The car should still qualify under the used car lemon law since I bought the car in 09 and the issue occured for the first time within the 1st 18 months of ownership. In California, used cars are covered as long as they are still under original warranty and the problem started within 18 months of purchasing the car. I'll have to do more research to see how many repairs is considered a "reasonable" number of attempts to fix the problem. I wish they could just fix the rough idle/carbon build up problem! I really don't want to go through the lemon law but this is totally unacceptable for a car with only 38k miles.

 

Adding to the thread: about two weeks ago my engine light came on (09 mini clubman s with 22k miles) so I took it in. Was running fine tho. They said code called for replacement of the HP fuel pump which they did under warranty. Week later light came on again and i took it back. car still running fine. code says carbon build up. It's at the dealer now and they say they are going to clean off the carbon. Asked me about what gas I use, how i drive, and recommend shell, italian tune up, and dealer carbon cleaner.

 

David,
As we know, what gas or additives do not get in contact with the valves, so this dealer is an idiot.

 

My 2009 Clubman S has consistently run great, has 25,000 miles on it, but recently my yellow engine light came on. First they replaced the high pressure fueld pump. Fine for a week then yellow engine light came on again. Then they said it was misfiring and serviced for carbon build up. Fine for 2 weeks. Now engine light has come on again. Again, it's been running fine, no cold start problems, no breakdown, no noticeable misfiring, etc. I've looked through the threads and in all cases the replacement of the fuel pump or the computer diagnosis of misfiring due to carbon buildup has noticeably affected performance. The computer does not seem to suggest the catalytic converter. Any thoughts, ideas?

 

I would think twice about bringing my Mini to that dealer for service

 

Any updates for this problem? Anyone know if the 2011 have this problem?

 

hopefully there wont be anymore problems with carbon build-up

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=244114

 

Just traded my '07 S today.

After 6 weeks' research (liked Ford's C-Max Hybrid a lot but after the 1st-year-build issues w/ my S I'm not gonna go there! 'Cides it's more money...) and nearly a month with my S in the shop for the Check Engine Light once again (about 9 times in just over a year) it's not gonna be an issue anymore.

Traded with 97,341 miles on the clock, the dealer gave me a very generous trade-in so I took one of their inventory 2013 Clubman's home. I'd wanted one back in '07 but they weren't available when I NEEDED a new MINI.

SM explained the S's have had 'issues' until the 2011 builds when some mods were done. Threads here point out the N18 updated engine over the N14 I had & suffered with for 5-1/2 years. There's a programming bug maybe too whereby the post-CAT O2 sensor signals a failure when in fact it's the pre-CAT that's wonky. HP fuel pump was changed out early on, 4 (!) pre-cat sensors, HP pump again last week + the post-cat sensor (all on MINI'S nickle) but I declined the suggested decarboning as that woulda been on my nickle & I had no plans to continue driving it at that point....

Oil separator bits in the valve cover'd gone bad some many miles back too, allowed oil into the pre-heater and thence into the engine wiring harness. Not good news, and NOT something I'd want to spend $$ on to repair when the extended warranty company said uh-uh, not covered.

 

Just finished reading 14 pages of this posting and decided to bring it back to life. My wife has a 2007 Mini Cooper S with an auto she bought brand new. It now has 35,500 miles on it and a blown engine. Three of the cylinders are at under 50 PSI and one is at 130. The indy Mini mechanic says the engine is loaded with carbon and the rings are a mess. I have always changed the oil every 5,000 miles with Mobil One 0w40 and always Shell Premium gas. I will have it repaired... and sell it. What a shame.

 

If you are going to spend all that money to rebuild the engine, why not keep it for a while afterwards as you will then have a new engine!

Considering the age, I would check the resale value with and without the engine to see if it is worth the investment. I would also look into a used engine as it may be much cheaper.

My cousin blew the engine on her MINI (forgot to change oil) and got a used engine that they installed for her at the junkyard, Brandywine Used Auto Parts, which is a huge operation outside Washington, DC.