I have a 2009 Clubman S with 1700 miles. This morning when I started it the RPMs began fluctuating between 800 and 1500 and I got a yellow check engine symbol that had a diagonal line across it with the bottom being shaded.

When I attempted to drive, it would not accelerate above 2000 RPM and I nearly did not make it up a hill in first gear to get back home becuase it had so little power.

I turned the car off for five minutes. When I restarted it the RPMs seemed OK but the check engine symbol remained on (this time there was no shading within the symbol). I should mention that the temerature was about 15 degrees F at the time.

After letting it sit the rest of the day it started up normally with stable RPMs and no light.

I hope I can get it in to the dealer on Monday without any problem (about 50 miles away) so they can read the error code(s) in order to identify what the problem might have been.

Any thoughts or opinions?

 

If it's not driveable the dealer will flat-bed the car to the dealership at no charge. I certainly wouldn't drive my MINI 50 miles if I had the issue you described. It may turn out to be a minor issue, but you may also end up stuck on the side of the road miles from home or the dealer.

 

I have experienced your same symptons(sp) yesterday!Temperature overnight was down to below 0 F
I believe it has alot to do with the outside air temperature; after starting and shutting down the engine a few times and trying to get the RPM over 3K it cleared itself!
I had had a low tire pressure warning the morning before; I cleared that through the reset and everything seems fine now......
Minis don't like the cold !???

 

Hi, this is a well documented problem. Search around.

What has happened is you got ice in your throttle housing. Causes the fuel/air mixture to get all goofed up.

If you let the car warm up for a bit, the ice will melt, then you can turn the car off, and then re-start it, and it should run fine. What has happened is the car has entered limp mode, so that is why you have no power.

We have a few members of our local club who are having this issue, and MINI has not come up with a permanent fix yet. Please take it to your dealership, and have them log the issues so more people have it documented.

 

Took mine in, had the same issue... I was a little disappointed, and slightly upset, as it took the car about 30 minutes to kick out of 'limp mode' as you call it, before it became drivable. I have the MT, and was scared to even put it in gear....I also noticed a VERY strange exhaust note while this happened. The vehicle LITERALLY sounded like a go-kart (I had doors and windows closed, and it was a very concerning sound).

Took it to the dealer, they said it happened to nearly all the S models in my area around the same time, and that there was not a fix for it yet.


It was 8°F outside, and I was in a sketchy part of town (for school), so I wasn't too pleased. . Will post when fix comes out if I remember.

 

It seems that second generation MINIs don't like extremely cold temperatures..

 

I had this happen to me twice in Dec/Jan and it wasn't pretty. My dealer told me to bring it in immediately and luckily I wasn't far. Turns out it was the thottle valve. Seems that the throttle valve freezes when condensation builds up and the car is not driven long enough for the moisture to evaporate. I left the car in the shop for a week waiting for a part. Apparently a new manifold with a drain and resivoir type unit was installed. Knock on wood, I haven't had the problem since and I have started the car in -15c(-30c) with windchill conditions and plenty of snow. I hope this explaination makes sense.

 

I bought an 09 Clubman (not an S) on a Monday night, with less than 10 miles on the clock. Drive it 60 miles home. Started up to drive to work the next morning, and the ambient temp was MINUS 15 degrees!!! It's a half hour drive to work, and it took forever to warm up the interior (no temp gauge so who knows about the engine!)

This cold, and no start or idle trouble... BUT, three weeks and 1,200 miles later, it hunts at idle, between about 800 and 1,000 I'd guess... every now and then I stall it in the parking lot (embarassing) but I believe it may be related to the uneven idle.

This does not sound to me like the iced throttle valve as it happens when the car is fully warm... I thought all the electronic controls on this thing would keep that from happening?

 

Take it in and have them check air pressure control and o2 sensor(intake manifold). No Check Engine Light?

 

nope, never a light and only intermittent... hard to drive 60 miles to the dealer to have them tell me to come back when it's actually happening...

Or you think they'd check it even if the idle happened to be smooth at the moment?

 

I still think you should document it by taking it by the dealer. Have it flatbedded by the roadside assistance and start it at dealer in am.Are you sure the light didn't flash on briefly...Then, they can check the computer for a fault code..

 

mini moto,

This is a wide spread problem with the turbo in cold weather. You definitely should get it documented at the dealership. There is not a permanant fix but there are things that can be done. The below thread is on this same topic:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...available.html

I had the same problem yesterday and went in for service today. The oil and filter was changed and the housing and valve were taken apart and dried. This is MINI usa protocol for the first incident of this problem. Should it happen again, it is then escalated to the next level and again there is a protocol which is followed. Unfortunately they do not have a permanant fix yet.

 

But mine is NOT a turbo -- it's a justa... still an issue?

 

There is someone on the other thread that mentioned the same problem. I believe it is towards the bottom on page 5 but not sure. My dealership said that there was one possible justacooper but it has been many, many mcs's.

 

I live in MN and have not experienced this problem yet, and we've had MANY days below 0, many in the - teens.

My big complaint is the TPMS sensor that tells me i'm low on tire pressure every time the weather fluctuates more than 20 degrees.

 

Consider yourself lucky to not be experiencing this problem! I had the tpms sensor warning the beginning of cold weather and put a couple of additional psi in each tire and haven't had the sensors go off since then. Maybe give it a try.

 

I DO! Arg.

The best one was I filled it up in each tire and reset it. THE NEXT DAY, the sensor went off. ARG ARG ARG.

 

After filling the tires and resetting it did you do the required drive of about 10 minutes or 10 miles. it take time for the electronics to do the proper reset. It takes into consideration bumps and other road conditions that cause fluctuations in the tire preasure as the car is driven.

As for the original subject of this post i have started the car twice with the temps below 0 degrees and had the fluctuating RPM and a rather bad unburned gas smell. But by just letting the car sit for about 5 minutes with out moving and shutting off the car and restarting it the problem goes away.

As other have said there is no current permanent fix for this yet but do make sure you have it documented by the dealer. My dealer is nice and does not require me to drive or have the car towed the 78 miles but will take a call an put it on the note of my cars permanent record.

 

Had the same rpm fluctuations on Friday morning with temps at 4 degrees.
Checked oil level and drove off to work. Once I got to my first light 3 miles down the car ran fine.

Called my dealer 1st thing at work. Hey knew exactly what was going. I guess the throttle bodies have some oil in them and sick at very cold temps. This causes not enough oxygen and gas mix. Dealer told me Mini will have some replacement parts in the next few weeks. I was told my check engine light would dissappear and reset after 3 starts, and it just did that.

I'm now on a list to having this problem and will be contacted when Mini has the replacements parts in.

This should only happen on VERY cold days.

 

I bought this fantastic car October 2016; recently paid it off luckily. It burns through a ton of oil regularly every month each year since it's been over 150K miles.

I bought it with 79K so I have done a good deal of mostly freeway driving.

Despite replacing the hood release cable before at Cincinnati Mini Cooper about a year ago the hood has been having trouble recently with opening. The cable falls off the pull/lever and I have to go to a shop to have someone help me to open it to add oil.

About 2 weeks ago after leaving the shop and adding oil out of no where as I am accelerating and shifting from 1-2-3 I notice the RPMs are moving up yet the car is not moving faster as I am accelerating faster... it's NEVER done this.

What would you do??

I have stopped driving it at this point. The only trusted foreign car repair is in Columbus Ohio as I don't use Mini in Cincy anymore for multiple reasons after spending over $5K there..

please let me know as I need my little car to work ASAP. I pray it's something small. Hoping one of you have had an issue like this! It's almost too expensive to diagnose! I have 1 tow left on my triple A plan this year and I may use it to take Blueberry to Columbus... mind you I'm an hour and a half away from Columbus Ohio.