So I've brought my 2012 Mini Cooper base to get inspected a few times now. I initially brought it into the Mini dealership to get it fully serviced and ready for inspection, but even after driving plenty of distance it still fails the emissions. There's no check engine or service light but when they run the test it keeps showing up with the o2 sensor and the egr as not ready/incomplete. I then brought it in to Mini for them to 'reprogram' it and that didn't work. I ended up having to get the thermostat replaced as the check engine light came on for that last week as well. I drove at least 200 miles and brought it back and still no luck. Both Firestone and the Mini dealership tell me to keep driving it and then bring it back but I've driver well over 1,500 miles at this point and 'just driving' it hasn't done anything, and it seems like neither place has a clue. Anyone have similar issues or any solutions to fix this? I've only found threads regarding '02-'07 minis, none for 2012's. Thanks!

 

There's a specific set of drive cycles that the car checks for in order to be considered "ready", it seems to be manufacturer specific but in general there's a sequence of driving conditions that need to be met.

for example:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...n-testing.html
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nspection.html

I had the same issue when trying to get my car smogged for the first time but I ended up just driving around a bunch and it became ready. 1,500 miles seems like an awful lot though. Clearing the ecm will reset the o2 readiness test though (reprogramming or disconnect the battery)

 

Well earlier today I decided to disconnect the battery since that's the only thing that I haven't actually tried yet, so I'll try going through the driving cycle(s) again when I get the chance and try what those have suggested and just gotta hope for the best I guess. Thank you

 

Maybe it needs an o2 sensor. I've had them fail on BMW's before. How many miles on the car?

Kind of hard to believe that 1500 miles of driving wouldn't get drive cycles reset.

 

install torque on an android device, and get an elm327, go to the readiness screen and it will tell you what step is incomplete, then you can google what bmw requires for that step

 

What is your usual commute like? Speed, distance, normal rpm?

 

Here's is the drive procedure from BMW to ensure emission monitoring has been performed before testing.

Preconditions:
No problems defined before test drive.
Any stored fault codes were worked through beforehand.
Fault memory of engine control unit has been cleared.

Test drive procedure:
Start journey in a cold state, allow the engine to idle for three minutes.
Drive the vehicle for approx. four minutes in the speed range between 40 and 50 km/h.
Drive the vehicle dynamically for approx. fifteen minutes between 60 and 100 km/h. Incorporate at least 10-30 overrunning phases and load changes. The overrunning phases must last between 5 an 18 seconds. The shorter the overrunning phases, the more of them must be carried out.

 

ive considered that but also found it odd that none of the places I've brought it to have suggested that at this point, that's the main reason why I haven't. And about 76,500 miles on the car.

 

did you check what torque had to say yet? grasping at straws until then

 

i don't have access to an Android device, is there anything available for apple? Plus I already know what things are incomplete. and I've already tried looking for steps to take and couldn't find anything for 2012 mini's, only 1st gens, that's why I made this thread. I apologize if that came off as rude, not meant to be. Basically all that I've been told is to keep driving and going through driving cycles, and still nothing and it feels like I'm just beating a dead horse at this point

 

Good luck sounds like you know exactly what stage is not set ready.

BMW drive cycles are well documented for each of the tests

 

It's the o2 sensor and the EGR that are incomplete, and I've tried multiple things. I almost feel like it might just be the computer at this point honestly, because I have done some of the drive cycle things where you accelerate to 'x' speed and stay there for x time, then coast down to x speed, etc. It's just getting annoying at this point

 

the test cycle is very specific, you have the bmw instructions? remember the warning, if you exceed 60mph it stops the test and wont set ready, if you exceed 3000 rpm you fail at the test, if you have large throttle input changes, the test will stop

 

When I worked on my minis and was ready for inspection, i would take it for a 65 mile drive from local (about 10 miles) and 55 on the highway. drive straight to mechanic and pass inspection!!!

there are codes however that might show on the scan tool that do not trigger the CEL. So, drive the car for 60 to 65 miles and get a scan. see what pops up and go from there.

 

Are you sure it does not have a "tune"? I have looked into tunes, and as far as I can see, they eliminate the check engine light from coming on, but not so sure if they actually run the "readiness monitors". If the monitors have not been run here in Cali, automatic fail. Maybe something to look into?

 

To the OP: I recently went through this bit of ordeal with my newly-purchased, used 2011 Mini Cooper S Hardtop, because I got caught in the crossfire between HPFP issues that intermittently fire up the check engine light and the need to emissions test quickly after purchase.

Short version:

(1) Read a ton of stuff about this from a ton of places, including some of the upthread-cited ones that detail drive cycles in general and BMW drive cycles in particular.

(2) Figured out by trial and error that the biggest pain in the #@#$ part was what the car wanted done at low speeds.

(3) Conjured up my own drive routine that seems to do the trick; I came up with these after reading about the BMW standard, and tried to get as close as I could get to it given that I had no luck at getting it "perfect." If the readiness standard in your geography is met so long as at least all the tests are completed but one, this might work for you.

-- Part I: slow drive. 20-30 MPH, do NOT top 30 MPH, do NOT drop below 20, do NOT stop, for maybe 10-15 minutes. Not saying this is what the docs say. Saying this is what I did, more than once, and it works every time to knock out a good number of the tests.

-- Part II: then turn to highway speed drive -- with highway speed meaning no more than 60MPH. This top speed is referenced in the BMW drive cycle. So I got on the highway, put the cruise control at 55MPH, and drove until I hit a ready state.

With regard to what app to use if you're not in Android-land, I use OBDFusion on my iPhone in combination with an ELM327 OBDII adapter that the iPhone can talk to, during the entire drive, via wifi. You can check the readiness monitors in real time (manual refresh but hey, still works), and being able to do this is how I figured out that the approach was actually working without having to do long runs and cross my fingers at the end.

Just to be clear, I've done this a couple of times since passing emissions-- meaning I've cleared codes, and done this drive cycle while monitoring, just to see if I had actually nailed something. In my case, with my available terrain, it seems to work. The EVAP test is the one I can't force into readiness, but in my geography 7 out of 8 will get the car to a ready-for-testing state. And finally, just for grins, also seemed to work for getting a 2004 Pontiac Grand AM to a ready state (don't ask, one of those "for a friend" things...)

Oh, and pending codes, meaning codes that are awaiting confirmation but not lighting up the MIL yet, will muck up readiness. If you have those you're going to be headdesking for a while. Gotta get those to, ah, go away. If you have any uncertainty about whether you have *any* pending, confirmed, or permanent codes, find out with a scanner/OBDFusion/Torque/you get the idea.

Hope this helps.

 

Whats the update?

 

I know this might be a dumb question but will any of these driving procedures be helpful and WORK if someone has a catless downpipe and needs to pass emissions? I wonder if the OP's issue is cat related.

 

I would change the coolant temp sensor. It’s cheap end easy. Without that reading correctly your fuel trims and emissions will never self regulate correctly. How old is your battery? Give it a full charge, change the CTS and drive the %#}* out of it. A morning of driving and you’ll be set for sticker IMO. Let us know what happens!

 

The Evap monitor is always the
hardest for me to complete after
clearing a code. It usually takes
many attempted drive cycles.
I know I can pass inspection with
just one sensor incomplete, but
it still bugs me and I’d rather not
have the technician bug me about
what’s causing the incomplete
evap sensor.
I’ve found that I can test the evap
pump cycle with my Launch x431
ProS Mini scan tool and after several
minutes it’s done and it also completes
the evap I/M readiness monitor
without having to do any more
drive cycles.
My Schwaben tool doesn’t seem to
have this function.