My May 04 Cooper S has the shakes. Somewhat randomly it will start to idle roughly like it is going to stall after I have stopped for a stoplight. I have noticed it most often at stoplights shortly after beginning a drive from a cold start with the AC on. I has, however, also happened with the AC off and after a two hour drive. The car never actully stalls and does return to normal if I give it a little gas. It is mostly disconcerting and embarassing if it happens when I happen to be showing off my cool new car to a friend.

My dealer installed V38.1 on Saturday and while I like the way that lessens the stumble, the rough idle still happened once on Sunday and once today. The dealer's only idea seems to be to install the latest upgrade and hope for the best since they don't really know what is causing it. Any ideas from any of the automotive experts here? Whatever happened to the seasoned mechanic coming up with the possibilities, then testing to see if he can actually determine the culprit, then emiminating the probable culprits from the cheapest possible fix to the most expensive? I know a few others have posted on this but I couldn't find any that had any likely answers. (One was a late application of the clutch but that is not the problem here b/c it only happens while at a full stop after the clutch is fully depressed.)

Any ideas?

Cheers,

 

My MCS is a May/04 build and it does the same thing! I have only experienced it a few times, like you say at a light. If a little gas is given the problem dissapears...I too could use some advice. Thanks guys

 

oil change, air filter change, plug wire change
All of these helped my rough idle,

with a may 04 build, these may not apply to you, but the stock plug wires appear to suck.

 

Happened to me on the way to work this morning. Same symptoms (at stop light on a cold engine) but without the A/C running. Mine is a Mar 04 build MCS - still running whatever software came on the car. I've noticed it a number of times.

-WebWerker

 

Hmm this is starting to sound like a trend here. Mine is a Oct 03 build, 04 model MCS. I have the same symptoms, albeit rarely. I have not experienced it since I changed to a CAI. That however may not mean much because I've not put on many miles since then.

 

This problem is a HUGE problem here in Western NY and Southern Ontario. It is affecting everything from MINIs to high performance bikes to trucks.

The problem is the gas. I have been advised by Adam the service mgr at Towne MINI to go down a grade in gas. Right now I am running 89 octane and all of the problems have gone away. To reinforce this I put in a half tank of 93 and the problem came back in all of it's evil glory.

There is much more than stalling involved here Adam told me that there has been a high incidence of defective fuel senders among BMW and Ford vehicles.

He thinks this is due to high sulphur content in the fuel.

So go a step lower and see if the problem goes away.


Cheers,

Jack

 

Running 89 octane in a MCS? can you say DETONATION!

 

I have had the same problem. I have a sept 03 build 2004. I have not tried the gas thing... I know there was a post about this a few months ago. I will try and find the post about it.

 

Try out a tankful of Citgo 93 octane gasoline and call me in the morning.

 

I have had this problem for a year. 05/03 build. The dealer has no idea what it is, though he has seen it on another car. My rough idle happens all the freakin time. Most stops. A change in gas brand or octane has not made a difference. I use Citgo 93 regulary. No improvement. It does not register any info on the computer either. It is as though the car doesn't even recognize what it is doing.

 

They don't sell Citgo here in Northern California. Also the highest octane they sell here is 91. The other options are 89 and 87. It seems like a bad idea to run as low as 87.

Also I heard from the service manager this morning and he said that MINI tells them they are working on this problem. I'm not really holding my breath. They think the problem is the electronic control system because of the intermitent nature of it. I'm not freaking out for now, but it will be interesting to see if this problem grows in frequency and in the number of MINIs affected.

Thanks for the responses.

Cheers,

 

i have a may 04 build with 1500 miles, and have also had this happen to me occasionally. i have been using 91 shell

 

Bloo is a May 2003 build and didn't have it but one time before I was re-flashed w/ V36 (in December) because of a "little" hesitation problem. Haven't had the hesitation since the reflash but about once every two weeks or so, bloo sounds like its gonna stall while idling at a light. Real funky, as if its occasionaly missing on one cylinder or timing is just slightly off.

I haven't bothered to take it in as it recovers pretty quick. If it gets any more serious, its going in for a checkup. Who knows, maybe V38 would help?

 

Give Union 76 a try in California. It doesn't have MTBE like the others and my MINI is much happier when I run on this. My car runs the worst on Shell (but I haven't tried their new formulation yet). Chevron is OK, but not as good as 76 for my MINI.

 

I have a may 04 builded too with this problem but I was thinking it was the gas too. Even thou I use 91 grade gas. I Believe that gas of today is not the same from a year ago. I had a miata that I sold for my Mini. The 99 miata did this too. On the Miata websites they talk about this problem too. Everything from plugs to gas is talked about. But I still believe that all we can do is get the 91 or higher and hope for the best.

 

There are a few things you can do:

Clean your injectors - throw a bottle of BG44K or Chevron Techron into your gas tank at your next fill-up.

Check your air filter.

Check the mass airflow sensor.

Check your sparkplug wires.

Pull your plugs and re-gap them.

Switch to a different brand of gas.

Reset the ECU (unplug battery for 5-10 mins, plug back in. turn key to on position but do not start. After the throttle body has finished aligning itself (30-60 seconds) start the car and take a drive).

Check your oil level, and change it at 5k intervals with synthetic (rather than the dealer specified intervals).

 

McZinn,

I'll try Union 76 Gas. No stations in California use MTBE anymore because it was outlawed as of Jan. 1, 2004. I know because I was in NY all this week prosecuting all of the oil companies (yes, ALL) for MTBE contamination of drinking water in California. I don't think I can do anything about the high prices though.

Cheers,

 

Thanks for all the info. I have very little knowledge when it comes to engine issues other than checking fluid levels and getting them changed. I am going to print out your list so I have some questions to ask the service manager next time I talk to him. I think they eliminated those type of problems and figure it's the electronic control system because the problem is so intermitent. Oh, well. I'm still having really happy motoring.

Cheers,

 

Hey There,

Let me throw my hat into this ring w/my 02' build. The same symptoms as all have described. V38 was installed a month ago, and I have not experienced the problem since.

Coop..

 

I was just reading up on the v38 and came across this thread – I have the same problem, rough idle intermittent. Does not seem to cause a problem other than it seems like the car is about to die for a couple of seconds.
Prior to the v38 (they called it CD38 on my invoice) I did not have a rough idle problem.
We run 91 octane max here in the Southwest. March build on a 2004 MCS.

 

I have a slight case of this on my MINI... Feb 03' build... it happens once in a while and I have only used Union 76 Gas 91 octane. I was going to switch to Chevron on my next tank to see if it would help my MPG or this rough idle... I'm getting only 16.9 to 17MPG hand calculated... OBC says about the same tihng too 17MPG or so. This is all local driving tho. BUT I would think even local is better than this. I have been driving very very carefully to see if I can get better gas milage on this tank but it seems to be still as bad.

 

I’m with MINI USA. I’m sorry to read about your problem with your rough idle. If you want our assistance, please phone us at (866) ASK MINI and mention Reference # 200422600207 so that we can help you more efficiently.

 

If you do get this rough idle problem fixed be sure to post the solution here so that others will benefit- seems like a common problem with various factors.

 

Should everyone that has this problem call in and use that number?

Cheers,
Jack

 

They would be swamped in a day.