Ugh....
I just picked up my brand spanking new MCS on Monday night & yesterday it did that start/die thing people on here are describing.

I put 200 or so miles on it & its still on the same tank of fuel the dealership put in it.

It'll start & run fine if its been sitting for a while, but if I try to start it after shutting it off within 20 mins or so, it'll start, but only stays running for 3-4 seconds, then shuts off.

It'll stay running if I give it a shot of gas & start moving, but come on! That shouldn't have to happen. There's definitely something wrong.

I don't know if I'm more angry (cause its not a cheap car to say the least!) or disappointed (first new car & its got an issue).

Anyways, I'll call the dealership this morning & tell them what's going on.
Let you know how it works out....

 

That is exactly how I felt.

Anyways, good luck to both of you, hopefully this is the problem rather than a bad HPFP.

 

Both are good reasons to be disappointed. I would be PO' if it happened anytime during ownership.

 

Well... This morning, I drive down to Dunkin Donuts for a hot tea, I stop at the grocery store real quick on the way back, not even five minutes in the store. Go back to my MINI, start it, it stalls. Start it again it sputters like but stays running. I go home, and turn it off and try to replicate, this time it doesn't stall but the RPMs dipped very low, but went right back up.

So since I had the DME software fixed, that must not be the only problem. Unless somehow the software magically changed back to the way it was before.

I won't take it to the dealer until Monday if the problem persists.(which I feel like it will, my luck)

This all happens after yesterday I go to pick up my plates from the dealership and told my SA that "my MINI has been running good since having it worked on!"

I shouldn't have opened my mouth.

 

Oh I'm so sorry to hear this wasn't your fix. I still don't know what's going on with mine. They haven't called me or replied to my email with "the fix". I hope your service people can figure it out.

 

Well, I do think that was the initial problem but, that I still have something else wrong.

I just passed my 1200mile mark.

And I only go to gas stations with premium thats 93. I have also been keeping all my receipts in the glove box in case I get hassled.

I will see if it keeps acting up the rest of this week and weekend.

 

How about a different tank of Fuel?

 

What do you mean?

I believe I have only had to fill up my mini 4 times I think.

The first two time was at sunoco and the last two(maybe 3 if I have had an extra time in there) was at chevron.

 

That's too bad that you're still having the issue :(

I'm taking mine in on Tuesday to get it looked at. That was the earliest for both the d'ship & I. Really didn't want to wait that long, but I have no choice.

 

I am sorry to hear that the software fix did not solve the cold start issue otherwise attributed to the HPFP by other dealers, including mine. I recommend asking MINI (via your dealer's service manager) for a trade-assist to get out of the car, if it is relatively new and presents HPFP problems.

Here is my experience (at risk of repeating myself):

2010 MCS purchased new in 01/10. Cold-start problems required three 300-miles trips to the dealer via road-side assistance in the first 5000 miles and 7 months: intake manifold replaced once and HPFP replaced twice. The service manager suggested I ought to start the process whereby MINI would "get me out of the car" at the time of the 2nd HPFP replacement. I was also advised to stay away from the turbo, but that is entirely another story.

Lemon law in NYS kicks in after 4 strikes. My MCS was at its 3rd. MINI/BMW purchased my MCS back (refunded 100% of what I had paid) through a process called "trade-assist" and sold me another MINI that I have ordered (an MC Mayfair) for invoice (roughly 10% below MSRP). At the time of the trade-in, I have asked one of the managers why they agreed to do the trade-assist and was told that MINI/BMW did not want to report the car as a lemon to government authorities and that they wanted to keep me in the brand. My MCS was eventually sold to a wholesaler with a clean title (for a corresponding price), without any mention on Carfax or Autocheck that the car was a lemon or a manufacturer buy-back. Interestingly the trade-assist papers look similar to those for a regular trade-in, where the dealer purchases the car (not MINI). I contacted Carfax and mentioned the manufacturer buyback called trade-assist, but they will only brand the title if the information comes from the manufacturer or govt.

My MA incidentally went through a similar process this year with his BMW 335 after the HPFP was replaced 3 times. It is apparently the same or similar on the MINI.

So consider a trade-assist for your MCS if the cold-start issues come back, lest it gets out of warranty or lemon-law time-frame. When you order a replacement, do so knowing you will be charged invoice, even though you may be told you will have to pay MSRP for the replacement at the time of ordering (as I was told). They usually reserve the nice invoice discount surprise for the time you go pick up the car and have to pay for the difference.

 

Your story, while not great for you, is good for us(for the valuable info) and is something I think should be repeated for those who haven't seen the thread. Threads get buried too easily and you don't know where to look sometimes.

I am definitely going to keep the lemon law in mind if I keep having problems. I would be sad to have to go to a MC. Mostly because I love the way the S looks, the exhaust, the grille, the wheels. If I could get a MC made to look exactly like the MCS I think I would be ok with the switch.

That is kind of ridiculous that they could just sell it to some wholesale place without having all the issues being on the title as being a lemon. I feel bad for the prospective buyer down the road.

I sometimes think of keeping my MINI even if I am able to lemon it or do the trade assist in hopes that before the time my warranty is up they will have the HPFP thing all figured out. But, I won't do that because it is a pretty stupid chance to take. Especially since I see there is talk of BMW/MINI will be having someone else make the engine. So why fix these MINIs? Maybe they will have the turbo/HPFP thing taken care of.

I almost think I would look into just lemoning it and waiting till 2013. :( which I really do not want to do. I guess only time will tell.

 

^ What he said.

I feel exactly the same way. Now I'll have to see if they're gonna offer to buy it back first or I'll have to suggest it. I am so heartbroken.

 

PS. At the time of the trade-in I have asked the manager taking care of the paperwork if this trade-assist was common in their experience for the HPFP issue. He said it was not common, but this was the 4th 2010 to go through trade-assist this year... I wish I had also asked him how many MCS they had sold for this model year so far, in order to get a rough estimate of the incidence of such recalcitrant HPFPs. It would've given you guys a ballpark figure for the odds of bad HPFPs on MCSs, enlightening your eventual decision for a MC vs MCS replacement.

I also forgot to mention that while unfair for the next owner purchasing the car via the wholesaler (do a completed listing for 2010 MCS on Ebay, mine is the one with Bul Auto Sales in ALbany), the car was still covered by the manufacturer warranty for its present owner. So I guess that MINI not only wanted to avoid lemon reporting, top dollar for its lemon, me staying in the MINI brand, but also another 4 fresh strikes before lemon law kicks in, as the car now goes back to square one from this point of view. There may be some hope then for a future definitive fix of the HPFP issues, otherwise MINI would not have sold the car with warranty. I do wonder who will have to refund the car if the lemon law kicks hereafter however. Is it MINI or the second-hand car dealer?

Good luck and keep us posted on the outcome of those HPFPs even if you have to revive the thread two years later.

Should I post my story in one of the stickies (the cold-start thread) to make it easier to find?

 

Thanks again for all the info. I don't remember if you said yours was a warm/hot start issue or cold start. From what I summize, and my own experience, it's a warm/hot start issue here not cold. So I don't know about posting in the cold start thread. Maybe we need a hot start sticky.

 

I didn't see this question in the thread so forgive me if its already been stated. For all of you that have the hot/warm start issues, is your car manual or automatic. Mine is auto. I'm just wondering if this has something to do with it.

 

I'm wondering if this cold start problem could be the coil packs and ignition wires I had a similiar problem with my audi tt and when replaced, PROBLEM SOLVED!Just a shot in the dark.Although some here have it happening with few miles.....

 

Mne is auto as well.

 

Mine is an automatic, and definitely a warm start problem. It starts like a dream when cold. When warm, although it hasn't stalled again since the other day, the rpms drop really low and then even out.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it will stall out again if its anything like mine. The stalling is completely random. But the idle dipping way down is always a given on warm starts.

 

Oh, I definitely expect it to do it again since it already has. I'm just waiting for it to happen more often.

I have a feeling if I take it to the dealership only with the rpms dropping then leveling out, that they will have my MINI for a week and not be able to replicate the problem.

 

Mine has gone from doing the hot start/stall majority of the time, to now doing it intermittently (rpms lowering, then going back up).
I considered cancelling my appt to bring it to the dealer, but I'm going to go anyway. I've never had them look at it before(only had the car a week), so I'm have them check it. But yea, I hope they can get it to do it....but I'll bet money that they should have an idea what's wrong, cause I can't be the only one who's had the problem.
We shall see...

 

My car is still in the shop. Mini has advised them to check all the wiring. They say they have and not only can they not find the problem, they can't duplicate it since it happened last week. There is now another car that was brought in with the exact same problem.
So does anyone have any info on exactly what this "national database" is that the service people can look up? I'd love to PM someone for a VIN that has gotten a fix that seems to have worked. The service people at my dealership are willing to check out any info that can be provided to them. I hate to see them waste time trying different fixes that won't work.
Oh, any Mini had them remove some of the gas from the tank to test for ethanol. I told them I only put in Shell 93. They said that was good but they still had to test it. Now I'm glad I save all my gas receipts.

 

So, let me get this straight. The dealership is going to test your gas to verify you are using Shell 93. Against all other gas stations in your area? Against all grades each one carries? Oh, might I add these are the same people who recommend you run 89 octane gas as a way to clean your system? And pray your ECU knows the lower rating and retards timing so your engine won't blow up?

 

Yes my guess is they're checking the gas to try to make sure I use Shell 93. But no, they say its to check the gas for ethanol. They recommend 89 to clean the system? I never heard that. I remember a big thread about gas type, and top tier and how much ethanol is in the brand, etc.

I love my car that I've only had for 2 months but I'm just so frustrated already.

 

Around here, Western Washington State, all the pumps say, " May contain ethanol up to 10%" They use it now as an oxygenator, instead of MTBE. (methyl tertiary butyl ether)

It does raise octane, though it has less heat value than gasoline, so you'll get poorer mileage with ethanol in your gas.

So, I guess all I can do is buy premium gas, though it is silly that MINI can't design their engines to eat any gas like most manufacturers do.

Dave