The problem seems to be related to lower throttle operation of the engine, and if so I can understand why it would manifest itself more on an automatic than a standard. With a standard you tend to cycle through the rpm range of the motor as you accelerate, where as with an auto you tend to follow a more gas=more speed pattern. So if you are not traveling quickly you tend to linger on a light throttle.

If my hunch is right then that may explain why the automatics are cropping up more. Of course it may mean nothing if the ECU programing for the two transmissions are very different.

 

I took my car in today for the CEL and its misfiring pretty bad, but atleast I was able to drive the car and get there and the idle isn't affected either. The CEL did flash (3) times on the way to the dealership and when I told the SA this she said its because the misfire is present , whatever that means, LOL! After a while she put me into a rental MINI (pic in my post for this problem in problems and trouble shooting btw) I spoke to her and she said the tech tried swapping out coils and plugs and this DIDN'T help, so he was going to try the injectors. The thing about the injector is I guess there's a seal that needs to be replaced when swapping them out so if that's it the earliest I would get my car back would be Friday and that's if they have the seals over nighted, oh well, atleast I've got a MINI but its certainly not mine, thats for sure (MC, auto, 16's) The SA also told me they were going to do a compression test but this is just to check out EVERYTHING, I hope that's the only reason they're doing it:impatient

Another update will come as soon as I know something. I'm sure this will be helpful to someone else down the road, but I hate being a "guiney pig"

 

Ok, they did the compression test and it went good (thank God ) and they got approval to order injectors/seals and those will be in tomorow. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this actually fixes the problem. One thing I wonder though, when they tried the coil packs and plugs, do they keep the ones in they tried or put back the original stuff I mean the car only has 2400 miles on it, so its not like the coil packs/plugs have any real wear on them, just a thought.


By this time tomorrow I'll something one way or the other. I really hope this is the fix because we plan on taking the MCS to Chicago next weekend to see my friends new house and celebrate his daughters first birthday party and I don't want any issues (who does )

 

My car with reccurent C.E.L. syndrome was pronounced untreatable, life support was withdrawn, we pulled the plug (a.k.a. the F.O.B.), and the car was terminated (sort of). Replacement coming soon. Different car, different engine, different gearbox (a manual/S).

MMM

 

Happy for you I hope. Did they credit you the full value of the car in the new one with you making up the difference, or did the comp you the upgrade to the S.

 

...car will be delivered soon. But I'll take only a fistful of dollar bills, that I think makes up for the difference. We'll see.

(Matched car color, matched basic out-of-factory configuration. That speaks tons of how much I enjoy driving a MINI - all my loaners were MINIs...)

MMM

 

My CEL came on this morning during my commute to work. Have had my MINI for about 6 weeks, with 1,156 miles on the odometer. Called the dealer, and he told me it was a software problem. He said they haven't yet received the software update, but that I should schedule the visit and expect them to need my MINI for 3-4 days. He also offered a loaner MINI for while they updated my software.

Ironically, I've noticed the "sputter problem" at low RPMs, and just assumed it was an inherent issue/defect. If the software update fixes this problem, I will be a VERY happy camper.

 

You mention quality levels of Toyota and Lexus. Did you know that the Lexus 300 had engine and transmission failures that were mechanical and not just software related. Too much sludge accumulation in both components! I think I would rather have software problems. It really is strange that when it comes to Toyota or even Honda, the worst automatic transmissions ever built; no one seems to mention these except by actual owners of these cars.

 

Sigh..Check engine light just went on....250 miles. Half a tank left from my initial tank. MC/A of course. My MA recommended I drive around a little bit during my lunch break to see if the problem "goes away".

:/

 

It is usually MC non-S/Auto. The visit to the dealer - as of now - does not solve the problem. They will reset the CEL - but it will pop back up in few hundred miles.

Do you see any engine stumbling/sputtering at low rpms/low gear?

MMM

(Sorry - just saw MC/A in your post. Yep - welcome to the "club". The good thingt is that they promissed - 3 months ago - taht the issue will be solved "in 3 months". So - hopefully you will "endure it" shorter than us. FYI - I am dealing w this issue siince February 22, 2007 - one of the first R56s.)

And ask teh dealer if they have advisories on this. teh "drive and it might go away" is not an infromed/or benevolent dealer' attitude. Y dealer and service advisor were open from getgo, and that makes things easier.

 

My initial call to my MA started with the typical "did you tighten the gas cap" response. As I haven't even filled up for the first time, I don't believe it has anything to do with the gas cap...although I checked and it was plenty tight.

In terms of the sputtering issue, I haven't noticed anything, but I have also only driven the car for two days and not being much of a "car guy" am not sure what I am looking for. My last car, a chevy cavalier, was a POS so even if the Cooper wasn't performing up to snuff, I'm not sure I would immediately notice. The CEL came on as I was idling at a stop light, nothing at the time caught me as particularly odd other than the "ding" from the warning.

I'm going to top off the gas during my lunch break and drive a little bit..I doubt it will make a difference, but it's all I got thus far. I'll let you know what my MA says after I call back.

 

Filled her up and still having the issue.

Well my car is scheduled to be brought in on the 11th (first available time they will have a loaner). Apparently the guy I spoke with indicated they have been getting a lot of calls and that it seems to be entirely related to the software upgrade that is needed. He also indicated that cars built after March for North America will need the upgrade. I mentioned the Low RPM sputtering that seems to accompany the issue and he indicated that he hadn't heard of it. He said that after I bring it in to verify the problem is related to the software bug I will need an additional appointment when an "FSE" will come in to fix the problem.

Not sure what an FSE is though.

 

Anyway - my car was built BEFORE March. See my rants above - but this is a well known problem - and they had a bunch of advisories about that.

The interesting thing is that it is almost all the time present in MC/A, and not in other combinations (MC/M or MCS/A or M). So - I don't know. BUt it is NOT presnet in ALL the cars (even in all the MC/A) and... the software update is promissed for months...

MMM

 

Not a real good idea anyway.

 

IIRC, Toyota and Honda use Aisin transmissions. My '05 S40 had an Aisin tranny, and it failed @ 20k miles. Guess which automatic Mini uses...

 

One of the techs had to go to the emergency room, so my car didn't get fixed today. It left them with one tech and they couldn't tie him up my cars job which takes (3) hours to perform. Hopefully he's going to be alright. The one tech that's trained on the R56 wasn't the guy that got taken to the emergency room, so hopefully they'll fix my Monday:impatient

 

I got my car back today and they ended up replacing all of the injectors and the car is good as new Hope this helps someone in the future if/when they have a similar problem!

 

Claremontmotorer:

Hey all, I'm new to this site and also new to the Mini community but thank god you guys are literate and talk about these things.

I purchased my mini (2007 Cooper, Automatic, Sport package -if by that you mean 'Sport' button) on Sunday Memorial Day weekend at an Orange County BMW/Mini dealership in southern California. By Tuesday at approximately 100 miles my check engine light came on and remained on until I brought it in for service on Wednesday morning. The service tech anticipated that it might be a 'software' issue and sure enough, that is how it was described to me when they returned it Thursday unable to definitively resolve the issue. They told me much the same thing that it sounds like some others have heard, 'they are working on a fix which should be available [at some unclear time], we have done all that we can do here'. I have since left a message for the service tech that dealt with my care and just today (Tues 6/4) spoke with the floor manager at the dealership. During our discussion the floor manager told me he could get the fix sooner if I wanted it, to which I replied 'yes please'. I will be bringing the car in on Wednesday 6/06 for 'the fix' which is most likely a beta version of the software patch. However, I am told that the dealership will have people from Germany on-site on this day. If I learn anything new I will share. I am keeping my lemon law references handy in case I need them - I HOPE NOT. But at the same time, when you make a major purchase and the seller doesn't reveal pertinent informaiton (i.e. house, business, car), you have been misled. I understand that this is not happening with every car, however, even the possibility should be discussed at the very least to reduce the panic when it happens. Clearly, the dealership realizes this is information that could compromise their ability to sell these cars at a premium (above sticker) as they do at this dealership. If I had 'spidey sense' I think it would be tingling but I am not going to go away like it sounds many of us have. This is an issue that should be discussed up front before the buyer is financially commited. is tingling to say the least.

 

1. I had the beta installed (in April I think). Didn't work (btw - the simple software install clears the error - it re-pops back up after few hundred miles).

2. As an advice for the future owners (mainly in MC/A combo). It would be a good idea (also to test teh waters - i.e. the MA's honesty) to discuss this issue BEFORE purchasing the car. As ClaremontMoter said - if they withold this information that there might be a problem - even if it is just software (and there are advisories sent to the dealers), than they are not honest. If they acknowledge before purchasing that the issue exists - than go on and buy it. At least that is what I would do.

But that would give you leverage in the purchase process...

MMM

 

But my brand new 07 MC / Manual has it too. Light came on ~600 miles while sitting at a stop light. I'd noticed rough idle before that. Observed last night that the exhaust is a bit smoky too. And the clock has lost ten minutes since I got it. Think I picked him up 5/22.
The service tech said it wont hurt anything if I drive him until my next business trip, mid-july, and leave it there for the week.

 

I think lava's explanation on top of the page makes a lot of sense. It is probably more prevalent in the MC/A though.

But you're right about slow RMP roughness...

But was just thinking.... MINI probably sold around 10k new R56s in US. On this list there are about 10 people that have it. Probably the real number is somewhere in the low hundreds (probably 100-200 cars - each dealer has a handful of them - mine - an average size dealership - has three).

So that make sit around 1% - maybe less than 2% of the cars experiencing it. yes - I think that would be a conservative-enough estimate.

When do you have to be told (before purchasing the car) that a problem might appear? How high or how low the incidence of an event has to be to be notified before the purchase that it might happen?

If someone (with dealership experience) can chip in - it would be quite informative.

MMM

 

Funny story afterwards. SO I get the car home and re-install my intake and later go to work and notice this VERY LOUD rush of air sound, so I take the car back home as I only around the block. What it ended up being as the hose was disconnected from that diaphram thing on the firewall. This was something I fixed as it was easy and all was good

 

i might have the record for earliest appearance of the CEL. i picked up my car in Phoenix -- after it had been transported from Nashville -- and i got the light about 5 minutes (11 miles on the odometer) from leaving the pick-up terminal! the car had been sitting in the Arizona heat for a week awaiting my arrival and was full of gas. i'm guessing it's not transported full like that ... so perhaps it was low octane fuel put in at the delivery location. i opened and closed the gas tank lid and, per the manual, the light was off within 24 hrs. hasn't appeared since, so i guess i dodged any potential bullet.

 

I distinctly recall my MA saying she gassed mine herself, at the dealership in PA. It had been transported without.

 

Well at 2090 my check engine light came on. R56 MCS with 6 speed Getrag - no LSD option either. The engine is performing fine (from what I can tell at least) so I have no clue as to why i am getting that check engine light. Definately not the gas cap either ;/. Bob Smith Mini is near me but NO loaner.... ths is going to be a pain!