Gah. And things were going so well, too. I finished out the break-in yesterday afternoon, at least...

Today, as I was driving down the street from my office, my '05 MCS lost power, and the SES light came on. I was accelerating to just about 4000 RPM, probably in 2nd gear, and the engine basically stopped. It completely stopped generating power, and there was only the most minute response to full throttle. I put on my hazards, pulled over, turned the car off and started it back up. The SES light was still on, but I had power again... until I hit 4k again, then it was the same old song.

Fortunately, my office is about 2 miles from the dealership (Dreyer & Reinbold) and traffic wasn't *too* bad (I just restarted the engine while coasting), so I was able to get there without too much difficulty. I'm now driving a Mercury Sable from Enterprise.

Does this problem ring a bell with anyone? I'd noticed during the last two days when starting the car first thing in the morning that it stumbled after the engine caught, as it was returning to normal low idle (about 2 seconds after starting it); it sounded like it wanted to stall completely, but didn't, and then ran normally. I've noticed fairly "unsmooth" throttle response, but I'm not so sure that's specific to my MINI.

I expect to hear back from my SA tomorrow noonish, but I didn't want to wait too long before trying to stir up some wild speculation here.

What kind of experiences have y'all had regarding loaner cars and rentals through the dealership for these kinds of things? My dealer's given me four (I think) "coupons" to be used towards rentals, in the event a loaner isn't available, but, given that I've had the car for about three weeks and less than 1300 miles, I'm kind of upset that they're asking me to cough up a coupon. I feel like they should be kissing my *** to make this right ASAP and that I shouldn't have to bring anything to the table, coupon or no coupon.

Thanks, all.
B (Bumming in Indy)

 

Sounds like a problem with the drive-by-wire system. You seem to be in limp home mode which explains why you could not get the rpms up. Sounds like a faulty part.. Should not be a major fix if so.... Good luck and let us know.

 

sounds like your Siemens unit fried on U. And my dealer (Schomp) always has a loaner for me, mostly MINI cabrios. But last time it was a BMW Z4 (guess if they cant sell 'em they loan 'em.)

 

My prediction - wiring harness issue, either a loose connection or possibly a faulty connector. Because of the complexity of the ECU's many connections it could be in a number of places.

I've had this happen several times on my previous '02 MCS, it just seems that the ECU is very intolerant of any marginal signals that it may be getting and either shuts down completely or goes into limp-home mode (EML lamp lit).

Don't worry, the dealer will sort it out for you pretty quickly.

 

Please tell me they are paying for your rental.

 

And another thing - this very problem was the reason I went straight to the hardware store and bought some safety flares. The last time it happened with my '02 I was cruising on the interstate at about 70MPH in the center lane. Total loss of power without any warning -- I barely had enough time to get off to the shoulder but NO FARTHER than the white line. It was white-knuckle time for about a half hour until the tow truck got there, I was inches from the semi-tractors blasting past and I couldn't do anything about it.

At least {if,when} it happens again I'll whip out the flares and hopefully warn the other cars so they can try not to hit me....

 

[wow; lots of responses. catch-up mode.]

Hey, man, there's nothing wrong with my revs!

Oh, sorry; wrong post.

I will definitely keep y'all posted. Interestingly (did I mention this, already?) there were some unspecified "computer issues" when I took delivery, that pushed delivery back a day while the dealer tried to get MINIUSA to tell 'em what to do. That did leave me with a slightly wary feeling. Glad it didn't get prolonged *too* much. Ha!

Only the SES light was on, not the EML light, which I was keeping an eye on. I hope it's not any kind of wiring issue; I've got one of GBMINI's auto-up circuits installed (goes in-line between the toggle switches and its wiring harness), and a Dension ice>Link: Plus installed. I would have removed the auto-up circuit if I'd had a little more time, but about 10 minutes passed between the time the car started acting up and arriving at the dealership.

I'm a little peeved about the rental; thus far, Enterprise is satisifed because the SA gave me a voucher, but we'll see if they try to get me to cough up a coupon, too. I called my MA to have her clarify when I should them; she maintains that they're for exactly this situation, but I'm still annoyed that I may have to use one so soon. I certainly don't intend to offer one up, and I may fight, depending on how I feel.

 

My dealer, Lauderdale MINI, has free MINI loaners or if they are out of them, free Enterprise rent-a-car loaners. I have never paid a cent before for a loaner vehicle from them. You shouldn't as well.

Keep us posted with your situation. What a bummer but hopefully it won't be anything too bad and besides the ECU should have stored in memory a code(s) that caused the sudden engine power loss.

What build date is your MCS?

I have over 1,600 miles on mine, and thakfully, no problems to date. My MCS is a mid 2/2005 build and it was delivered late March '05.

 

I agree. I'm notorious (in my own mind, anyway) for getting really fired up! ... and then avoiding confrontation. *shrug*

The SES light is still on, so at least I don't have to (potentially) deal with "there's nothing wrong until the computer says something's wrong" that I've heard about so many times, both here and MINI2. :-)

Mid-April. I don't have the exact date handy. I took delivery on 5/20.

I'll be updating both my weblog and this thread as I learn more.

 

We went through the same ordeal with my wife's X5. It turned out to the entire throttle body assembly needed replacement.

Luckily, the incident occurred right in front of our house.

 

Had a similiar problem shortly after break-in, turned out it was the waste-gate stuck open. MINI of Peabody got it replaced and was golden since.

Good luck! and I'm sure it'll be motoring again quickly. BTW, you may notice another light or 2 for the next thousand miles now that you can actually run the engine. Found out I also had a crimped intecooler boot that resulted in a slight vacuum leak above 5,000 RPM ...

 

My dealer also offers MINI loaners and if they are out of MINI's then they start using the BMW loaners, although I'd rather have a MINI. One time, while I was standing at the loaner counter which is in the garage/showroom area, the SA came up behind me and said if they were out of cars I could have this one. So, I turn around to look at what he was talking about and it was a Z8 that just got off the truck. They weren't out of MINI's, but he would've been surprised when I went to get in it. I don't think they would've given me the keys though

 

I thought about this too, but would that get reset when shutting the engine off and starting it back up again?

Thanks! I sure hope so!

 

This thread might be better in Beneath the Bonnet.

 

Ive yet to have a warranty issue with my MINI but with all my previous cars, anytime i had warranty work done i was either provided a loaner or if one wasnt available, a free rental. If they try and make you pay ANYTHING for your rental, first refuse, then complain to MINIUSA and get reimbursed for whatever you end up having to spend. The whole point of a warranty is for us as buyers not to have any expenses relating to the repair of a covered item. That includes parts, labor, materials, rentals/loaners, and in our case lodging, etc. if your in the middle of a trip somewhere.

 

I don't know how to move it myself, but I'm fine with that if an admin wants to.

 

Not to try and turn the reality filter back on, but I think you're interpreting the term "Warranty" very liberally -

The warranty covers everything that is specifically documented in the nice pamphlet that comes in your owner's manual folder. If it's not explicitly listed in that document, then it's not part of the warranty.

Things like loaners, free rental cars, etc. are not part of the warranty but are typically provided at the servicing dealer's discretion. In my case, the MINI dealer is also a BMW dealer, and they have a nice fleet of MINIs and BMWs that are available for loaners, for scheduled service appointments. They always ask when I schedule service if I will need a loaner, and they reserve one for me. I don't know if this applies to all of their customers, or just people who purchased the car from their dealership.

Once or twice when I had an "unscheduled" service visit, they had no available loaners for me. They proceeded to send me next door to Enterprise and paid for the rental.

In the last 2 years I've had the following loaners from them:

X3
Z3 (7 days!, while waiting for a new EDK from Germany)
MINI CVT (3 or 4 times)
Ford Focus (Enterprise)
Dodge RAM pickup (Enterprise)


Trip Interruption benefits are part of the MINI roadside assistance coverage that you get with a new MINI, not part of the warranty. BriNYU here on NAM just took advantage of this, I think when they were stranded in Chicago with a failing clutch or somesuch.

 

12:52pm
left message for SA, as I haven’t heard anything so far today

2:23pm
still hadn’t heard anything. I finally talked to my SA who told me they’re waiting to hear from MINI, but he confirmed my problem exists. S.h.i.t. A blind man in the dark could have told that. Possible suspects are throttle body or wiring harness. I get the Sable for another day. Yay.

 

I'll be curious to see if they have any comment on the start-up stumble you've noticed. I have the same thing happening, but plan to wait until the oil change to address it.

 

Yep, I agree -

BTW, the "EDK" I spoke of earlier is the Throttle Body - EDK is an acronym for some German word that means "electronic throttle body".

Here's hoping that you get fixed up in a hurry!

 

I updated the post on my weblog. They didn't actually replace anything; MINI had the tech unplug and reconnect some things, and now it's operating properly. I don't think either the SA or I have a real warm fuzzy, but I'm taking it home tonight and will hope for the best. The have driven it and were able to reproduce the problem before, so for now it's fixed. I just hope it stays that way!

 

This morning, on the way to Putnam Park for Phil Wicks' Mini Driving school, my MINI crapped out again. Same thing as Tuesday, but with more lights (DSC and EML) coming on. I tried unplugging the ice>Link: Plus (just because), but still no dice. (I've read about people whose cars exhibit weird electrical issues with bad ice>Link units; just taking extra precautions). I started to dig in to disconnect the battery, but decided I just want MINI to deal with this in all its glory. It's not like I'd feel comfortable in track traffic with this problem, even if I did get it to go away on my own.

I'll continue to update this thread and my weblog.

 

I had this exact same issue happen with my less than one week old MCSCa. I was driving home on the interstate going about 60MPH, and the SES light came on, and the car went into "Limp home mode". I had to have the car towed, I was too far from the dealer. Unfortunately, no service on the weekend, so no one will be looking at it until tomorrow
I'll let you know what they find with my MINI after I hear from the SA.

 

Keep us posted!

What lights came on when you had your problem? Were you able to go beyond 2k after restarting the car, or did you not even try?

After posting (to make a long story shortish), I talked to Waylen (NAM member/vendor) who gave me a tip which got me within a couple miles of the track with normal performance, but it crapped out again. I didn't dare take it out on the track with other cars nearby. He's fairly certain that the throttle body is the culprit. It'll be interesting to see if this becomes a common problem, or if it's just an isolated problem.

 

I am not sure but isnt lemon law three times for the same thing in a certain period of time?