The car acted up a little bit again tonight so it still isn't fixed. I am not sure if the car has been acting up less because the last work done helped or because I have 93 octane in the car versus the 91 I usually use. I suspect it is more the octane.

 

Damn, that sucks. What the hell is causing this? I paid $3k for the stage 1, and now I get embarrassed when I stomp on the gas :(

 

Ok, so I dropped off this morning. I was able to reproduce for the tech. He seemed a little baffled. He said maybe fuel pump, carbon on fuel injectors etc... He will be working with the area MINI Field technician for other ideas as well.

I'll keep you informed as I learn more!

Greg

 

Still no news :(

 

UPDATE: Car still in shop. The local MINI Field Rep is showing up today to diagnose and hopefully prescribe a fix. They found the "super knock" fault again to no surprise.

I'll keep you updated.

Greg

 

UPDATE: Car is back.
They concluded that they needed to clean the entire intake system, since they found additional carbon deposits.
RESULT: Throttle response has been restored, yay! BUT...
I still experience the "super knock" :(
Off to plan "D"

I'll keep you apprised as new details emerge...

Greg

 

Sorry to hear about these issues you all are having. I haven't had any of the "knocking" while driving, but I have had it sometimes when I turn the car off, and remain in the car for around 1-5 minutes. There seems to be a very loud knocking coming from the hatch/boot area. Not sure what it is? Kind of startles me though...

 

I can almost promise you its the HPFP.

Good luck getting them to replace it though without it throwing fuel pressure codes though

I can also almost promise you, that if you continue to drive it and continue to experience super-knock under acceleration....your motor will eventually suffer the same fate many other's have.

 

The occurrence on my car had dropped quite a bit after the service with the timing belt change (could also be the weather turning cool), but the problem hasn't completely gone away.

I just got it back from the 4th or 5th trip to the dealer for this issue. This time they reset the fuel adaptations and told me I need to use fuel injector cleaner every 3,000 miles. It sounds like Mini has lost interest in fixing my car and is returning to blaming it on the gas.

 

I have the hiccups and clicks in my 2011 JCW. I spoke with a mini corporate engine tech yesterday in nashville at the mini homecoming there. He came up with some pretty off the wall explanation that alluded to my tires being the cause of engine issues. All in all, the explanation was that the Continental ContiSport SSR 3 tires that I have brand new cause friction on certain road surfaces. I have only experienced my issues on the same stretch of road in roughly the same areas. He suggested that I get the techs to check on the runflat core and see if it was seperated or not. The right side of my vehicle does not come to a smooth stop. The bouncing causes some pretty bad brake dust as well. All this in combination is creating a static build-up and is shocking the DSC on the car when I step on the gas after having shifted from 4th to 5th in order to pass. The DSC is thrown a "lack of traction" fault and limits engine speed and hits certain brakes. That click is a combination of the anti-lock brakes as well as the wind gate inside of the air intake box closing and opening when the DSC senses something awry. It only lasts as long as the throttle is pressed for me. As soon as it happens, I let off and it returns to normal. If I hold it too long, there is a back fire and it instantly gets boost again and takes off. According to him, this has only been something that he has seen once. The fix was new tires, replaced rotors, and new pads on the bembro setup. It was recorded this year as an issue somewhere. I have the appointment tomorrow, so I will see what they come up with.

If anyone could shed some light on this as a potentially truthful situation, it would be great. I would hate to think that some MINI corporate tech was blowing smoke.

 

I believe my mini usually or always logs the "super knock" code when I have my issues. If your explanation is what is happening to my care I don't think a knock would be registered. I am curious if your car is logging the super knock code as well.

 

Hi everyone

Due to the THP engine being direct injection, i.e direct into the cylinder, and the way the PCV (positive crankcase ventilation) is laid out, a lot of oil haze gets sucked into the combustion chamber, past the valves and is burnt.

Well, that's how it's supposed to work!

In reality, this oil haze can cause numerous faults to standard engines, and any remapping or free flowing air filter arrangements can magnify the problems.

The 2 main problems are:-

1. Oil carbonising around the intake valve, which causes very rough running which then requires the dealer to spray a special solution to dissolve this carbonisation (like Seafoam)

2. When shutting down, because of vaccums within the engine and the layout of the rear PCV pipe, oil is left to collect in it, and when starting, assuming you drive easily until warm, is still sitting in the pipe because of the Valvetronic valve system on the THP engines, which under light load only partially opens the valves. Then, under harder acceleration, this oil in the pipe is sucked into the combustion chamber which has the effect of reducing the octane rating of the fuel (think putting diesel in a petrol car) and can cause detonation, which sounds like a tinkling or loud clicking sound (the knock sensor is frantically trying to compensate by adjusting the timing)

The detonation sounds like this, and i'm sure a few owners of THP powered cars have heard this:-

Starts at 3 secs btw



This harmless sounding noise can destroy pistons, piston rings and valves, it shouldn't be ignored.

The cure?

Well, PSA are fully aware of the problem, and on the latest THP200 that is fitted to the DS4 DSport and Peugeot RCZ THP200 the rear PCV system has been deleted, and the reason for it being kept hush, is because it's not "eco" friendly. But hey, neither is requiring a new engine every 4 months

This is what you need to order from a Peugeot dealer, should be some in S America???



And you remove the following pipe from the back of the top engine cover and the right hand side of the inlet manifold and cap off with the above caps (2 required)





Then follow the instructions here to fit them
Happy motoring folks

 

Thanks Dave great post and link.

 

Car has been in a total of 6 times for this problem now over the last year. 46 days in total in the shop. Head cleaning, new valves, piston rings, injectors, HPFP, and now a brand new turbo. While better, it still happens. This time, I communicated with the GM at the dealer, and told her that I would like to work on a settlement instead of pursuing legal action. I will find out in the next few days what they will give me for a buyback allowance. If acceptable, I'll place my order for a 2013 JCW hardtop.

 

Still makes me laugh knowing these cars have all these known issues that MINI is well aware if internally and never fix. Its a shame as these are great little cars to drive...when they aren't acting up that is.

 

BMW NA has decided to buy back my 2008 MCS under AZ Lemon Law. I was pleasantly surprised at the buyback $. My new 2013 JCW should arrive in about 4 weeks.

This is the end to a very long story.

After carbon cleaning, new valves, piston rings, injectors, a HPFP, and a new turbo, I still have the same pinging and hesitation issue.

If you continue to have this issue, do something about it :P