I have a 2012 Mini Cooper s automatic. Recently my check engine light came on for a p1638 code (throttle body temporarily stuck). The car had no symptoms though and then the light eventually turned off. Every now and then when I was driving the engine half power light would come on for a second or two and turn back off. Still, the car would drive fine. I took it to my mechanic and he was surprised to see me so soon after fixing the issue with the misfire. After talking to him he told me I will most likely need a new throttle body but at this point, but he made it seem like it wasn't a major concern if the car wasn't having severe symptoms. At this point, I have gotten used to the light going on and off. I’ve only had the car for 4 months and had to replace the Vanos solenoid, and deal with an engine misfire so I wasn’t in the mood to repair it immediately since the car was driving fine. Today I was driving, (check engine light on but driving fine) and once I was close to getting back home the car stuttered a bit and the engine half power light came back on and this time it stayed on and went limp mode. Luckily I was Just about two miles away from home and I was able to slowly drive it back. I plugged my scanner in and now I have a p2118 code (throttle actuator control motor) and other codes p11AA, p169f, Now I plan to take it to the mechanic tomorrow and get a new throttle body. Should I be able to drive it to the mechanic that’s 8 miles away if I stay off the freeway? What can I do for my car not to have any more issues or fewer issues? I just want to be able to drive at least a month without having my check engine light come on after a repair. I got a walnut blasting in my calves when I had the misfire and was hoping that would prevent more issues going forward but unfortunately not. Before buying the car I had a mechanic look at the car before buying it and it was fine. Right after buying it, I drove it to Arizona and back from San Diego and everything was fine. A month later it started having issues with the vanos and then the misfire. I’ve had the car for 4 months now and it's one thing after another with it and I've almost spent $1200 on repairs. Are there any tips moving forward? I’m ready to move on and sell it at this point.

 

My suggestion? Get a Bentley manual and a Foxwell scanner, and start to learn how to perform these tasks and repairs on your own. It is very rewarding finding and fixing little issues that pop up, and you’ll save a bunch of money over paying for a mechanic. Even though these are modern cars, they aren’t particularly difficult to work on. Most things can be accomplished on a Saturday afternoon.

As to your current situation, a throttle body shouldn’t be too difficult to replace if you were inclined to start wrenching on the car.

 

Take a step back. The comforting news is that post 2010 models have few issues and are a bit more reliable. As njaremka said, get the repair manual and lookup how to change the throttle body. I would also suggest buying a software named ISTAD with the usb/obd cable. This software can help you run tests on the car and see live data to determine what's exactly the issue.

This site exists so we can help and guide each other. Once you acquire the aforementioned items, we can help you with the next steps specially if you can afford putting the car on hold while repairing these items.

 

I am having a similar issue. I live in Maryland, do have any suggestions for an non-dealership mechanic?