The other evening I was getting off the freeway after a pleasant drive home. While pulling away from the stop light the car bogged down horribly and didn't seem to roll on to the power until around 3k.

This was a complete surprise to me. The car has never been such a dog off the line and has always had good throttle response, all things considered. Now it is a dog off the line all the time and the throttle response sucks. Even trying to bring the RPMs up and drop the clutch does not help, it just bogs down and eventually picks up the pace.

The car has no mods yet and I was wondering if anyone else has had this experience? It's a 2003 CS and so far has been a fun drive, but if this keeps up I'm going to go buy a used 528e.

The car is going to the dealer this weekend to have this checked out just in case something is wrong.

Any suggestions?

 

maybe you somehow invoke limp home mode... if it happens like your description then perhaps you have gotten that...

why i m not sure...

 

There could be a lot of possibilities... thought about bringing it into the dealer and letting them look at it?

 

What about traction control kicking in. Are you leaving the light, or dumping the clutch at such a high RPM that you are kicking in traction control?

Can you turn it off to see if it is causing it somehow?

 

That's usually the first thing I do after starting the car, turn off traction control, so that is not haing an affect. It may be limp home mode has kicked in and I was thinking that may be the case, that is why I am taking the car to the dealer for a check.

I was just wondering if someone else has had a similar experience.

 

It has been a few weeks since my initial problem. I took the car to the dealer, without a lot of confidence, and they did not disappoint. There findings were, "there is nothing wrong with the car, this is normal for a 2003 MCS." I knew better, I've had the car for two years now and I know what it should feel like.

Simply, they had plugged the car into the computer and when no codes were displayed, they figured nothing was wrong. They tried to convince me that this was the normal throttle response for a 2003 MCS. I knew better, but I am not familiar enough with the car to know. With this car I had thought I would not "fiddle" with it. I have since changed my mind.

I had my suspicions about what could be causing it from some reading here and other places, but had no way of knowing for sure.

Yesterday I decided to drop by M7's place for a chat, first time meeting Peter. I have seen Peter before, at a SCMM get together, but never spoke with him one on one. I know there are those here who have bones to pick with Peter and I must admit that the first time I witnessed Peter, he seemed a little abrupt. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I didn't go to Peter's place with any ulterior motive. Just wanted to chat about MINI's and some of his products. During the conversation the subject of throttle response came up and I mentioned my problem and without a blink Peter was out of his chair, grabbed a logging chip and we were out the door for a test drive. He knew right away there was a problem with the car and we did a short loop to gather some data. When we arrived back at his house, we checked the data and realized that we had not formatted the chip to get boost pressure. But Peter had his suspicions and we went out to check the Vacuum Bypass Vavle. Sure enough, it was stuck in the open position and causing my problem. Peter tie wrapped the valve closed and my throttle response is back and now the car can make it up a long hill without me having to row between 5th and 6th.

So what's the point?

I spent 4 hours at Peter's home, talking about MINI's and other cars, talking about some of the things he is thinking about developing (which I will not mention), talking about some of the things he has done, talking about the MINI community on NAM and other places, talking about some of the products he has developed that did not pan out as he had hoped, and talking about car dealers. He showed me all sorts of data to back up the some of the things we spoke of, he showed me some of the things he has had to deal with during development of his products and he showed me things he is working on now. Peter did all of this and I was not a customer or had we spoke about me purchasing anything. Peter has a genuine interest in the MINI, the MINI community and ,I believe, he has a genuine desire to bring unique, and worthwhile, products to the MINI community at a reasonable price.

Is he an angel? No, but who among us is? He is a great guy though and deserves more BOTD (benefit of the doubt) then many here give him.

Peter, thanks for your time and help. I enjoyed our conversation and hope to have more with you. You have a new customer.

 

I hope you write a letter to the dealer and tell them what was found causing the problem, etc. They should be ashamed and maybe they will actually learn something and consider how to properly visually inspect a Mini (and what to look for).

 

That really does **** me off, your dealer's attitude. Which dealership was this? I'm in SoCal and I would like to be aware of the dumb ones. The techs there should all be fired for being so stupid.

As for the M7 Peter story, that is really really nice story. I've always liked Peter, even though some people have problems with him (which is mostly because they themselves are idiots).

I'm glad you got your car fixed. Dont ever let a crappy dealer discourage you about a wonderful car.

 

Are there any warning lights going on? If not I would be curious to see if your dealer will investigate the problem. As you can see in my posts, they won't. Would there be any lights if the bypass valve were defective? Let me know what they do for you.

 

No lights or trouble codes are thrown when the bypass valve fails, that I know of. The only way you are going to know is to check it manually or put the car on a monitor that will show you boost pressure. If the dealership had done a little better investigation, this could have been easily found.

I have sent a PM to the MINI rep who checks in here and I will be sending a copy to MINI USA and the dealer.

I am taking the car back to the dealer this week for a proper repair since Peter's was a temp fix.

BTW, I have heard that this is not a unique experience, others have had problems at their respective dealer as well. Mine currently is Irvine BMW.

I'll post the text of the letter in the Forum in a moment.

 

Thank you David.....

It is unfortunate that the dealers dismiss an owners concern, with a simple
"they all do that" reply. I would think if you showed up in a M3 or a 740
the response would me much different, with loaner cars and all sort of butt
kissing

peter

 

I went to the meanest hill in Austin. Austin, TX is called the Hill Country. We do not have as many as in San Francisco, but we do have some step ones. I completely stopped 3 times over the lenght of this hill and was able to get going without a problem. I am sure your technique is fine, your MINI might be the problem, or should I say, has a problem. Keep after MINI USA, maybe you should have their technicial try to do this feat and have somebody else film it. Perfect for the evening news.

Bomboasy

PS. As my earlier post agreed with the suggestion from another poster, it could be the Bypass Valve. If they swap it at the dealer, make sure you look at it before they put it in the car. Take it to a light and put your eye in it to see if any light comes through. It should not at the close position. If it does, ask for another one.

PSS. I have attached a photo that shows this. There is always someone who comments that it needs to be like this for idle. The picture is of the Bypass Valve, not the TB. The Bypass valve has to be able to close completely.

 

This is the second bypass valve problem posted in the past week or so. Hmmm....

 

David,

Glad that you have isolated your problem to a failed bypass valve. Wonder what is going on with these items? Consider the "Vacuum Gain" modification after you get yours replaced. I have modified mine and am pleased with the throttle response.

Your comments about Peter fit my experience. I, too, visited him, talked of product development, and met his family. Peter is all that you have said he is. Some of the criticism originates from people whole don't know him and the criticism itself becomes a "feeding frenzy" and a source of entertainment. Some of the criticism is the result of Peter's exuberance and impulsivness. Peter is my friend and I hope that he keeps creating for our benefit.

Good Luck.

Regards,
John Petrich in Seattle

 

[QUOTE=cheiron19]No lights or trouble codes are thrown when the bypass valve fails, that I know of. The only way you are going to know is to check it manually or put the car on a monitor that will show you boost pressure. If the dealership had done a little better investigation, this could have been easily found.
QUOTE]

Well they told me a half a dozen times they won't look at the car without some kind of warning lights being activated.

 

cheiron19, congrats on finding the problem.

If any of you guys think the dealerships where you bought your MINIs doesn't care about you, then you should try getting service on a pre-owned MINI. The closest dealership is over 100 miles from here and they don't seem to want anything to do with my car since I didn't buy it from them.

I also agree with you about Peter at M7. I've spoken to him on the phone some and he is very passionate about the MINI and his products. I feel very confident buying from him.

 

 

You'd be surprised - doesnt matter what kind of BMW, it seems the first response is generally 'that is considered normal', or 'we cannot reproduce it' or, if there is even a whiff of non BMW anything (and I mean anything, they tried to blame something on a V1 once) 'we will not cover it under warranty' or even look at it after you drop it off for service.

This is why its a good idea to at least try to arm yourself with any related TSBs BMW might have - the dealers often don't seem to know about them.

I could proivide specifics but don't have the time - trust me, except for unusual circumstances I think most of the dealers are conditioned to do the same evasions accross all models.

 

I took some time off yesterday so that I could talk to the Service Manager at Irvine BMW/MINI.

I had an appointment scheduled for the car to get checked, again, for the problem that I was having. The problem that Peter and I diagnosed and created a temp fix for.

When I pulled up, one of the runners asked if I was there for service to which I responded, "Yes, but I want to talk to the Service Manager first." He ran off and found that he was not available, so he had him paged and I waited outside for him to show up.

When he did show, I handed him my letter and asked for a moment of his time. I calmly explained to him what I had experienced so far. I pointed out to him what we had found, how it corrected the problem that I had complained about, and how I was disappointed in the level of service I had received so far.

He appeared to be disappointed by what I related to him and told me he would have to talk to the mechanic and shop foreman to try and find out what went wrong. He went off and found the original work order and then had a new service order written. He also provided me with a car to drive while waiting for the MINI to be fixed.

So right now I am driving a new 5-series BMW and waiting to see if I get my car back today.

 

I am afraid they all do that. Before my Mini, I had a 745i - and the decline in good service (over the years) was one of the reason's I got rid of it. When looking at Mini's and learning that BMW owned them... that almost turned me off to the deal. But dispite that, I am glad I stuck with it. The Mini is worth the sub-standard service. When will manufactures wake up and learn!

 

cheiron19 - Question: When you pull into the service department at Irvine Mini, is it the same service enterance BMW customers pull into? Just curious. I'm in Carlsbad, and I was thinking about going there for my service... but now I'm thinking twice.

 

minimonkey:


You also have the choice of going to Crevier BMW, just a few miles up the road from Irvine BMW.

Not everybody has reported great service there, but myself and a few friends have had great service there.

They have 180 BMW loaner cars, mostly 3 series, though they are probably reserved for owners that purchased their car from them. I bought my car there and both times I took it in for service, they gave me a 3 series to drive.

Good Luck,

Bill

 

Thanks - I was going to ask about them too. I have to get some work on the alarm system done... and I bought it in Las Vegas. So the LV dealer is going to set it up (for me) with a dealer down here when the parts come in. I could go to Brecht (closer to me) - but have not heard good things. They also force everybody to buy lojack... so I'm not sure they have alot of alarm experience.

 

180 loaner cars?! Holy crap!