Sorry to Bust everyone bubble I don't think it really matter when in 2005 your mini was built, I have a MCSa 06 that was built in in Sept. and Picked up in Oct. and I drove it for 130 miles (3 days old) my EML light with check engine light came on and lost all engine power. I had it roadside assistance
Tow it to the local BMW/MINI service center in Miami, FL. They told me Don't worry its a common problem. all I need is a software upgrade we'll take care of it right away. that they seen Minis come out of the dealers with 0 miles and a this problem having to customers down the block. he said "all you need is a software upgrade."
I got my car back after waiting 1.5 hours and it drove home fine.

The next day at about 180 miles(4 days old) my fiance test drove the mini, we were going to a new Costco down the block. When she went to pull into the parking space. the throttle accelerated full. and the mini hopped the curb and hit a tree. THANK GOD THAT THERE WASN'T A CHILD WALKING IN BETWEEN THE CAR AND THE TREE.

So I had the MCS only 180 miles and its been in the shop for 2 months now. the whole front needs to be replaced and the engine block is cracked. $14,000.00 of damages.

At this point I don't want this particular MCS I want a new one I feel unsafe driving this car.
2 months and no loaner and my insurance rates might go up with a claim that technically not my fault.
Does anyone have the same problem where the throttle gets stuck or accelerates for no reason?

 

Now that issue with the throttle sticking is unrelated to the original reason for ecu upgrade v42. The v42 was to cure a tranny software glitch. The throttle sticking is altogether another problem. I am happy you are only complaining of the car and not your health after hitting a tree .

I don't blame you for not feeling safe in the car. Too bad with your car's problem its a very unsafe one to test for a lemon law .

Good luck with getting it fixed and hope your insurance doesn't hurt you

 

My theory on this is operator error, getting used to the "throttle by wire" set up. I have noticed both my wife and I overrevving it when backing up or trying to crawl into a parking space. The throttle is very sensitive, but we are learning it both. Now I generally can slip the clutch on a manual tranny at a very low RPM and not bog the motor a bit. I'll bet the autos are even more tricky. GOOD LUCK.

 

It's been about 4 months since my last problem with the car dying out of nowhere. It had a little stumble yesterday, but not so much so that I was worried. Today I started out, ran a few errands before work (which I normally don't do, but something said I should get them done...good thing I did) and as I was making a left turn the car stumbled but drove. At the next left turn, the car died. Poof. Could barely get through the turn light and out of oncoming traffic. I threw the hazards on, restarted the car, and coasted into the parking lot nearby. I managed to drive the car up to work (8 miles, but I drove very cautiously). I made an appointment for Thursday morning at my nearby dealership.
Up until now, the car was doing really well. I wasn't scared to drive anymore. Now, I'm freaked out again. Is there a _real_ fix for this, or does someone have to die in an accident before BMW figures out that this is a serious problem? I just want a safe AND fun car to drive. Now, it is neither.

 

Have you filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)? For that matter, if everyone that has an un-resolved problem where the SES/EML/DME causes the car to go into limp mode were to file a complaint, I doubt that BMW/MINI would be able to ignore the situation. There is a rather compelling stick that NHTSA can wield if a manufacturer is un-cooperative - suspension of the ability to sell the affected car model(s) in the U.S.A. I don't know how many MCSa's MINI is selling in the U.S.A., but it is not trivial. With NHTSA poking around, BMW/MINI will have no choice but to get to the bottom of the issue and fix it. All you have to do is file a complaint (with the supporting documentation) and things start to take on a life of their own. The more complaints that are filed, the greater the urgency.

 

I got my MCSa in March and had the annoying SES light (no noticable performance problems) off and on since. I kept procrastinating going to the dealer after reading about the issue's commonality here on NAM. It seemed to have the exact symptoms of the software problem. A few weeks ago I took my car in for 10000 mi service and was notified of a software recall (reprogramming labeled RECALL 12-03-05 DME REPROGRAMMING). According to my service records, I now have ver 43.1. So far so good, including a trip to Death Valley, and up to Monterey and a bunch of hard-driving laps around Laguna Seca.

 

My Mini goes into the service tomorrow. I started thinking about what happened, and it MAY NOT be the problem I've had before, simply because the car didn't even limp along, it just stopped. The previous instance, the car dropped to 4mph and I could scoot back to my house. Hmm. I'll see what they say tomorrow. Wish me luck!

 

Still running v42... but lately haven't gotten SES for a while.

Not sure why. it use to come on almost every other time i took her out.
i'll probably get it now that I have jinx it. hehe

My DTC was for front 02 sensor bank1, which is working fine.

 

I'm curious what the outcome was?

 

I am curious too. I recently had the DME reprogram service campaign performed on my 2005 MCSa, and everything is fine with the car. There was about 50 miles worth of re-learning of my driving style by the DME, but other than that, everything seems fine.