My daughter recently purchased a Mini here at home (midwest) and drove it out to Wyoming for a job she has. It ran fine on the trip up there but now she's having problems (of course it started after the wife and I left). The engine light is on, engine is sluggish when turning on, it will start but takes a couple of turn overs to actually start. When she does go to accelerate, it seems sluggish when kicking into gear. She's near Jackson Hole and apparently the only fuel she can find is 91 octane (not sure if this is an issue). She took it to a local mechanic who hooked it up and said that the engine is missing. Any suggestions?

 

I'm surprised it runs at all with the engine missing. Every car I've ever driven required an engine

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

 

No problem, I think I said the same thing to her.

 

OK, to be of more help, more info is necessary, year, model, miles and any information on service history. Could be anything including coil, plugs, fuel pump, throttle body and depending on engine, a whole other list of possibilities. She also needs to be careful where she takes it. Shops not familiar with BMW/MINI can get into and/or cause all kinds of trouble. A couple of shops in the Jackson area (no qualifications offered but most listed on this website are reliable):
https://www.minirepairshops.com/sear...20Hole%2C%20Wy

 

I forwarded the information to her.

She has a 2007, the engine has been replaced (original engine was cooked when a previous owner apparently didn't know what a high temp light meant).

I do know that before we left it was driven much.

 

Usually the higher you go in altitude the lower the octane needed so I bet thats not it. It sounds like HPFP issues (the sluggishness, hard starts). Its not like an older carburated car, the computer will adjust for altitude change so its not that. Jackson hole is a good area but sparsely populated. Salt lake city may be closest mini dealer who would infact be able to Dx it pretty quickly. May want to do it sooner rather then later before it dies completely. I wish I could tell you a good mechanic but I used to live in Cheyenne hundreds of miles away so wouldent know out that way.

 

Is it a Mini Cooper 'S'? If so, will have a air scoop on the hood. If not, you are in luck as the non 'S' has far fewer problems.

Also, would be very helpful to post the code of the Check Engine Light. A lot of auto parts stores will read it for free..

 

Nope, a standard Mini. I forwarded the shops who service Mini's to her and recommended that she go to them before she lets anyone else touch her car.

 

She called one of the shops on the list. He's going to take a look at it tomorrow (Friday). Will give her the code and let her know her options. She said he sounded nice. Not sure which one she went to but I will let everyone know which one once she see them.

 

 

She's at the mechanic right now. Since the car wasn't driven for quite a while and then we took it on a 14 hour drive apparently there was some engine build-up (this was something my regular mechanic was worried about) and they are flushing the engine.

Bottom line, several codes, oil quite dirty with carbon in it. Possibly the vanos system. They are going to have her bring it in for oil changes every 1,000 miles twice. He said that the check-engine light will come on again, that's why they're going to try this first. They are hoping that this will clear it up otherwise it has to go to a BMW dealership for about $3,500 worth of work.

Considering where she works and the mileage she will be putting on it I'm not sure when she's going to put a 1,000 miles on the car.

 

I don't see a 'fingers crossed' smiley but consider one posted.

 

What do they mean by "engine build up" and "flushing the engine"? Washing the inside of the engine with solvents can do more harm than good.

 

I also don't like engine flushes. Solvents added to the oil can cause all kinds of issues. I am hoping for a misfire issue created by a coil pack going bad. Old coil packs on a new engine are still the old coil packs....

Updates?

 

Did your mechanic check the oil when your daughter first bought the mini?

What is the warranty left on the mini?

The mechanic that she took it to may not know what he is doing, because he is not a Mini mechanic!

 

You must have missed the post below, easy to do, it's an '07 so no warranty.

 

No warranty, purchased from my local mechanic in the midwest and she drove it out to Wyoming.

Actually the mechanic who fixed it was listed on this site:

https://www.minirepairshops.com/

He was familiar with Mini's and diagnosed the problem (deposits in the engine and oil) and has fixed it. However he does recommend that she get an oil change after she drives it for 1,000 miles and again the next 1,000 miles to make sure that the engine is clear.

Just to give him a shout out, she took it to Rabbit Row Repair in Wilson WY.

Just to give everyone an update, she said it's running great and has had no problems so far.

 

Daughter is a hot mess right now. Had it towed in to the mechanic who originally worked on it. The check engine light was blinking. He hooked it up (I don't have the code) and discovered the VANOS Solenoid needs replacing. Now we are looking at options because the cost to fix that is out of the question and probably worth more than the car iteself. Just shoot me now.