Hey, guys. I've been reading the forum as it relates to my issue and still have some questions so thought I'd register and fire away. Thanks in advance for the help. My wife is the primary driver of the car (2009 Mini with approximately 55,000 miles). The other day she complained of it "shaking" at idle and at speeds around 40 mph. She took it in to the closest shop, a Jiffy Lube, and while they couldn't fix it they connected it to the computer and it read "Cylinder 3 misfire." So after reading here I finally found the correct spark plugs online (no one locally had them, they're "long reach" for future readers). They were in the mail yesterday when I got home so before even going inside I started installing them.

I called my wife out since she was the only one who knew firsthand the symptoms. The spark plugs work, the car starts, but it's doing the same thing. Shakes on idol, still has the check engine light, and when I pressed the accelerator my wife said she smelled gas (my sense of smell is terrible but she's part bloodhound). So, anything else I can check myself or is it time to take it in?

 

I bet it is carbon build up on the valves and it's causing the misfire. Plugs won't help. My guess is you will have to have the intake area cleaned. The dealer can do it for you but it's not cheap. As for your fuel smell I can't help you there. The milage on the car is right at the point where this makes sense. Trust me. If you have the extended warranty plan it's covered. If not you will have to get out your check book most likely.

I would take the car in.

 

That's exactly what I was afraid of...

 

Try swapping the coils around and see if the misfire moves with the coil.

 

I thought of that but I don't have the reader...

 

If you have a cylinder not firing then the unburnt gas will be blown out the exhaust causing a gas smell. The most likely miss fire cause is a bad coil pack on #3. You need to get this fixed, if you continue to drive the car with the miss it will fill the catalytic converter with fuel and destroy it and they are expensive. If you're no comfortable with moving the coil packs around on the engine you should take it to a good independent shop and have it diagnosed.

 

Thanks for your help, guys. I have a friend that's a mechanic. He's about 12-15 miles from me; should I drive to him or is towing the best option? Thanks again.

 

Towing is the best option.