Hi everyone,
This is my first post on this forum. I'm a single woman in need of some good MINI advice because I want to avoid being taken advantage of.

My MINI wouldn't start this morning although it did crank. I think it's not a battery problem. What might it be? It started fine two days ago but this morning, it refused to start.

Also, would a reliable local auto mechanic be able to fix this problem. My car just went off warranty last month (of course) and I'm reluctant to take it to the MINI dealer because I'm sure it'll be expensive. On the other hand, I want any repairs and part replacement to be done properly.

Would love to get advice on this.

Thanks,
Claire

P.S. The car has 36,000 miles on it.

 

Does anything pop up on the tach? We will eneed a little more information to diagnose most likely. Did you ever have a cold start rattle?

 

Thanks for the quick response.

The car has an automatic transmission so no tach. The instrument lights came on as usual when I tried to start the car but it just wouldn't turn over. I tried 3 or 4 times and even moved the shift lever into Drive then back to Park thinking that the gear shift wasn't engaged properly. It still wouldn't start. I had to give up and take the other car to work because I was late for my carpool.

The car has never rattled when starting. Until today, it's been the usual quick start.

What else can I tell you about the car?

 

Oh, by the tach, i meant did the car show any messages on the on board computer screen?
If the car was in park and foot was on the brake, i'm stumped. I drive a manual so i don't want to spit ball it.
good news is others have enough info to give you some ideas.

 

In one post you said it cranked, in the other you said it wouldn't turn over. If it won't crank I would try looking at the battery first. If it cranks and doesn't start then you may want to look at the HPFP (Fuel pump). I could be wrong but I think Manuals and Autos both have Tachs.

 

Mine did the same a couple of weeks ago. I cranked it about 4 cycles and it started. I took it too add gas ( had about 2/3 of tank). I put in gas with ethinal and it took 3 cycles to start. I went for a half hour drive and it hasn't happened since. I figured it had sat for a couple of days in the garage and did not get driven. the outside temp had dropped below freezing and there was some moisture in the fuel system. I usually run high octane with no ethinal I hope this helps

 

Ok, I'm showing my ignorance. Yes, I do have a tach but since I have an automatic transmission, I don't look at it too often.

I think it might be the fuel pump too but since the car has only 36K miles, I really don't want to believe that the pump would last only that long.

The engine did crank but just wouldn't start. I know that if you hear nothing or just a click, then it's probably a battery-related problem. In my case, it sounded like it was going start but never did.

I'll try starting the car again later today. If it doesn't start, I'll have the car towed.

Thanks a bunch!
Claire

 

Thanks, Scooter. I hope it starts when I try again this afternoon. The overnight low was 24F.

 

Good news is that if it is the hpfp it is under 100;000 mi. warranty.Have you been using premium fuel?

 

As minimize07 stated the 07-10 cars have had the fuel pump warranty extended to 100K mile with no time allotment. This is because there is a problem with fuel pumps going bad in these cars. Many times this problem will show itself with other indications like lack of power or a rough running engine before they actually completely go bad.

But as others have stated it could be a frozen gas line as well. But that should only be the case if you are using NON ETHANOL gas.

One last thing How old is your battery?

If it has not been replaced since the car was new then taht really may be your problem. I and others have also found that the car will crank and turn over but not start with a bad battery. One way to test this is to put a charger on the battery for 3-4 hours and then try and start the car if it starts have the batter checked a the local auto parts store. Mine used to do this occasionally as the battery started getting weak. If the car was left for a day or two with out being used it would crank and not start but if I charged the battery it would start. Replaced the battery and the car is fine now i can leave it for more than a week and still the car will start.