It’s been in the single digits here in the Northeast. I know our cars do not require warming up, but since I was already outside walking the dog, I started the engine and blasted the heat and went inside to get ready to go to work. 10 mins after starting the car, I hear the engine started to sputter. I rushed outside and the CEL was on, so I immediately turned off the engine. I started the engine back on and everything is back to normal- Cel disappeared and engine sounds great again

FYI- car has 57k with new spark plugs and new timing chain assembly replaced. I always use quality gas from Sunoco and Shell. Is this a sign that my HPFP is going bad or is it something else?

 

This is never a good idea until the engine warms up. If you ever had a car overheat you would turn the heater on full blast to help stop it from overheating. So you forced the car to stay cooler longer causing it to run super rich and the computer to try and compensate. Just my opinion. So I doubt it is the HPFP.

 

Exactly what Bram said. Also, turning your fans full blast when engine isn't fully warmed up actually keeps the cabin cold longer(unwarmed air will still be blasted into cabin and chances are the cabin is warmer than outside to start)

 

Modern engines do best when driven gently until warmed up instead of idling. Hit the heat when the temp guage gets halfway up to normal.

 

Temp Guage????? whats that????

Seriously, I have found that the heater stays cold until you start driving and then the heat gets warmer. When you sit at a light the heat temp goes down a little until you start driving again.

Just my two cents.

 

Oops...forgot I was in second generation section. Going by my R50, about 3-4 minutes of driving gets the air warm enough to circulate in the cabin.

 

Bet it might have been so cold a bit of ice formed in the intake from the pcv gases...kinda like the modern version of carb-ice.

 

I don't think it's the hpfp. When mine went bad the car took a couple times of pushing the on/off start button until it could start running fine. I think i had to do that for the system to build up fuel pressure. Never had a cel light come on when my hpfp went bad.

Your car could be fine. Just a weird fluke that randomly happened. My 2 cents.

 

There are some older threads that discuss intakes being replaced by MINI with better designs for cold weather. Your issue sounds exactly like others have described where a CEL appears and then disappears after shutting off and restarting. The problem arises from ice forming within the intake causing the CEL. It melts when the engine is shutoff. As your MCS is a 2007 it could be affected by this issue. Time to do some further searching and reading. Good luck.

 

^ yep. Sounds like the intake manifold. I got my MCS in Nov 2008 and a few days after this happened. Talk about buyer's remorse! This same issue hasn't happened since the dealer replaced the manifold with a newly designed one under warranty.

HOWEVER, I I posted elsewhere: my car was surging on start up (single digits here in CT) and I smelled fuel. I took it to a mechanic and it's throwing a "throttle body" code.

*sigh* Somebody please talk me out of selling this car! I love driving it but have had so many issues in the 4 yrs I've owned it. Just when I think I've worked out all the quirks, a new one creeps up.

 

My wife's 2010 MCS had the same issue. Idle was revving up and down during a brief warm up. She went to take siff and the car had no power. CEL came on and then turned off after restart. Idled and ran fine on the way to the dealer later that day. I did scan 2 codes, P1638 and P1639. Replacing said part to eliminate this from happening again.

 

This sounds like the intake icing problem. I had that with my 07, but that was before they knew what the problem was. Finally they replace the intake manifold.

 

My 2009 R55S just had the same thing happen. Codes P1637, P1638, P1639, and surging idle.

 

Is this a dealer covered repair because its some sort of design flaw? Or is it like the timing chain problem. This is extra frustrating for me, just last night I was saying how great the car was doing.

 

Not related to timing chain. My understanding is that it's a design flaw.

 

This is a warranty repair as needed. MINI has not recalled this flaw.

 

Well that is better than I thought. I thought it was like the timing chain in that its a known issue that we end up paying for.

 

Actually, from my understanding if it is the intake icing problem it will not harm the car. It is just frustrating to start the car andhave it sputter. With mine, I would shut it off, wait a few minutes and restart it. With the warmer weather coming, the problem should go away until then next cold snap. So if the dealer doesn't cover it, it would something you could live with. Also, it needs to throw a cell before the dealer will cover it (at least that was the way it was when I had the problem).

 

I had my intake manifold replaced right after I got my car in Nov 2008 (it's a 2009 MCS).

I had another sputtering on start with surging and fuel smell. Turns out it was the P1638 code and the throttle valve was sticking. They found the coolant temp sensor was erratic on startup and replaced it. Fingers crossed that all is now well!

 

Brand new Clubman S and (drum roll) it's -16 f outside. Cocoa starts immediately and we drive off gently and then onward down the slick highways and byways of Minnesota. The cabin warm air doesn't come out immediatley, but the little car keeps me warm and smiling

 

are these sputtering issues specific to MCS's, or do base coopers suffer from this as well?

 

Resurrecting this from the dead one year later. This is my first winter with my '10 MCS, and yesterday afternoon (3 degrees F) was the first time she threw P1637 and P1638. Does anyone know if Mini switched to the new "Cold Weather" design intake manifold on production models? If so, do you know when they made this change? Is there any way to determine if my car is fitted with said manifold by looking at it?

 

I had another thought: shouldn't my OCC be catching most of the liquid condensation before it reaches my intake manifold? Perhaps it's time to invest in a better OCC...

 

Here is the link to the Cold Climate intake manifold for icing on the throttle and info.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...different.html




That's all the info I have. Thanks

 

Thanks ECS. I'll need to double check, but I'm pretty certain I'm rocking the "normal weather" manifold.