Hi all.

Got a non-S R55, about 58k miles. Just last week I noticed that the car bogs down, or hesitates, on low rpms while on load. Read lots of stuff on the forum and kept Sport Mode on to get the revs higher since the hesitation does not seem to show up when the revs are kept high.

A few days later after the symptom first showed up, the CEL lit up while my son was driving. Since it wasn't flashing I told him to just keep driving as it should not be a huge problem. Got it scanned and found a P0303 code which is a Cyl 3 misfire.

Also read, even just a few posts below that the cold New England weather could be causing this as well (?????). The car runs fine after a little bit of driving but am unsure what I need to do to correct the problem.

Would a spark plug change fix it? Could it be the ignition coil? Not sure if carbon build up is a factor on the NA engines but my son drives it to school everyday which is only 3mi away so it's possible too.

Any advice/tips would be very much appreciated.

 

Just because you got that code doesn't mean it answers the question on what is wrong with the engine.

More importantly, when that code was sent, the OBC took a "snap shot" of what else was going on with your engine, RPM, fuel pressure, etc. at that instant. This information is more helpful and the mechanic will use it as an AID to help find the problem. The OBC is not a replacement for a mechanic and attempting to fix the problem based on that one sensor being triggered is not wise.

 

Thanks for your insights and it makes perfect sense. I am now in the process of searching for a local independent shop that has worked with Minis to have my car diagnosed and fixed up.