I was on my uncle's ranch in South Texas and he has miles of relatively straight asphalt where he tests out a myriad of his vehicles.

When flooring my Cooper S Auto (please no manual jokes...) sometimes, but not always, it hesitates when shifting to fifth at and top out at a low speed. If I turn off the ignition and then turn it back on, it won't hesitate and continue gaining speed normally.

What could possibly be causing this? I know my ALTA inlet tube is rubbing badly on the coolant tank. Can this be a culprit? Any ideas are welcome! My warranty is out in about 1500 miles, and I have my final appointment next Saturday. Thanks for your time!

 

Does the hesitation happen only when shifting to 5th, or can you feel anything whenever the engine reaches the top end of the RPM range? If the engine hesitates every time it reaches high RPM, then that well could be something in the intake/exhaust system.

If the hesitation is only at 5th gear, I'd suspect something other than the intake system. Maybe there's a sensor that's not sending information, or some other sort of wiring problem.

I'd fix that rub ASAP. Also, are you really pushing the Engine Start button at high speeds? That may not do anything in a computerized car like the MINI, but for cars with mechanical or non-computerized ignitions, that's a really bad thing to do. With the ignition off, the fuel keeps flowing, passes through the cylinders and collects in the exhaust system. When the ignition is turned on again, the first real exhaust stroke is hot enough to ignite that fuel and the resulting explosion has been known to instantly remove the exhaust pipes.

 

This only happens at high-rpm 5th Gear. But goodness, I don't turn off the car at such speeds! I pull over, shut it off, then try again, and it works. But thanks for the help. I'll install the stock intake and see if it happens again. Thanks!