also not nuts about coming out of work late and having this happen. The car did start both times this happened to me, but the low power meant that I could barely get up the smallest of hills.

When I took in my MINI for this problem last week, I also told my MINI service person about this thread and the video of the problem on YouTube and sent him links. He pretty much disregarded them, saying they'd do "whatever the car told them to do" (the stored error code in the computer). So much for "mechanics", eh? I asked, when I picked up the car why MINI didn't just recall the cars for this problem, as it's apparently been an issue since 2007. He said it's an "intermittent problem" that is "just now showing up" and "not very frequently". What BS.

I suppose all I can recommend is what I am going to do: see how it is next winter. Here in CT, it's warming up and my MINI only had the issue when the temp got below 20 degrees F. My MINI will still be under warranty next winter so we'll see if the problem recurs. *shrug*

 

I am sure seeing a lot of fuel pump replacements on this thread. Are there more out there? I had the original throttle body jam , but then later had the high pressure fuel pump low pressure problem (there are two fuel pumps). Related? Unfortunately they ended up having to fix the fuel gauge(s) twice after the pump replacement as they didn't tidy up the wiring harness well enough.

 

Update:

The car did not have any further starting issues this winter after the replacement of the PCV valve.

However, the fuel consumption with the new PCV valve installed increased by 25%.

This problem, along with many other problems I and other members here have experienced, led me to say goodbye to the Mini and return to a Japanese brand.

Good luck to all the other owners who keep soldiering on with their Minis. You are braver than I.

 

Can someone define the PCV valve for us ignorant folks?

 

Certainly no expert at this address, but PCV in my experience is Positive Crankcase Ventilation, and refers to a valve that sends crankcase gases into the combustion cycle somehow, to prevent their escaping into the atmosphere.

Anybody around who can verify or correct that?

 

^ Thanks, olds!

 

I call shenanigans on the fuel consumption post. There has been no difference with my gas mileage since the new PCV valve was installed.

 

I've traded the car away so I can't take pictures of the fuel consumption reading, but after the new PCV the computer was showing 8.5-8.7 l/100km in city driving for a MCa. I was consistently in the low 7s l/100km before the PCV was changed.

 

Just wonderful! My wife's MCS with less than 500 miles on it, and we've only had it 1 week as of yesterday....had this light come on this morning. The dealer is 100 miles away, and we are taking her Mini down to show it off to her family (100 miles in the other direction) this weekend. Now, now she's afraid to drive it. ARGH.....I am NOT NOT NOT happy. I'm going to pick up her car later today from her at work and see if the problem has cleared itself up or not.

Trouble code was P3091 which no one seems to know what the heck that means :-(

Update: Car just left on a rollback en route to Cincy...... *sigh*

Update: Cincy called this morning and said the error code is a problem with the fuel pump. They're replacing it now, and we hope that's the only problem...

FIXED: Ok, the fuel pump had a crack in one of the veins...they measured it's output and there was NO CHANGE in output from 3000 to 5500 RPM......OUCH! Anyhow, car is now being hauled back to our house :-)

 

^ Best wishes that all is fixed!!!!

 

So did MINI pay for a rental while yours was out of commission?

 

Oh yeah. Mini called and had the rollback truck haul the car to Cincy and back to the house (thus no extra miles put on it). And they also called the local enterprise office and had them come pick me up and paid for all of that. They were VERY nice about it all the way around :-). Oh, and we drove the car on a little trip this weekend, put about 300 miles on it since the fix and it drives great, no problems since.

 

good to hear a first-hand report of the Roadside assistance plan!

 

it might be unrelated but my Cooper did something kinda similar once or twice even in warm weather
Engine was revving up and down and rattlely,switched it off,waited few seconds,then started it and it was perfect???
Then the other day when it was warm,came back to car,started it and it started revving up and down again only this time the yellow 'engine' symbol light came on!
Switched it off,started it again and again it didnt started
Took it to the dealer who checked the fault memory and told me that they dont know what is it

 

Am I the only one to experience this problem in the summer? I posted on this in a separate thread which I hope will be deleted once I found this one. Its 105+ degrees in texas here. I drove it in pretty heavy traffic (35 min) to the driving range, hit some *****, and drove it a few miles until a traffic light. At green, the engine almost stalls out trying to get going and can't go over 15 mph or so and I narrowly death pulling over to a parking lot while watching CEL and the half power warning. We'll see what the dealer says tomorrow. The tow truck driver had a hard time driving the car up the bed though I could drive it around the lot at low speeds.

 

I read this thread from the very first, and it is just not a cold weather problem. Temps here have been in the 90's and I had this happen two weeks ago. Problem is that dealership is four hour drive away. They picked it up on a flatbed, but would not rent me a vehicle here. I had to get a friend to drive me four hours to get a "loaner". He drove his car back four hours and I drove the loaner back four hours. I've had to be out of state for the last week. They kept the car checked low coolant ..... could find no problem. Changed the oil and filter. Replaced the "comfort access" auto door handle on the driver's side because it was malfunctioning.

Bottom line ...... they checked everything about the engine warning light and the missing engine. Said that two injectors were not letting two cylinders fire, and the problem was caused in GERMANY! Said the gasoline was put in there and that the vehicle was stored on the lot causing fuel deposit buildup and injector problems. I DO NOT BUY THIS, AS MY CAR HAS 28,000 MILES ON IT! They told me to add injector cleaner to the gas every three thousand miles.

Only good news is that a new Mini dealership has opened as of yesterday only a twenty minute drive away. My impression is that they are not sure what is causing this problem that happens in cold and hot weather. At least a dealer is now closer if I have more problems.

 

Update. Dealer claims bad high pressure fuel pump. More oddly, they claim that it was out of gas even though 4 bars were lit when the tow truck took it away and I had put 250 miles on since the last fill up (I reset trip meter every fillup).

Update 2. Got the car back. So far so good... I missed my MINI but my confidence in it is quite broken.

 

First post on the forum. This might be bad luck.

I was driving home today and got a audible ding and the yellow CEL came on. Pulled over, called dealership. Scheduled appt for next tuesday(6 days out, ouch).

They said it was ok to drive home. Noticed that I have no high end power. Feels like the Turbo is out of commission. I hear a "breathy" noise when I let off the accelerator. This is during shifts or just letting off the accelerator.

It is about 90 degrees outside. So, cold weather related? Not.

I'm crossing my fingers. The car is only 1 1/2 weeks old and has 770 miles on it.

Dennis

 

So being damn cold this past weekend. It happened again to my car (I have had the new manifold installed last winter). So I brought it up to mini so they could check it out while the code was still on.
Here is what the reliable service guy told me.
There was alot of air in my coolant lines and my coolant was low, but no exhaust fumes in the coolant lines. If it happens again, it could be the thermostat and/or the high pressure fuel pump. Also, this past week or so, MINI has released another new manifold but totally different design, that can be available for me.

I was very happy to hear this from him. He also thanked me for coming right up to the service dept. and tell them about my problem, while the car was still running. He mentioned that if it ever happens again, try to come up to MINI asap so he can check the codes before the car gets shut off.

Good luck ppl.

Scott.

 

... to see what effect the cold weather has for this season, now that I'm beyond the 50,000 mile point with my '07 S.

Late last December I arrived at my train stop about 9 PM one night, it was 0°F & the car Would Not Run.

Had to have it transported to the service dealership. (Not where I bought it; they'd been most unhelpful when this problem first surfaced back in February of 2008. ) Back in a few days later for the same problem. During January & February it was in the shop for 5 weeks while the techs tried to suss out the problem.

Severe carbon build-up inside the cylinders was diagnosed, and the carbon (let's hope!) was removed before the head was remounted. I was told of the "new" intake manifold but I wasn't able to have one fitted as they were "unavailable" at that time & I was never called back in for a retrofit.

So far this season it's been above 20°F here in Chicago but colder air is due in before the weekend so time will tell....

I have a third-part extended warranty up to 100,000 miles, just in case.

 

First occurrence yesterday for my Feb. build '09 MCS - parked at work for 10 hours at -14C to -19C. Upon starting at -14C the light immediately came on, idle bounced from 900 - 1300 rpm, exhaust burping sound when revs drop each time. Decided to try driving it, was not an easy task, and going uphill only first gear was useable for a very low speed. I did shut down the engine after 25 minutes of driving (to see if warming up it up while driving would clear the issue), waited 10 seconds, re-started and everything was running fine. The two days prior the car sat for the same duration at temps. colder by 5 - 8 degrees, no problem.
I was hoping my car would not have this affliction, as I have already had the chain tensioner replaced for the rattle noise, and frankly I am not convinced MINI have a grasp on a definitive repair for either defect.
It's a shame really, as the car is such a great blend of power, economy, handling, and styling...

 

... for me also on more than one occurrence: give it a bit of time to warm up, then shut it off &n wait a few minutes before restarting.

Nothing that consistently works though, so try it but don't be surprised to find the problem remains.

About the last thing the techs did on mine last winter when it'd been in the shop for a month was to replace the fuel pump. (They'd also fitted an updated valve/cam cover & associated improved breather assembly but in testing that alone didn't help.) Since then the problem hasn't manifested itself again.

Sat all night in the driveway last night. 30°F when I went to bed, -3°F when I got out to start it for my morning run to the train. (So far, so good.)

We'll see if this holds up when I get back to it later this afternoon after a cold-soaking 10 hours in the parking lot @ <7°F all day (it IS sunny though!).

 

yeah sitting there with the car idling wildly is tons of fun (sadly I have been there and done that)

Once the engine warms up enough the throttle valve will thaw/unfreeze... but you have to restart the car in order for it to function properly again because it is electronically controlled (thanks drive by wire! )...