Hi guys.

This morning my 08 R56 did something really weird. Felt like it was losing power and no BOV/DV sound when releasing the throttle. I have the Alta intake on it so it was weird not to hear the noise. Also, my exhaust was sounding very deep. I don't have an exhaust on the car.

Car didn't throw a CEL either.

Could this be a DV or a wastegate issue? Any thoughts? The cars at 78k miles.

Thanks in advance!

 

By "losing power" do you mean it felt slow as sh*t? I don't know why you wouldn't get a code but when mine goes into limp mode (doesn't make any boost) the exhaust is deeper. No boost would explain no dv noise. But the no code I don't know about...

 

Thanks for the info! Good, so the deeper exhaust noise I was hearing wasn't just me. Yeah, the car was losing power. Kind of feels like when you're putting around in 1st gear at higher rpm.

I went to a shop the other day and the diagnostic said that I have a bad HPFP. That explains my rough cold starts and probably the power loss as well. Luckily the dealer is going to cover it under the extended warranty.

 

Good to hear you're covered under the extended warranty.

Also, just a note, since you're getting the HPFP replaced, have you don't a carbon cleaning on your MINI yet at your mileage? Now that you figured out your issue, and if you haven't done a clean up, you may want to invest in it as it will improve your MINI's response as well. More info on the clean up and a good DIY technic here: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...n_Cleaning.htm. After the new HPFP and carbon clean up it should feel like a whole new MINI.

 

Thanks! I haven't done the carbon blasting yet but am expecting to soon. I was relieved that the thing was covered under warranty. Just picked up the car right now, from South Bay Mini in our area as a matter of fact!

 

Hi fellas. Sorry to bring this back from the dead but HPFP has been replaced under warranty but I'm still having this issue.

The occurrence is much more frequent now and DOES periodically throw CEL(but I keep clearing them). I have a code reader but it's unable to display this particular code (BMW specific code?). Again, I'm experiencing a louder and deeper exhaust note during the occurrence, no induction noise whatsoever and no BPV noise when releasing the throttle.

It seems to kind of fix itself and I will hear the BPV noise come back, but not as loud as usual. After a few more shifts and releases of the throttle the noise will come back to normal. Seems like something is stuck but slowly unsticking itself while driving.

Any ideas guys?

 

Did you replace your diverter valve? They are relatively cheap.

 

No I haven't done that yet. I think what I may do is bring the car into an independent shop to run a diagnostic. Hopefully it's a bad diverter valve, seems to be the best case(cheapest) scenario.

Would a faulty diverter valve cause the increased exhaust noise though? During the occurrence, I cannot hear any "sucking" or induction noise under hard acceleration. Could this possibly be caused by the wastegate being stuck in the Open position? Sending all the exhaust out the tailpipe instead of sending it to the turbo?

 

Few things:


feel and press on the vacuum hoses going from vac pump to wastegate (2 small diameter hoses), they could be weak and collapse under high vacuum.


if that is ok, remove the electric blow off valve near the wastegate and inspect the diaphragm.


if that ok, I would swap in a new vacuum control valve (under intake, connected to those 2 vacuum hoses).


if problem still there, then I would suspect a worn/loose wastegate port at exhaust side of turbo and you would need a new turbo.


let us know what you find out.

 

I'd recommend going to a MINI indy shop when the CEL comes back on as they should have the equipment to read the fault code that is being thrown. You could just throw parts at this, but since you do have a CEL your first step would be to figure out what code it is. This will help you diagnose the issue properly. Once you get this code report back and let us know what it is.

 

Thanks for the tip guys!

@ Bloke: Thanks for the tips, I'll give those a shot until I can bring it in for diagnosis.

@ Pelican: Yes, agreed. I guess it's better that there is a CEL to give some direction in way of repair vs having to figure it out with trial and error. I work in the South Bay area, really close to you guys(will call from you guys often). Any recommendations?

Thanks again, fellas

 

Great! You're definitely close to us. I think MiniWorx and even Callas Rennsport works on MINI's. Our in house motorsports specialist used to work at Callas. Great place. I'd probably recommend giving either one of those a call. You can also find others in your area just plugging in your postal code here: http://www.minirepairshops.com/.

 

Thanks for the tip Pelican! Ive been to Miniworx a few times. Both the Redondo location(close to my work in Torrance) and the Culver City location, close to home.

I'll give the link a try as well.

 

Hey fellas. Just an FYI for you guys on what was up with my R56. Apparently there was some kind of leak at the throttle body so it had to be replaced. That would explain the intermittent exhaust noise and lack of boost/acceleration and induction noise.

Shop also said that my Thermostat was bad. I replaced this only 20k miles ago due to a leaky thermostat housing. Apparently the thermostat is now stuck to the "open" position. What kind of symptoms would a stuck "open" thermostat cause?

 

I had a relatively new thermostat stick in the open position....the car wouldn't get up to operating temperature. This happened in the winter on a long road trip....I blocked off the front grilles so it would get a little warmer and so we could have some heat in the cabin.

When I took the thermostat out, the valve was stuck sideways.....

 

It's funny because I have a gauge that monitors water temp but now I can't remember if I recall ever seeing the temperature being too low. It usually runs at about ~219/220ish F.

Fortunately it doesn't really get cold over here.

 

Great news about your previous issue and it being a simple fix. What code was it throwing? It's good to post it in here just in case someone is experiencing the same issues as you and stumbles upon this thread.

As for the thermostat, bugeye gave a good example of what happens when the thermostat is stuck open. It will also throw a code pointing to a bad thermostat. Also, a fault code can be present yet the vehicle will lack any cooling system issues, such as overheating, slow to warm up and lack of heat. This is because the thermostat has a fail-safe mechanical function as well. We have more info on the thermostat here if you're curious.

 

I'm glad I was able to have everything fixed but unfortunately, my scanner tool was not able to read the codes so it was most likely a mini/bmw specific code. I was told that there were codes(but not the actual code) pertaining to the thermostat and throttle body and possibly a code saying that the car was running lean.

Thanks for the info regarding the thermostat as well. I ended up having the thermostat and throttle body replaced. Drove the car going home last night and to work this morning and I'm already feeling much more power and hearing much more "lively" induction noises.