2003 MINI (CVT) 48,000 miles (inching ever closer to that dreaded 50K out of warranty mark!)

Car runs fine...engine is great...runs just as good or better than when I first drove it off the lot 37 months ago.

With one glaring exception: Starting the car every morning is getting progressively more difficult. Used to be able to turn the key and almost instantly the engine would fire up...real smooth...like any car should start up.

Now I have to hold the key in the start position and allow it to crank for 3 or 4 seconds before it finally "catches" and starts each morning.

Here's the kicker: The MINI starts up "immediately" with each successive start during the day... even if it has been sitting for a few hours. It's ALWAYS that very first cold start each morning that takes way too long.

I have it scheduled to go to the dealer to check out next week... and I'm going to ask them to keep it over night and start it in the morning, otherwise they will not experience the hard start. I'm just dreading the "CANNOT DUPLICATE PROBLEM" response...

The plugs are obviously good, and the wires and the starter/coil pack. So what physical car parts would cause a hard start only when cold? Or maybe it's a programming/software issue? I have a suspicion if I replaced the plugs, wires and coil, the car would still have difficulty firing up each morning. What could be the cause?

Thanks.

-boognish

 

I went to my dealer last week at 49,900 miles on the odo, and complained about the cold start. I got this long explanation about high octane gas vented gas caps, vapor, etc.

I did make them reflash the car with version 58 of the software, and I think it made the car run better. It's just one of those problems MINIs have. Also, my new pulley and airbox seemed to have made the stalling better as well. Make sure you go over your car with a fine toothes comb! I found 15 broken things and hired an independent machanic to go over it. Get new brakes out of the deal. Good luck!

 

Boognish -- if you live in the Northeast part of the USA, this might be related to the recent switch from MTBE to ethanol in gasoline. I notice this in my MINI (which is brand new) and I've been noticing it in my BMW, which I've had for several years.

My personal theory is that the ethanol blend does something odd when it sits in the fuel rails and injectors overnight. Either it evaporates a little bit more, or some of the alcohol or water separates out, or something. As soon as the fuel system runs for long enough to flush out the system, the car runs fine.

 

I've been running on ethanol for years (in and out of the MINI) and never had an issue with the gas being at fault. However I do know that cold temps plus high octance can make the first start a little more difficult, mentioned it at my last service DME upgrade to version 56 the whole car runs smoother throughout the range and the cold start issue is gone. I only had it real bad under 40 degrees and it would stumble a bit there after. Be sure to ask whule you're at the dealer, just describe the issue and they should be able to help you with it, I had no need to leave the MINI overnight.

 

Try letting the fuel line to get the pressure back in it by turning the key for a couple of seconds, then fully engage to start the car. It might just be the lack of pressure.

 

I've noticed this at times on my '05 with 15000 miles. The other day I tried for at least 5 seconds to start it, and it simply wouldn't. I had to turn the key back and try again. This was never a problem on my 10 year old Hondas.

 

Hi all.

Thanks for the responses.

I just arrived to work after dropping off my CVT at the dealer for the day. They are going to check out the hard start issue (of course the car will start fine for the rest of the day since I already started it this morning to drive it 60 miles to the dealer, so it's nice and warmed up!), and also to check this other thing I've been noticing, a sort of slipping of the transmission, or at least that's what it feels like.

I'm so close to 50K miles that I'm worried something big will go...I can't afford the $7,000 I've heard it costs to replace a CVT tranny when the metal belt snaps inside it. I've heard most owners have been able to get the dealer to lower the cost to around $4,000 or so, but still...that's a ton of money.

Anyway, guess what they gave me as a loaner? A Pepper White MCSa convertible. I drove it with the top down all the way to work this morning...I couldn't really tell that it was faster than my CVT (Yes, I know it surely is!) unless I looked behind me when lights turned green... watching the other cars fade away in the distance... I can't do that in my CVT. :-)

It's relatively smooth-shifting for an automatic with a supercharger...especially at higher speeds. When I floored it, it would rev high, supercharger would kick in and of course there was the familiar shift-shock (although I wouldn't call it shocking, it was fairly smooth shifting even under WOT) as it shifted through the gears to get up to speed.

I dunno, I kinda of want to trade mine in now for an MCSa! I would not get a convertible though...but I do think I could grow to love the extra ooomph the MCSa has on tap. I wonder how much longer we can still order 2006 models???

Anyway, I'll let ya know what they say about the hard start. Interestingly, the guy in front of us with a brand new BMW 5 series came in with the same complaint: "Hard starting every morning" Seems to me hard starting issues may be a BMW quirk?? Or maybe it was just a coincidence that someone with a 5 had the same issue...

rock on,

-boognish

 

OK got the call from the dealer. Here's what they said:

Hard start issue only when car is cold (morning starts after sitting in garage all night): "This is due to the new ethanol gas formulation." They said the car is not sending any malfunction codes, and aside from a longer than usual crank to start when cold, this is not a "performance" issue and there is nothing they can do about it. Putting in new plugs, wires, starter, etc. would not change a thing...it's the new gas formulation with the 10% ethanol that is causing hard starts. They said that it is happening on all their cars, MINI and BMW. Basically it's a "live with it" situation.

Tranny slip: They said they received no tranny trouble codes and it seems to drive fine when they tested it. They instead cleared the CVT tranny memory so it is now reset to factory settings... I'm not sure this is a good thing since the CVT has learned how I drive the last 3 years, but they said it will relearn in time, and by resetting the tranny memory might fix the slip feeling...it might not really be a slip at all, is what they were saying. I'm wondering how much a CVT fluid flush and fill costs, as I'll need in one about 12K miles....I'll ask when I get there tonight.

They also fixed some dash rattles (inserted padding under the dash) and said that even though my brake wear sensor light has not come on, it will be any day now. They said I must have a light braking foot as most cars have already had their brakes changed by 48K miles. The quote was $924 for new pads and new rotors installed all around. I told them to hold off...the service advisor thinks I might have another 1,000 to 1,500 miles of useable left before the wear light will come on...we'll see...I may trade it in before then, as I now drive about 400 miles a month, tops. Does that sound right? How much pad life (in miles) is left once the wear sensor light goes on???

that's that.

rock on,

-boognish