Do any of you who are experiencing this problem drive your cars "hard" at all?

I'm wondering if the occasional "Italian tuneup" would help?

Back in the day it was very common for cars to carbon up, especially if driven gently or in town a lot - of course the problem then was carbs and cold running. Anyway, the best way to fix it was to run the engine hard enough to get the combustion chambers hot and blow the carbon out.

Wonder if an occasional track day would fix this?

 

....or a nice deserted highway somewhere and a high speed run in the lowest gear possible

 

In my case, my wife is the primary driver. She probably drives most of her miles on the freeway to & from work w/ the rest stop & go around town. So, a little blowing out would probably be in order. However, this hasn't been a problem on her previous cars.

Based on our experience & what I've heard from others, I still feel that there's a design problem that they need to look at.

HHH

 

Is there any interest in submitting a list (or even a count) of all who have experienced carbon buildup in the intake (particularly #4) to MINI/BMW?

Question #2: Who would you email this to? Every time I email MINIUSA a question they refer me back to the local dealership. (convenient way to handle questions). Is there a central tech team somewhere?

HHH

 

There's your problem. Rev it up a bit, hit the redline a few times a week, you know..... have fun with it!

Seriously, that's probably the source of the buildup.

 

Otherwise known as an "Italian tuneup".

 

See also http://acme-ltd.com/Satch/Satch.html

 

Several years ago, several manufacturers including GM, BMW, Honda and others, realized that the decline in detergents in gasoline formulations was creating a variety of problems, especially cold weather starting and carbon buildup.

To overcome this "Top Tier" gasoline requirements were created and approved by the manufacturers. Among them is Shell, along with several other brands. I have been using Shell gasoline in all of my vehicles, BMW cars and motorcycles, and my Mini.

Once you get you car fixed, consider using a Top Tier brand to prevent the buildup and problems you reported.

More info is availabl here: http://autorepair.about.com/od/gener...a/110305_2.htm

Good luck

 

IMHO MINI's "bad gas" explanation is BS. We've been using almost exclusively Shell gas for our MINI along with twice the number of BMW/MINI recommended oil changes and air filter changes. On top of that we regularly use a fuel system cleaner. Furthermore, none of our other cars which use the same gas, same oil, same fuel additives have any carbon buildup problems. I'm more inclined to think there is some kind of manufacturing issue with the engine which makes some of these engines susceptible to carbon/sludge. Leaky rings, gaskets, covers or some such thing.

 

Carbon buildup IMHO, is due to BMW's high performance engines. The "italian tuneup" holds some water.
The "bad fuel" holds about 50% water (the top tier gasoline is true - but not in this case - that's why I say it's a fifty - fifty split))
BMW (Mini) wants to get away from this type of fixes.
It costs 5,000 $ to fix and it's not a DIY.

 

Many years ago, I was told by friends who worked in the gas and petroleum industry that you should not fill gas when the refueling tanker is there pumping gas into the station's tanks. The gas refueling process stirs up the junk that settle in the bottom of the tank and this stuff is not great for combustion. This is one way to improve the quality of gas going into your car.

 

Wow, I was interested in getting an M5 but was scared away by this very thing (although I've never seen pics of the excessive carbon buildup).

That can't be the fault of BMW. IMHO it looks like bad gas. What's happening the fuel isn't being completely ignited? The buildup is a byproduct of the combustion process.

Has it been proven an Italian Tuneup prevents or reduces buildup?

WILD stuff!

 

That was a nasty looking BMW engine. But, going back to the original topic, the '07+ MCS, don't forget the deposits or prior to the intake valve & may be more likely around the #4 intake. So, how does that work w/ the "bad gas" theory?

HHH

 

On page 2 is a very simplistic explanation of carbon buildup. (it's actually knock - due to carbon build-up)
To conclude: it's engineering.
Latest M5's (v10) seem not to develop that problem (linky from e39 v8 model years 2000-2003)
Carbon buildup is due to high oil consumption in those cars, especially 2000 to 2002 years.
I am not sure if the Supercharger of the Mini will "eat" oil (redirecting it in the chamber) somehow? If yes, then you will start building up the black stuff

 

That makes sense. Engine burning oil is not good (missed reading that). Those M5s probably run Syn which doesn't break down the same way dino oil does. What a mess. The R56 isn't eating oil does it? I'm only at 7k miles and I've only added 1/2 qt of oil but I assumed that was due to break in. I'll need to watch oil consumption.

 

OK, thanks for the reply.
Another +++ scored by Mini by not "burning" oil. (I still did not make my decision to buy or not to buy a Mini yet).
I have a ton of reading to do.
So far I noticed the cold chatter stuff and the stuck sunroof (not sure if this happens in the S states only or if it's really hot?)
I guess the carbon buildup in this case is due to "baby-ing" the car too much. Sometimes you have to floor it.
Also, idling will kill the engine. You might have to ask yourself if you don't do this. The best way to warm up the car is to wait the 30 - 40 seconds until the rpms go down. Then start driving at moderate speed until optimum operating temparetare is reached (kinda below 2500 rpm if you can help it).
Otherwise you might end up with buildup. In winter more detergents are added because the engine needs "help" to clean that buildup (and other reasons too)

 

Just wanted to post some interesting info I found out today...
We have a R56 MCS in the shop right now with excessive carbon buildup in cylinder #4 that ran rough on cold starts. Up until today, they could not duplicate the rough running part.
With the GT1 hooked up to the car this morning, my lead tech was able to see that the (mechanical)high-pressure fuel pump was way below value. It should have been reading 5.00, but was reading at about .9 until the car warmed up, then it was normal.
They are ordering the high-pressure pump as everything else looks good(no corrosion on the plug,no chaffed/pinched wires,etc.)

BTW, I wasn't aware that the high-pressure pump runs 120 BAR which is about 1700psi. That is some serious fuel pressure.

 

I am confused. You say you have an R56 but your signature shows you have a 2003. What generation do you have?

 

What year was this car?

I understand you're with a MINI dealership, right? The dealership nearest us (& from the other postings I've read, other dealerships around the country) wants to blow this off as a "bad gas" problem even though I & others have been using only premium. Is there a procedure for getting MINI/BMW at a level above the local level interested in studying this problem? I still believe that carbon build-up concentrated in one area (#4) points toward something other than bad gas. There may be a simple mechanical fix that would eliminate this problem.

 

Sorry for the confusion...I do have an R53, in my post above when I said we I meant the MINI dealer where I do parts.

 

Sorry, the car is an '07.
The only thing with this kind of issue is that the carbon won't build up overnight, so we can't get an immediate "reaction" to what we do to the car.

 

My problem is in another thread, but the Readers Digest version is that for a month it would occasionally take 2-5 button pushes to start, first start of the day only (not very cold in garage), every 3-4 days, finally starts, then she runs fine. Finally wouldn't start no matter what, tried to run a little (very roughly), dead. Problem was high pressure fuel pump. I have a real hard time buying "excessive carbon buildup" occuring and causing a problem in these cars. Makes no sense at all to me. Flaky fuel pump, that makes sense.

 

Thanks for posting.
How long ago was the replacement HP pump installed?

You haven't had any problems since?

I agree...the excessive carbon in just one cylinder doesn't make sense to me either, but it is there.
I don't know for sure if there is a connection between the HP pump and the carbon buildup. I also don't know enough about the fuel system in these cars to discuss it at a "easy reading" level.

 

They replaced the HP fuel pump on New Years Eve and I've had zero problems starting the car since. Starts on the first button push every time (like it used to). In another thread a person diagnosed my problem correctly when I was merely having to use the start button 3-6 times to start the car. When it did start the throttle would rev it normally. Because there are 2 fuel pumps (a high volume pump in the gas tank, high pressure under the hood) I thought maybe the other one was doing the job, it just took a few tries to get the fuel up there. Guess not. When the HP one went out the car would barely run and the throttle would not operate at all. Here's a link to my original thread.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...n-startup.html

 

I forgot to update. I got my car back after exactly 3 weeks at the Dealer. They cleaned it out. Runs smooth for now. I don't think it solves the problem though. The bad gas excuse doesn't apply because I only use Shell or 76 and I wait for the next day if I see the gas tanker there. The Italian tuneup... I only floor it when I'm entering the highway, and then I'm at 90mph before I know it, so it only last a fews seconds.

The MINI Service Asst dude said he's heard of this happening and he thinks it's a manufacturers defect and they would cover if it happens again. I seriously doubt that MINI would like him to be saying this, but it's true.

So, had my car back for less than a week and I get hit by a rock and the windshield guy is in the parking lot right now replacing the windshield. I just chatted with him and he said there's something wrong with my engine because he says he's covered in carbon soot . Not sure if the dealer just didn't clean the outside of the engine much or if there's more carbon business going on in the engine already.