Hi there,

I've owned my 02 MCS for a little less than a year now and it's great.

HOWEVER, there are 4 things that annoy me a bit and I wonder if they're related in some way.

1. Cold Start Problem....engine dies on first attempt to start at sitting for a while (>4 hours).
I have tried different makes of fuels, different octane ratings etc. with little or no change.

2. Mild Yo-Yo when engine is warming up.

3. Slight delay or stutter when trying to pull off smoothly but fast from the lights.

For example: beside a Porsche at the lights, he takes off hard and you're already moving and you ease the gas pedal to quicken your acceleration. This scenario has the MCS hesitating and then it goes. It's a bit like mild turbo lag.


4. Fuel consumption.
No matter how I drive, the fuel consumption is a bit disappointing. It uses more fuel than my wife's Subaru Outback. I'm not complaining, but it's just strange that the MCS has what could be fuel related issues (1, 2, 3) and yet it drinks the stuff.




I brought my MCS to my MINI garage in the hope that they could fix the cold start issue. I was told that they read an error code relating to low fuel pressure.

They suggested that the Fuel Pressure Regulator (FPR) may be at fault, but they were honest enough to say they aren't certain and it could be something else.

They were unwilling to give me a software upgrade because they had read the low fuel pressure error code. This makes sense to me, because the FPR does not appear to be software controlled (I think it is controlled by vacuum).

I'll change the FPR, but what happens if the problem still exists. I don't want to waste my money. The relatively high fuel consumption does not seem to fit with the other issues.


What do others think?


Dave

 

We need more information on your car. Is this a 6 sp. or auto, what kind of milage are you getting? How many miles? Recent Maintenance?

Cold start issue appears to have been fixed with a software update earlier last year.

Yo-yo is caused by a soft bypass valve spring and can be corrected using several fixes searchable on this forum. Check out Detroit Tuned for an updated bypass that will fix the problem in most cases.

Can't help you with the stutter, could be many things, ASC/DSC tripping due to wheel spin, automatic transmission, you not slipping the clutch enough and lugging the engine, etc. The MCS is supercharged, so it makes absolutely no HP until the SC starts spinning and boosting (Around 2,000 RPM's). You'll have a more enjoyable driving experiance if you blip the throttle up to 1600-1800 RPM's when you take off.

Low fuel pressure can be a lot of things. Try running a bottle of fuel injector cleaner for the next 2 tanks of gas and see if that clears up your fuel system a bit. If that doesn't work, your FPR may be on it's way out.

 

Hi RustyBoy55,

Thanks for getting back to me.

My MINI is an early 2002 Cooper S, 6-speed, with about 40,000 miles on the clock.

Serviced when my OBC says......due for one very shortly.

I have run a fuel injector cleaner through the system...no difference.

Why do you also suggest my FPR may be failing? Could the low pressure code that the MINI techs read not be from some other fuel line component? Perhaps you're thinking that a faulty FPR would be the cause of the loss of fuel pressure and also stop the fuel pump from pressurising the system again?

Sorry, but as a classic Mini nut, I'm still learning about fuel injection etc..

 

E-Mail Danny at MINI Corsa.

Danny@minicorsa.com

He'll be able to give you a better idea than I will what's going on. There are literally tons of reasons you could be getting a low fuel pressure code. I'd start with your fuel filter (Unlikely it's been replaced, as it's not part of the regularly scheduled maintenance). It's possible that the FPR is causing it, although I don't know i've ever heard of one failing on a MINI. They're pretty basic parts.

I don't feel comfortable going 15k miles between oil changes, but if you do, all power to you .

 

What kind of fuel consumption are you getting? You said it wasn't very good.

 

Just for comparison, I get just about 30 mpg in my 02 MCS. I have found that if I put the ignition in accessory mode for about 10 seconds before a cold start, it turns over without stalling. Otherwise it does stall if the engine is cold. I wonder if upgrading the air intake might help you out at those traffic light starts. It may also improve your mileage a little bit.

 

UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!

All this time I thought the Chevron Techron fuel cleaner completely fixed my stumble after startup....

Turns out, it still does it IF I KEEP THE CLUTCH PUSHED TO THE FLOOR.

If I have it in neutral, and let the clutch out after starting, NO STALL.

Also, I know it's been discussed before, but my VAC readings drop to almost 0 as it tries to stall, but never fully does.

EVERYONE, try letting out the clutch right after you start the car (in neutral of course) and Post your results!

 

2nd that my 05' does the same on a cold start in the AM. I start the car it idles fine for about 3 seconds..then stumbles slightly for about 2-3 seconds then is fine. Never has stalled on me.

 

Is your car still stumbling? Did you ever fix the problem?

 

Is their anyone outhere that took action with a lawyer in refunding your money and having a more reliable car? My 2005 MCS completely shut down on me twice on 826(the palmetto in Miami) I was freakin the **** out plus furious. Hello thats a hazard!!! I could have gotten killed or a major accident. After bugging the hell out of Mini parts & services they fixed the problem by changing the program software of the motor. But I continue to have the stumbling or stalling in the mornings or when the car is not in use after two hours or more. The other issue I have is the tires but thats another long story. HOnestly I am not a happy customer.

 

my 02 mcs has stumbled three times in the last two years only after driving almost a mile and coming to a complete stop i would sit at the light and raise the rpm's and it would run fine for at least 3 months. i am replying because because i noticed water puddling around the gas cap when i was about to fill up. i wiped it off and filled up and saw that the gas cap doesn't cover the tank neck. maybe when it rains or you wash your car, water is getting in the tank.

 

After reading this thread most of the morning, I thought I would chime in on my problem...the stumbling start. 05 MCSa I bought with 9000 miles earlier this year. She starts fine but then immediately acts like she is going to die. I never thought much about it because if I put her in drive or reverse, she goes and stops acting like she is going to die. (and I don't know much about cars) But then my hubby was in the car with me and she tried the die-ing (sp?) act...and he said no good. Now this morning, she actually did die on me! All the warning lights come on. I turn her off and remove the key. Try to start her again and she starts, acts like she will die (but doesn't) and now my service engine soon light is on. She doesn't do this everytime, just after sitting for awile. (Like other people's cars) I have tried different gas octanes, companies and fuel injector cleaners - no luck.

My question: I am have an appointment tommorrow at the dealership and would like to know if anyone has had luck with getting this fixed? Seems like no.

 

I haven't hard of any fixes.

But now that ethanolized gas is disappearing from the stations around here for the winter, I'm having less of an issue with the stumbling start.

 

That's BMW for you. I had a Z4 that did this a few times. Dealer was unable to fix it. Finally (maybe a year or so later) BMW acknowledges the problem and issues a fix - but the fix is by invitation only, it was being phased in. And even though I had reported the problem many times, I was not on the initial list. I had to wait a few months for it. But the most annoying thing was that in the beginning the dealer just kept saying that my car was not on the recall list and did not need to be repaired. Then finally BMW mailed me and told me that it was. I was quite furious.

 

Yes, my car intermittenly wont start after a few hours. Damb car is only 1 year old

 

Same thing happens to my '04 aswell. In the mornings its sometimes takes a little longer to start. The funny thing is that I parked my car for 2 month at one point and it started just fine after that time.

 

In the winter the car start ok
In the summer it takes a little longer to start sometimes

2006 mini cooper s con

 

Since day ONE I've had the same weird issue. Nemo is an '06 MCSCa. When I first start him up and try to drive up the street away from my house, he hesitates. When I stop at the stop sign then proceed, I almost have to push the gas pedal all the way down to get him to move. If I don't, he hesitates really badly and will barely move.

I've told my MINI Dealer about this probably four times and they've yet to do anything about it anytime they have him for a check-up or repair.

I've tried reading over this very long thread and haven't really seen a solid fix posted anywhere. I use the highest grade gas everywhere I go... at least 91 if not higher. (My fuel sticker says 91 or higher).

IS there a fix for this?? Has anyone solved it yet??

My friend is trying to convince me that Nemo is an "unlucky car" because of all the weird things that keep happening to him. His tag even has the word "Lucky" in it... so I REFUSE to think that this adorable, fun to drive car could ever be unlucky!! I love my little Nemo!

 

If I had those problems, I'd give up on MINI and trade it in on a real BMW. Luckily mine have been no where near as bad. BTW, it's also an '06 MCSCa.

My dealer said that MINI/BMW plans to do NOTHING about the ethanol-related engine problems. That there is nothing they can do. They just say try different gas and different stations, that all high compression engines will do this. I think this is BS. My Z4 3.0 never had this problem. And I will bet big bucks that BMW would not allow this to happen on their high end models. Would you buy a 750i that doesn't start in the morning? There must be a way to remedy it, but MINI doesn't want to do it - and this really pisses me off. A loaded MCSCa easily outprices some low end BMWs, yet BMW is treating us like the cheap customers and cutting corners (their policy on oil change + oil service at 1 year is a good example of how stupid their cost cutting is).

I'm also pissed at the US government for mandating ethanol in the gas when it does absolutely no good for anyone (except ethanol makers) but that's another story.

Sorry for the rant. That being said, I have switched to BP/Amoco lately and I haven't had the stumbling problems in the morning.

 

My '04 MCS, 6 speed has this problem upon start-up. I only run Shell or QT 91 octane (Top Tier gasoline) since new. Upon taking my car for its final warrantied service, the motoring adviser told me to switch to the lowest octane and even noted in the ticket that BMW makes this recommendation for the MCS in order to address the stalling problem. As this didn't sound right, I pushed for details on any bulletin given the fact that the gas cap, owners manual, etc. all specific 91 minimum octane. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had a similar such experience...

 

I've heard mention of that too (using lower octane) but not from my dealer. Probably couldn't hurt. I remember reading of some tests someone did with some BMW E46 3-series cars - including the M3. They used low octane gas and tested the performance and so on. It didn't have that much of an effect. In fact, for some unexplained reason the M3 actually was FASTER with the lower octane gas.

 

--I warm my car up for atleast 60 seconds even here in sunny warm honolulu, but I have had my car stall at low speeds at least twice in the past. The dealer told me that it might have been bad gas as nothing showed up in on the computer logs.

I took my MCSA in for her annual service a couple of weeks back and I was told there was a software fix for my stalling problem. It was released in July of this year and I grumbled that no one had notified me of it otherwise I would have taken it in sooner.

After having the software update done my MCSA runs MUCH smoother. No more stalling, seems like it shifts better and the low end power is much better and more linear. Almost no more yoyo.

I can't speak for the manual Cooper S's but for the MCSA 2006 and older, go get it done! You'll be blown away by how much more comfortable the car will drive especially up hills and at low speeds.

~pyratio

 

All,

I have the very same problem on my "04 MCS...since last December, when I had a clutch replaced. The mileage was around 20,000 and there was no other issue other than a squaling noise first start of the day. Hence, the clutch replacement.

On the 1+ hour trip home at highway speeds, I didn't notice anything. When I stopped for the first traffic light the engine almost died. It was at an uphill light, after about ten seconds at idle with about half tank of fuel.

I replaced the plugs to DENSA's, added an ALTA CAI and continue adding STP fuel treatment, in case of water. The problem continues to this day and the dealer does not admit that it happens to them even after keeping the car for a week. The symptom is OBVIOUS.

MY SUSPICION: I believe when the front end was disassembled for the clutch, a vacuum line was kinked or not connected during the re-assembly. JTMONTOYA says he experienced a reduction in the VAC indication, and I believe that is the reason. I intend to get a few mods this spring that will require dis-assembly of the front and I'll get the mech to check for the condition of ALL vacuum hoses. MORE TO COME!!!

If anyone finds a cure, please post it so we will all benefit.

 

Watkinra, your problem sounds very different than what is causing most people's stalling in this thread - ethanol, and it only really affects the car at startup. I actually had a Z4 that was doing exactly what you describe. It was a known problem with the initial Z4s. BMW eventually fixed it - they classified it as some kind of vapor lock problem and I forget what they replaced....

And I'm unsure if my MINI problem is/was ethanol or not. The dealer claims that ethanol is used year round now in the northeast (something I thought was impossible - I was told a while ago that it can't be used in the winter because it freezes?) and they warned me that it'd get WORSE in the winter. However, my MINI has been stutter free since around September. I tend to think the dealer was wrong - the gas stations I go to no longer have the ethanol signs up. But I'm not really sure. Either they are wrong, or my problem is not ethanol but something else entirely that only affects the car when it's warm enough outside.

 

My situation may be a little different, however, I'll describe it, b/c...drum roll please, it's finally fixed!

This only happened when the car had been sitting for more than 6 hours, in any weather and driving conditions.

Drive about .5-2 miles and the car goes into limp mode--check engine and traction control lights on, no boost, (I put a guage in the air vent), and the exhaust note sounds terrible, (I have an Invidia and rear seat delete).

Dealer was able at one time or another to diagnose a "random misfiring" problem but unable to fix it. They finally engaged MINI USA and they determined it was...another drum roll please, the fly wheel. Yes, the fly wheel, they said it has a spring and was out of balance or something?

As when you cross an elephant and a rhino, elephino if that was true, but I'll say the car is running fine now after two weeks of over six hour starts and HARD driving, (as usual), I'm a spirited driver and take this car to the track, too.

BTW, I've put the same, non-ethanol gas mostly the whole time, except when I switched to appease them, and then switched back.

Not sure if this helps anybody, and good luck with your own situations!