Hello,

First let me preface my post by conceding I have no mechanical knowledge of motors etc.

I am hoping this post will lead to an answer of an ongoing problem I have been having with my 2010 Automatic, Mini Cooper S, Factory JCW stage 1 Tuning kit.

My car which I bought second hand, was delivered to the original owner with a factory installed ($3000 cdn option), JCW stage 1 Tuning Kit. Presumably the first owner could not drive a manual hence the upgraded engine option with steptronic and paddle shifters.

Although the car has been an absolute pleasure to drive, ever since I bought it, it has occassionally presented an ongoing issue which has never been resolved. I have had the car inspected twice by 2 separate MINI dealerships, one independent garage, and an ex-colleague who is an excellent mechanic.

Although I admit the problem is difficult to diagnose, I am still puzzled that nobody has been able to pinpoint it.

The problem:

During the acceleration phase, under normal and more assertive accelerations, I will hear a linkage type sound towards the back of the car, presumably in the exhaust system. That sound transfers back to the gas peddle and forces me to back off of the gas peddle as it causes a fractured acceleration and creates a minor misfire.

As soon as I experienced the issue with my car in my first year of owning it, (have owned it for 3yrs now) I brought it to the attention of MINI mechanics at the factory MINI Service Centre that has handled all of my maintenance and repairs.

Since the car has been upgraded to deliver more performance (msrp was $49k cdn), I wanted to make sure the car was able to perform in the way it was engineered to. I also wanted the issue resolved while the car was still under warranty.

After following the advice of MINI; things like buying 4 new BOSCH spark plugs, resetting computer codes etc, the problem still existed. I must have raised the matter at least 10x to MINI including writing a long letter to BMW Canada expressing my frustration over the inability to resolve an ongoing issue that admittedly did not always present, hence difficult to diagnose.

Eventually, after 2 years of the problem occurring, and whilst accelerating, the linkage sound occurred and lead to an engine break down. the engine break down lead to a cracked ring which I believe was the cumulative result of this misfire occurring for years and causing misfires back into the engine.

MINI and BMW Canada felt bad as I had down my due diligence as an owner, following their advice and maintaining my car according to their guidance. As a result, they rebuilt both the head and block of my car for free even though my warranty had already expired.

Problem is, the issue is still present thus must be a peripheral issue causing damage back to the power plant. My mechanic friend test drove it and felt that it might be the air flow meter.

Has anyone ever heard of or experienced what I am describing? Remember the car is a 2010 Cooper S with factory Stage 1 Tuning Kit.

I am frustrated and concerned that the issue will lead to another massive break down. Also naturally frustrated that the car does not always perform how it is supposed.

I am not a mechanic, but it seems like the load placed on the turbo may not allow the turbo to build up the proper pressure quickly enough and that leads to this misfire.

Any help would be deeply appreciated.

kindness,
Mario

 

Welcome to super knock. Even with engine replacements like the one that you got, the random situations still present themselves. The factory stage 1 JCW tune has had many updates. You might consider returning to stock tune. OR go for a Manic or something that provide much bigger gains. All the plugs,coils and extra oil changes, along with all the walnut blasting to the valves every year - and people still are nit immune to Superknocking.
All the dealers deny it, and then even after putting new engines in - nothing changes.
The day someone solves this situation so that regular enthusiasts can drive and enjoy these cars without having it so dramatic will be amazing!
For now, at least you have an extended warranty on your new engine and can drive with comfort knowing it won't explode.
Crate engines from Mini for these cars 2 years ago was $3995 + shipping. Now my dealer wants over $12k! And its the same old inventory that has the old valve covers,old vacuum pumps, old timing chains etc etc. Even the new ones will need to be updated all over again in a few years of driving.

 

Thank you very much for your insightful response.

I do think my new motor is warrantied yes, but any labour would be an out of pocket expense. I just want the problem to stop and wonder if this problem is responsible for cracking a ring in my old engine block.

kindness,
Mabber

 

post an audio or video of the issue if you can.

 

I have tried to do that as that would be the easiest way for all to recognize an issue. It is too difficult to recreate, it happens occasionally but I have no question it lead to my engine rebuild as the engine failed and broke down at the same time that the issued occurred.