OK,

I had a problem occur yesterday and have taken it in today for repair. Once again my dealership is threatening not to cover in warranty due to aftermarket parts. They are blaming my 15% pulley that I have had 1 & 1/2 years for causing an issue.

Yesterday I got caught in traffic. I hit the throttle to merge in and bumped up against the rev limiter. I lost serious power. The EML light did not come on but the DSC light did. No check engine light either. I restarted this morning and the EML light shines briefly then goes out. Power gets worse and worse. dealer says on the phone it is a bad sensor or ethanol in my fuel (where can you buy fuel without ethanol?). Then, after I left, seeing that I had a pulley, K&N, throttle body and Borla exhaust, they called and said that they think my pulley is messing up the sensors. I told them thay had better be able to prove that an aftermarket part was the problem.

Any ideas what is causing my problems? What is the best approach to take?

I am not a gearhead so anything practical you can tell me will help.

 

my guess is that your ECU went into "limp" mode because you hit redline. My advice would be to have them reset the ECU and it should take care of the problem. Limp mode is when your car reverts to a pre-mapped "safe" mode when it feels the car might be in danger of a malfunction.
I dont think the pulley is at fault, too many people have them with no problems whatsoever.

 

Well when the dealer read the code, which one was it? There are a whole list of sensors in the car.

 

If the issue goes away on its own (which I think it will as long as you don't redline) I wouldn't be too worried. The rev limiter is a temporary limp mode not permanent, and the EML could have just been the light test based on your description.

 

I don't think its been to the dealer yet but I'd like to hear what sensor they think is being thrown out of wack from this.

 

I have a decoder. I should have mentioned that it decodes as Engine Manifold Pressure sensor. I spoke with a mechanic I know who says he believes it is the MAP sensor. That it should be a simple fix. It is bizarre that I have to deal with a dealership that threatens to charge me a fortune when I bring my car in with a 15% pulley on it.

 

lol I seen this one many times before, couple of restarts, or reset via the tool and its gone, with the pulley you end up with too much air for the sensor to handle when you hit redline (just usually throws the SES so I thought you had a different issue). Definately no biggie, one person that had this, we reset it and he hasn't seen it since after getting it every single time hit was near redline.

Hope this helps.

 

MAP sensor input too high? P0108 (or P0107)? Too much boost.

 

Also all the other instances I've seen were with 19% pullleys, this is the first I know of with a 15%.

 

I did clear the fault with no results. It is still in the safe mode. It has never happened before and why would the DSC light come on?

 

P0108 sensor code

 

What is this dealer going to try and gouge me for and can they get away with it?

 

Dang, that's no fun. I don't know how to get your car out of limp mode. Maybe try to unplug the battery (or the two ECU plugs) overnight to force a reset of the ECU. There's also a way to do it with the key in the ignition and pressing the odometer trip button.

The DSC light is what gets lit on some MCSs, not all do this. It must be the revision of ECU or wiring harness or something. I know mine does this.

 

MY understanding is the trip function just does the guages, OBC and radio not ECU; but I'd undo the batt. for a night night and see if that helped. Anyone think this could be BPV related, I can't remember the assosiated codes?

 

"MY understanding is the trip function just does the guages, OBC and radio not ECU; but I'd undo the batt. for a night night and see if that helped. Anyone think this could be BPV related, I can't remember the assosiated codes?"
P106 to P109 are manifold presure related & might not be relivent. But Motor on's "undo the batt. for a night" is what I would do first.....

 

OK, here is the latest. Sorry for the long post.

Dealer says that they cannot find the problem. They have sent a PUMA (which I suppose is a report) to MINI and should hear something back on monday. Compression is fine, cylinder head is fine, but they say the car is making twice the boost it should. Seems odd if it is true. The checked the MAP sensor, say they reset the computer, and claim to have spent 6 hours on the car to try and diagnose the problem.

I have a K&N filtercharger, 15% pulley and a Dinan throttle body (I believe it is just 2mm larger than standard). They also say the computer harness was spliced into (I did have an aftermarket Nav system installed by Car Toys that has been removed for a year) I also had the 4 light system by ALTA installed by alocal professional BMW specialty shop called Autoscope..

Dealer has sent information about the aftermarket equipment to MINI as well as the PUMA. If MINI says to fix it and gives them the solution I am off the hook. If MINI/Dealer refuse to honor my warranty I will be picking up the car driving it back to my home and paying for 2 hours labor.

It is my understanding that MINI is obligated by law to show that an aftermarket part or improper installation caused the failure before they can deny warranty service. (I read something about it in a SEMA deal). Is this true? How do I enforce it?

Other than the aforementioned NAV system, that is long gone, all of my work was performed by Autoscope. My pulley and header/cat are from Mini Mania which claims warranty coverage, the throttle body and software are by GIAC with warranty coverage. My Cat Back which is BORLA and the K&N Filter both claim 1,000,000 mile warranties. My Dinan suspension shouldn't be an issue. The only thing left that has been changed are the wires (Nology),the plugs (iridium), and the coil pack (screamin demon).

Any suggestions? If I have to pay the car will have to sit. I am a teacher and extra money doesn't exist right now. It seems to me that if it is traced to a particular aftermarket piece I should still be covered. Same thing if they claim it is improper installation. Some here in North TX. have suggested I take it to another dealership but, it seems to me that if MINI and the PUMA say no it won't help to take it to another MINI dealership.

Advice???????????

 

well - what happened ?

 

You might want to read this as it sounds similar;

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=63335

 

you might want to mention that a JCW kit includes a 14.7% reduction pulley.I seriously doubt that .3% difference is going to make dbl boost.

 

I had a similar but different thing happen to me on my last session of a track day. Both the DSC and Runflat lights went on and stayed on for the last part of the session. I did not experience any loss of power. I basically had the car at redline most of the 20 minutes at the track. The funny thing is that when I shut her down and let her cool off a bit (5 minutes) and restarted her, the lights went off. They have not come on since. My MCS is a 2002 July Build. I have the 15% pulley, Alta Intake hose, Madness CAI, Ultik(formerly NRP) Cat back, Demon Coil and upgraded wires and cold plugs. I have tracked her about 6 times and she has been robust enough to not trip any codes.

Hope you can figure what is wrong under warranty. They underestimate how much we know about our cars. MINI can make good money on aftermarket parts if they sell them under their moniker.

 

Call Eric from Mini-mania. I just bought a o2 adapter for the higher flow headers out there. This has proven to prevent the SES light from tripping and the o2 sensor still monitors the exhaust gases correctly. Our MINIs actually monitor Exhaust flow as well as composition. I am adding a 2003 Mini-mania Header with and after market high flow metallic cat (thunderbolt).

Here is my setup.

 

You have enough items installed on the car that MINI/BMW could easily deny warranty coverage until the car at a minimum is brought back to stock condition. Depending on how hard they want to push back, they could require the pulley, TB and wiring harness be replaced with new MINI parts. In an extreme circumstance, they could require the K&N and the 4 light system be removed as well and the stock filter to be installed in place of the K&N. The rationale is that the non-stock items interfere with the functioning of the car and that they can't diagnose and repair something that they did not engineer/manufacture. Magnusson-Moss isn't going to get you anywhere. Check out this thread for the cold, hard truth: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=49580

Skiploder had some real good attorneys in the picture and they basically told him that the cost ($ plus stress) of being right was not worth it. I am not going to re-hash the issues (the thread does a pretty good job of covering why M-M is a joke) here.

You hire an attorney and pay something north of $100 large and maybe after 3 to 4 years, you may win your case (which is why the cost of being right is not worth it).

If Autoscope did the install of the pulley, you may have some recourse with them and Mini Mania.

You are right about PUMA/MINI - if they stiff you, going to another dealership will be useless. There will be a record of your VIN in the MINI technical service computer and no dealer will be able to get authorization to do warranty work on the car until the record is removed.

 

Caminifan is pretty much right. You might win but how much time will it take? And how many$$$$?
I have followed this thread looking for an answer as I too have had this problem. After an ECU upgrade & a tank top off in Feb, I drove to Philadelphia ( from central MA in a whopper of a rain storm). 35 miles from Phily, the car sounded like I ran over something & went into limp mode. The SEL, DSC & LT came on as I drifted as quickly from the outside to the breakdown lane. Shut the car off, restarted, All the lights are on but the engine runs fine. We get to the hotel in downtown Phily, park the car in the garage and there it sits for 3 nights. Monday and we are off to Baltimore, no lights, no nothing the car runs great. On the return trip after another 3 nights, to MA, no problems and none since.
HOWEVER there is a noise from either the BPV ( like a shudder or a piece of rubber caught in a fan ) or the power steering fan that seems to have an effect on the throttle control.
Bottom line IMHO you have an electrical problem that with all the mods you have done would make the dealer frown on. That said, with the equipment they have for diag, they should be able to point you in a positive direction so you can solve the problems you are having ( only if they won't ).

 

Wasn't this an issue with an ECU mod noted some time ago? Some folks had problems when hitting the rev limiter and the car would go into "limp" mode. I think it was the MTH tuner file.

 

excuse me for skipping over peoples responses....

did you just say you think you messed up your car cuz you took it to redline?