Add me to the list... 12.2K miles. Service was done for free and I even got a free rental.

 

I went to my local MINI garage because I was having the same cold start issue as the HPFP, and I even showed them 4 videos of my car doing it, and for me apparently it was my MAP Temp. Sensor. but i'll wait and let it cold soak and see if it does it again tomorrow morning, or through the week. my other two local dealers didn't even want to be bothered, but a far drive gave me hope, lol.

17,500mi 2011 R18-engine

 

UPDATE: this morning, had a start-and-stall, then a start-and-stumble (BAD) so I am scheduling myself once again...

 

Has anyone ever replace the fuel filter? How hard is it?

 

That's what it sounds like (been there done that). Then it starts fine the rest of the day, right? Temperature made no difference with mine, it was always first start of the day (when the HPFP is needed). Finally no start at all (sputtering, gas pedal no good, error code), flatbed to dealer. No more problems.

 

***replaced***

 

Consumer Reports (current issue): 2007 MINI Cooper "S" = worst buy! Three BLACK circles for major & minor engine...

So all of you "did you change your oil", "are you pampering your baby", read it and weep - the car SUCKS "." (period)... end of story...

Hard to believe the base 2012 Cooper gets a "recommended buy" - but that's what I have now (traded in the 2007 "S" - which was also a CR "best buy" back in 2007).

Shame on BMW/MINI for not coming clean and screwing buyers of used MINI's purchased out of warranty.....

And it's not over, as 2008-2011 "S" are reporting problems as they approach 30,000 miles - "buyer beware"!

 

Gee, please don't tell Zippeee! My MCS has been a very reliable car, now at 81,000+ miles. I've had a few minor problems, but certainly well within the norm, and fewer than I expected. And I'm no car neophyte, having owned quite a few since my first was purchased in '68.

Of course, I'm crossing fingers now, just on superstitious principle.

 

You are a very lucky lady!

Do you have an extended warranty in place?

 

Nope. I do have a handy hubby, though, who does regular oil changes. And last year there was an issue that we THOUGHT was the HPFP, but turned out to be an electrical problem. New plugs and a new coil fixed it quite cheaply. Honestly, we really haven't needed much.

Incidentally, lest y'all think Zippeee! leads a gentle life, nope. She is regularly exercised on some very demanding Texas roads, taken to out-of-state events such as MITO and MITM, leads the other MINIs on club drives, periodically autocrossed, and does the Houston to Clearwater, FL routine at a quite respectable clip.

Hubby claims I have a lead foot, and I can't really argue the point.

 

Hello all,

Good to see we are not alone on this issue!

The gfs '07 MCS (56k miles) was serviced this week for engine stalling. Service found a bad HPFP and found oil in the spark plugs and coils from a leaky valve cover gasket. Mini also found carbon buildup and recommended that the engine is cleaned. Replaced the valve cover gasket, HPFP, spark plugs, and coils.

Drove the car off the lot and symptoms got progressively worse within the first day. Engine shaking, RPM dipping at idle, loss of power, and knocking. Mini claims that this could be because of the carbon buildup so we have decided to go ahead with the cleaning in hopes that it will correct the misfiring.

I've seen others on this forum post about the HPFP failing and carbon buildup and I am curious to know if these two issues are related. Could a bad HPFP cause carbon buildup?

 

Welcome!

No, the two issues are not related. Carbon build-up problems are a byproduct of the engine design (direct injection); as such, it's not unique to the MINI engine (all direct-injection engines have to deal with it), but does seem a bit more problematic on the earlier ('07-'10) N14 engines due to the way in which crankcase gases are vented back to the combustion chambers. The venting plumbing on later ('11-current) engines has allegedly been modified to address this problem; I guess time will tell there...

Suggestions vary as how to best combat the carbon build-up problem; the most effective seems to be some form of the cleaning procedure MINI is recommending to you (although if you're handy with such things, you can do at least some of the labor yourself), as well as ensuring that only premium-grade fuel is used in the vehicle. Numerous threads exist here on the forum, so I recommend searching them.

 

I had my fuel pump replaced right after I bought my 07 s from a ford dealer It had 28,000 on it and under hard acceleration the power would cut for a second and come back on. Now it has 55,xxx on it and it's doing it again at first I thought it was because the oil was low, topped it off, problem came back not as worse but still noticeable. I then figure well it is summer and its 112 degrees out here maybe its because the AC is on... tried it with the AC off and it reduced it but still there sometimes. Dose anyone know if its the same problem?

 

Sounds like you need some diagnostics. I had this on my '07, and I was so convinced it was the fuel pump that I made the appointment for that. Turns out it needed new spark plugs (supposed to be replaced at 60,000 miles), and had a malfunctioning #2 coil. Dealer also wanted to walnut-shell-blast the valves, but I talked to an independent mechanic I've used for my Bimmers, and he suggested that we try just the electrical system components first, partly because the symptoms were under hard acceleration, not all the time. That's all we needed, and that was about 7 or 8,000 miles ago (not a miss since). Hubby did it himself, for $160 parts, plus the original $90 diagnostics. Had the dealer done the work, including the blasting, I'd have been on the hook for $1300!

I'm friendly with my dealer's people because of local club events, so I brought up the issue of the SA wanting to blast the valves with the manager. He apologized for the overkill (some might call it something else), but said that for those symptoms that is BMW's standard recommendation. The problem is the ethanol, and the crud that most people experience, especially if they buy cheap gas. I pointed out that my car gets only top-tier premium fuel, including non-ethanol whenever possible (still available in some counties), and pretty much is at highway speed when driven.

So, while it's certainly possible that it's the fuel pump, it might be worthwhile getting some diagnostics. Incidentally, who replaced the fuel pump? Did the dealer do it? MINI parts are warranted for 2 years, AND the fuel pump itself is well within the extended warranty MINI created because of the FP issues. I can't remember for sure, but I think it's 10 years/100,000 miles (or is it 120,000?). As the original owner I got a letter in the mail, but you probably wouldn't have.

It would be a good idea to make sure MINI has you on record in case of recalls, including the one for the power steering unit thing.

 

Very interesting, thank you for your reply. I only get gas at QT which I heard is a good place to get it. to answer your question, I did have the fuel pump replaced under warranty from the dealer, I acutely just got the recall notice in the mail for an issue: computer circuit board controlling the turbocharger cooling system I believe. I think I did something at the dealer when I was first there and they put me under the existing warranty (transferred over) I am taking it in on thurs for the recall, so I am planning on mentioning my issue, I valet for dealerships including them so I get discounts on everything so, I'm hoping its the fuel pump that could possibly be replaced for free, if not I hope it won't cost an arm and a leg.

 

Oops, Matey--I meant the recall on the turbo cooling. I was fighting a recalcitrant internet, and couldn't check what it was for, and the only thing that came to mind was power steering for some reason!

Still, I think my suggestion was correct. You can replace pieces here and there, but you'd be shooting in the dark unless you can get it on a computer. Are you getting any idiot lights?

 

Haha all good.

Surprisingly no warning lights, I think your suggestion is correct as well. I am really hoping it doesn't cost and arm and a leg to fix.

 

When my car first started acting up, I got no lights, either. After standing on it to try to duplicate the problem, I did manage to get a CEL, but it didn't stay on for very long. A few minutes at a more sedate pace was enough to turn it off.

 

Picked it up from the dealer today, they said it was the "turbo recirculation valve leaking" and some other valve. all replaced for $125. I also had them do a carbon flush and some other one, (can't remember). Just got back from a test drive and car seems to be running healthy! Again I really appreciate your replies, Thank you for helping me out.

 

Well, that's certainly good news! I suppose it would have been nicer if it was the pump (and thus MINI's nickel), but on the scale of pain for stuff you have to pay for, this was pretty minor.


Enjoy putting your foot in it!

 

Hi Folks,

I haven't had any HPFP problems yet...(touch wood) but I'm trying to get educated on some of the MCS problems.
I did some searching and found this diagram from a BMW forum. Seems the HPFP uses engine oil to lubricate the mechanism (it is shown in RED), this got me wondering if the long service intervals these companies are trying to push now are causing the 'old' oil to accelerate wear on oil fed components.

I'm sure BMW did lifetime testing on the HPFP when they designed it, but perhaps they didn't take into account the ageing of the oil? This might explain why this problem caught them off guard?

Are there folks out there who have owned their MCS's from new, who changed the oil very regularly (like 5000 miles) and used 93 octane good branded gas but still had HPFP failures?

It would be interesting to find out...

 

The HPFP has its own sealed oil supply, and does not use the engines oil, they develop a hair line fracture In the piston pumping Body, this fracture causes cold pumping losses, the said fracture closes as the pump generates heat, supplying enough pumping pressure to be within the working tolerance range.

Idle pressure: 50 bar

Full heavy load throttle demand: 50-120 bar

Maximum delivery pressure: 150 bar

 

I can't find any reference to cracked housings on the BMW forums talking about HPFP failures

 

I'm sorry you can't find any reference to hairline fractures within the piston pumping body on the BMW forums, that said, there are quite a few different HPFP within the BMW engine range, however the ones fitted to the BMW MINI N14, N18 and Peugeot/Citroen EP6 DT/DTS/CDT, do develop a hairline fracture.

 

damage when the tensioner weakens: first noticeable damage is to the chain guard. it slowly disintegrates and throws little plastic chunks into the valves until you get the "cam off-time" signal.