Car specs:
2007 S model
automatic transmission
30,250-ish miles

Today I had a very strange experience. I drove the car home from work this morning, no problems. After having been parked outside for about 8 hours, I cranked it to move it. It ran fine for a couple of minutes, then the engine started to stutter, as if missing occasionally. Then the warning system went nuts, first showing ABS, then steering, then brakes, etc. Also, the displays would flicker occasionally. I shut it down and checked the battery voltage on a hunch, 12.4v, which seems a bit low from what I have experienced from other cars I've owned. It has the stock original battery, which shows green in the eye. The voltage was 14.4-14.6 running, which was after I jumped it since the second time I tried to crank it, it turned over once then just clicked. I'm going to replace the battery, hopefully that will solve the issue, but will there be anything I need to reset afterwards? Also, as to replacing the battery, it looks like I need to remove the wiper arms then the plastic fascia piece below the windshield to get to it, does that sound right?

 

As to the battery removal, I found my own answer. Hereit is for anyone else in need.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...07-mini-s.html
Plus, having read quite a few other posts, I am going to try putting a charger on the battery for the night and see what happens in the morning.

 

In looking for car chargers on Amazon I came across this:
Argus BB-SBM12 Battery Bug Starting Battery Monitor
Might be useful.

 

The service manager at BMW here, told me that these cars should be locked as much as possible as it lets the computer/s go to sleep and thus reduces the battery drain. 1 computer opens an eye every hour to check things and then goes back to sleep. (his words)
Apparently the likes of the X5 hate the 10min drive to school and then into the garage. Kills the battery in no time. BMW fix was to fit "marine" heavy discharge batteries

 

Any reputable place that sells batteries can test yours to see if the battery is the problem...

 

Since the car is still under warranty and service contract, I had MINI roadside service take it to the dealer. When I spoke to the service advisor, they said it very well may be the battery, but to wait until they took a look at it to make sure. I think once I get the car back, if it turns out to be the battery, I am going to put a good quality trickle charger on the battery, the kind that mount in the vehicle and you just plug an extension cord into.

 

Since the car is still under warranty and service contract, I had MINI roadside service take it to the dealer. When I spoke to the service advisor, they said it very well may be the battery, but to wait until they took a look at it to make sure. I think once I get the car back, if it turns out to be the battery, I am going to put a good quality trickle charger on the battery, the kind that mount in the vehicle and you just plug an extension cord into.

 

Jees...ya gotta do all that just to remove the battery!!!

 

Yup. But you don't have to do it often

Mark

 

I'm looking forward to hearing the resolution on this ... I'm surprised everyone is pointing at the battery when the car died while running. My experience with other cars is the car runs on the alternator. You should be able to completely disconnect the battery once the engine starts.

I've seen situations where the battery was so badly shorted out that it caused trouble when the engine was running, but that's not the norm.

 

The battery has a number of jobs it does. Obviously it provides the power to start the car but more impotrtantly it acts as a capacitor to smooth out any voltage spikes in the car/boat/plane etc. As cars get more sophisticated with computer controlled thingys, then these computers need a stable power source. So it is entirely possible for a battery to cause some weird things is the voltage to the computers is not stable.
A modern alternator should charge a battery from flat to full charge in about 20 minutes of driving. Trickle charging should not be necessary in a standard lead acid battery although a top up charge may be beneficial if the car hasn't been used for awhile. (parked up over winter, not something we have to worry about in the tropics)
If replacing a battery it may be wise to look for high quality battery capable of high discharge such as marine batteries. Personally I will look at the Optima batteries if they have a model to fit the Mini.
Good luck, I'd be interested to hear your outcome with the dealer.

 

Interesting, this same thing happened to me right before christmas. I drove home and the car's RPM's were completely unstable. The next morning, it cranked and ran for about 20 seconds, then died. My car is a manual and when this happened I had the clutch engaged. It sounded like it was stalling.

Anyway, as for a resolution...it was towed to the dealership (thanks mini roadside assistance!) and the battery was beyond dead. Before it was picked up, I charged it with my charger and tried jumping and got nothing. The tow guy tried too.... The service adviser told me the sunroof module had broke and drained the battery, KILLING it. I got a new battery and a new module, and was on my way. Been great since.

The adviser told me she'd never seen this, but i'm glad i'm not the only one. Oh, and btw...I live in MI and it got down to 8 degrees the nights before.

Hope this helps!

 

OK, in my case it turned out NOT to be the battery. Turns out my little MINI was very sick.

First, anybody who has a rattle from under the hood near the front right when the car is cold but goes away after just a few minutes, get the car to your dealer and have the timing belt tensioner brackets checked ASAP. Apparently, there was "a bad batch" of them and when they go it isn't pretty. The rattle is the first symptom. Got lucky on that one, even more so since its under warranty.

As for the electrical gremlins: Not the battery. It was the "comfort and access" computer that went bad, which was why when I had the satellite radio installed back on November '09 it took three tries to have the computers accept the update programming. Then, once that one was replaced, up, and running, they found that the steering wheel position sensor/computer had also gone kaput, which was why it was giving them fits after they replaced the first computer. The second one will be in by next tuesday, so we will see which computer croaks next. I would accuse them of trying to milk me, except that this is ALL warranty and not costing me one thin dime (WHEW!). I am DEFINITELY getting the extended warranty before the factory one expires, no doubt about it.

 

OK, next update. The steering position sensor computer got replaced, and it then pointed to the "JCE junction" as the next fault. They got ready to replace that when LO AND BEHOLD, they found the root of all the computer evils. The ground on the JCE junction had come loose and shorted, which had toasted the computers, been the reason it was reluctant to take the programming, and showed the JCE as a fault. SO.... IT IS FIXED!

Got it home and drove the snot out of it.

Until today (you didn't actually think this was going to have a HAPPY ending, did you? )

I was driving along, when all of a sudden, there was a kind of howl/whine from the engine, accompanied by a sort of clatter. I slowed down, stopped and looked under the hood, since no warning lights came on. I was hoping for something simple like a loose airbox cover, a cat in the fan belt, or some such. Nothing. So I headed back home. When I would start from a stop, the whine and clatter would start for a few second, then there was a loud POP, and they would stop and the car sounded fine. As soon as I would let off the gas a bit, either the whine or clatter or both would come back until the pop a few seconds later, then all fine again. Incidentally, the pop didn't sound like a backfire but more like something metallic hitting something plastic. It would occasionally pop too without the other two noises before it while in motion.

So.....

MINI roadside called, pickup scheduled, back to the dealership. Again.

And I chose this car over the 2010 Camaro? why?

 

So, MINI of Charleston calls me, and leaves a message on my answering machine. Apparently, the turbocharger went kaput. Now, they said that whomever had the car before me may have used lower grade fuel, which would have led to the turbo failure because it "bogged down". I have only put 93 octane fuel in it, and near as I can remember, I have always fueled up at BP stations so I haven't used some off brand fuel. Anyone ever hear of the fuel affecting the turbo? I thought the turbo compressed the air before it hit the intake and before it was mixed with fuel so I am puzzled how the fuel that was used before I got the car would make it fail now. Any ideas?

 

ALRIGHTY! Car is home, covered by warranty. The turbo died because the oil line to it clogged. They attributed this to the previous owner(s) not using premium top tier fuel, thus causing excess oil deposits, thus the clog. I think they shook something loose when they had the engine torn apart to do the timing chain, but either way, its covered, its fixed, I am out no money, and my baby is HOME!

 

Sorry, but I don't understand the possible correlation between quality of the gas and a clog in the lubrication supply to the turbo. Excess oil deposits? I'm not buying it . . .

 

+1

Complete and utter BS. Based on all the other problems this dealership had diagnosing the earlier problems, and this cheeseball explanation of the turbo issue, I'd try to find another one to service the car next time. That is, if there is another that isn't 100's of miles away.

 

Wow!

Now that's a string of bad luck!

I hope that you finally have your MINI troubles behind you!

 

So far so good. I really cannot complain about the dealer, I suspect that they are towing the company line when it comes to the turbo. As with any major car manufacturer, they are reluctant to acknowledge flaws until there are so many that the liability of denying it outweighs eating the cost to fix it. Compared to what I have read in other posts, they seem to be a gem.