2009 Clubman S Automatic 58000 miles

Out of the blue my wife's Clubman wouldn't start this morning. I checked it out when I got home. It turned over (replaced battery a week or so ago) and sounded like it wanted to start, but it just couldn't quite catch. If this were a 1970's car my first thought would have been it isn't getting fuel. After many tries, it finally started but ran rough. I put a scanner in the ODB port and got 3 error messages.
P0300 Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0301 Cylinder 1 Misfire Detected
P0303 Cylinder 3 Misfire Detected

I pulled coils and moved them all one cylinder to the left. I got the same codes so probably not a coil.
I pulled the plugs and moved them all one cylinder to the left. Again, I got the same codes so probably not a plug. BTW the plugs just looked like old used plugs except the 3rd from the left (cylinder 3?) which had some build-up across the gap. It came right off when I touched it with a knife.

Does anyone have any ideas? Carbon build up, cam/crank position sensors? I can handle a wrench and change out parts, but I'm not an expert at diagnosing issues.

 

You did the correct initial diagnostics with those coils and plugs. Next thing I would do is check compression. If compression all holds, then go after timing, may have skipped a tooth somewhere.

For timing check, I have a timing alignment tool handy. So what I'd do is pull the valvecover first, then rotate the crank to TDC, put the flywheel locking pin in place, then put the timing alignment tools onto the cam slots. If the tools don't line up, then timing is off. If there's a better way out there I'd like to learn, but I've done my method on quite a few vehicles and it's quite easy and worthwhile to perform. Good luck and happy motoring.

You should also check the fuel injectors and rail pressure. Failed injectors can explain the localized misfiring. And the the HPFP can sometimes fail and cause misfiring codes, too, but normally it would have been all 4 cylinders registering the fault codes..

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I don't have the equipment for that. I guess I'll have to take it to a mechanic. Thanks again.

 

cyl order is 1 2 3 4 from the left (passenger) to the right (driver)

EVEN if the spark plugs "look" fine, you need to notice the gaps. It is cheaper to replace them than taking the car to a mechanic.

checking the timing can be done without tools. Simply remove the valve cover, use an 18mm to rotate the engine clockwise, use two long straws in cyl 1 and 2. spin the engine til cyl 1 starts going up while cyl 2 goes down. when they meet at the same level, the letters on the cams need to face up. you can post pictures and the brothers can chime in and guide you.

also, book mark these two sites: realoem.com & newtis.info

 

I dropped it at a shop last night. I don't have time right now to dig into it. They called today and said it needs a timing chain - kind of what I was afraid of. They said when it was running, the misfire was jumping around all 4 cylinders. I thought it was getting noisy too.

Thanks for all of the advice. Great community here!