my mini has about 4500miles on it.
last night (30 degrees), i pulled out of a parking lot, onto a street and went thru the gears like everyday normal driving. got into 6th gear and was coasting at around 45mph when the engine jolted twice (very similar to what happens when you run out of gas..) the service engine soon lamp was lit, and the engine just died.

so i pull over to the median..and turn the key to start the engine again, and no problem. the service engine soon light is still on, but it runs no problem. no suspicious sounds, gears feel fine, engine revs fine...all is good. i'm thinking maybe i forgot to tighten the gas cap..nope, thats fine. i'm thinking low oil...thats fine. it just seemed the computer just freaked out for a moment and now its back to normal. i'm thinking cold weather..nope 30 degrees isn't that cold. i'm thinking moisture around the computer...i washed my car 2 days ago.

anyways, the mini's at the dealers now being looked at. the way dealers are, i figure they probably won't have a satisfying explanation for me. i was wondering if any of you guys out there experienced anything similar??

ps: while driving to the dealer to have my mini looked at...i noticed the service engine soon lamp was no longer on...problem all fixed??

 

>>ps: while driving to the dealer to have my mini looked at...i noticed the service engine soon lamp was no longer on...problem all fixed??

Moisture in the fuel...???
Never happened to me in the S. I wouldn't say problem all fixed though.
Do you fill at the same gas station all the time?
Temp this AM?

 

I don't have an S, but isn't that extremely slow for 6th gear?!

 

I don't have my S yet either, but I agree. It seems like at 45 you should be crusing in 4th or maybe 5th.

 

45 in 6th? Sounds like you may have stalled her?

 

45mph in 6th will not stall a mcs.
do you realize you have to be very close to 1000rpm to stall any vehicle?
the mcs coasts around 1700rpm at 45mph.

turns out, it was a fautly throttle body unit.

thanks everyone
origin98

 

Thats been happening to me every 2 weeks or so... push the clutch in to coast around a corner, on comes the check engine light, off goes the engine... so this isn't just an S issue, normal Coopers have it as well. I don't think its anything serious, just a tad annoying. I'm trading the car in in a few months anyways, so I'm not gonna fret it.

 

>>45mph in 6th will not stall a mcs.
>>do you realize you have to be very close to 1000rpm to stall any vehicle?
>>the mcs coasts around 1700rpm at 45mph.


All the same dude, 6th at 45 is really, really pushing it. 4th, definitely. 5th, maybe. 6th, NO way! That's really lugging it to be driving in 6th at that speed. I don't even use 6th unless I'm on a freeway and travelling faster than 70mph. You have no useable torque/hp in that gear at that speed. 1700rpm is much too low. That's a sniff above idle.

R

 

>>>>
>>I don't have an S, but isn't that extremely slow for 6th gear?!

Yeah, I don't get into sixth until 75-80. And that's low.

 

>>45mph in 6th will not stall a mcs.
>>do you realize you have to be very close to 1000rpm to stall any vehicle?
>>the mcs coasts around 1700rpm at 45mph.
>>
>>turns out, it was a fautly throttle body unit.

I agree that it's ok to cruise at45mph in 6th as long as you don't try to accelerate briskly in that same gear. I had he same symptoms (cutting out, service engine light) traced to the throttle valve.

 

45mph in sixth. 1800 RPMs shouldn't stall even if you
push it to the floor. Did you solve this?

 

don't know if this is true with the MINI but when I had my Miata the manual said that driving for extended periods at below 2000 rpm was bad for the engine.

 

Hi Origin,
I had the same problem. Regular MC with CVT.
Worse for me. It happen a couple of times circulating and the last one was in a parking lot. It never started.
So I sent it already twice to service. The last time they changed the main computer. It's working ok now but still when you stop for a traffic light the engine goes below 1000rpm like it is going to jolt and the back to 1000....
The car is not reliable anymore for me.

 

For me, over the years when I drive a car, I pay attention to the RPMs and at what speed I reach those RPMs. For instance, in the Typhoon, I know that at around 70 mph, I should be at around 3200 or so RPM. I can almost gauge how fast I am going by the RPMs alone. (the typhoon is an automatic)

That said, when just cruising in the MINI (not doing my SpeedRacer imitation), when getting up to speed, I shift at around 4000 rpm and I cruise at 3000-3200 RPM. So, if I am in third, and I am at 3000 or so, I am cool. Any more than that, I shift to 4th, etc etc. So, I doubt I'd ever be doing 45 mph in 6th gear as the RPMs would probably be around 2000 or less RPMs. I don't like the sluggishness of any car when it is in higher gear than is necessary. Not to mention they are so easy to stall out. I have noticed that the MINI S likes you to step on her gas when you are, say, at a stop light and starting up. Almost like a race type clutch or something. I have stalled out at a light because I have not given her enough gas.

Barb, whose nickname was Mario in High School! LOL

 

>>I don't have my S yet either, but I agree. It seems like at 45 you should be crusing in 4th or maybe 5th.

6th works great at 45, at least with my MCS. It drives like a charm. Of course, one shouldn't try to accelerate in 6th at that speed. It would be unresponsive and also waste of gas.

 

hmmm....i have never EVER heard of any good reason to be driving 45 i guess MPH in 6th gear....it could even be dangerous if you did have to suddenly need to excelerate....like if you where doing double that maybe i could see sixth...

 

this is exactly what happened to me except I have a CVT. I dunno why these coopers are doing it.

 

>>Hi Origin,
>>I had the same problem. Regular MC with CVT.
>>Worse for me. It happen a couple of times circulating and the last one was in a parking lot. It never started.
>>So I sent it already twice to service. The last time they changed the main computer. It's working ok now but still when you stop for a traffic light the engine goes below 1000rpm like it is going to jolt and the back to 1000....
>>The car is not reliable anymore for me.

See my latest post in the "MINI Recalls CVT transmission" discussion thread.

 

While you will save gas at 1700 rpm, 45 in 6th, that is really slow. Plus low rpm's/high torque situations are very bad for an engine. That chugging sound you get if you try to accelerate is proof off that. I suggest keeping it above 2000 for cruising and 3000 when accelerating.