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Engine warning light & reduced engine power

241K views 34 replies 26 participants last post by  pierrepont.henson 
#1 ·
My R56 Cooper S's yellow engine warning light came on before Christmas.

I booked it into my local dealership, Snows in Portsmouth, for 2nd Jan and the light was still on as I pulled into the car park. By the time they took it into the workshop the light had gone out (despite being on for 10 days beforehand!) and they said they couldn't find anything wrong.

Since then, the warning light has stayed off, but on at least two occasions over the last few days the car has suffered from reduced performance and it feels like the turbo isn't working at all. :(

The car is booked in for next week but if no warning light comes on, they will probably say there is no problem again.

The garage have refused to give me a courtesy car unless they can come upwith a definitive diagnosis of the probem but have warned me not to drive it too far. Shame I've got a 250 mile round trip coming up shortly!

Has anyone else had this reduced power issue?
 
#2 ·
I know no one replied to my plea for help but I thought I'd post an update now my car has finally been fixed - two months after the initial problem.

As I suspected, when I took my car to the garage for the second time they still failed to find a definitive answer, just suggesting it was something to do with the cold weather and my not having driven the car on any long journeys recently (which of course was because they'd told me not to drive it too far!).

Last weekend the car lost power yet again so we called out the Mini emergency service. Miraculously the car actually misbehaved for the technician who came out so it was booked into my local dealership and I got a free courtesy car. The garage finally believed the car really did have a fault (only because the chap who came out to it experienced it) and hung onto it for 5 days, consulting BMW Technical for help.

The fault turned out to be with the Boost Pressure Sensor which tells the turbo how much boost to give the car. So far (touch wood) the car has behaved impeccably so I'm hopeful that they've found a definitive fix for it. It's just a shame they didn't take me seriously the first time and try contacting BMW Technical when they first had trouble identifying the fault!

I hope this information may be helpful for anyone else who experiences the same problems with power loss.
 
#13 ·
The garage finally believed the car really did have a fault (only because the chap who came out to it experienced it) and hung onto it for 5 days, consulting BMW Technical for help.

The fault turned out to be with the Boost Pressure Sensor which tells the turbo how much boost to give the car. So far (touch wood) the car has behaved impeccably so I'm hopeful that they've found a definitive fix for it. It's just a shame they didn't take me seriously the first time and try contacting BMW Technical when they first had trouble identifying the fault!
All very similar to my experience :rolleyes:
Car has been at dealers for 6 days now, and today they said I could come in and test drive it!!!! :cool:
They have replaced the Boost Pressure Sensor.
Cannot get to dealership until late Fri/early Sat (fortunately the technician will be available at both times :D), but hoping that this is finally sorted :rolleyes:
 
#4 ·
Hey Yellow Peril...did you experience the problem during cold weather?.. several R56's in North America have had similar problems with the RPM's fluctuating/ engine surging...some dealers have suggested a replacement intake manifold...but this has not solved the problem on all cars..we've heard of ice build up on the throttle plate and faulty sensors...still looking for the cure
 
#5 ·
Yellow Engine Light on... intermitently

I have a 07 Mini Cooper S. It had been running flawlessly until early this year when I run into a yellow engine light. It showed some of the same signs posted, i.e. its as if the turbo was not working. After my first visit to BMW they changed the oil pump, which took about a week.

A couple of months ago, the same light come on and again went to BMW. This time they said it was the water pump and changed that!

It has been running well until I start using some of the gorgeous acceleration when the exact same thing happens. I live in Mexico and there are no real weather problems, temperature usually ranges in the high 70s. I get the feeling it is overheating because the light turns off after a few minutes of driving a little easier or stopping it turns off. I refuse to send it into BMW and be without my car for another 2 weeks before I have some better idea of what is happening.

Dont get me wrong, I love the car, but before I do any upgrades (eg a cold air intake) I want to make sure it works ok.

I would really appreciate any inputs and ideas.
 
#34 ·
Yellow Engine Light on... intermitently

I have a 07 Mini Cooper S. It had been running flawlessly until early this year when I run into a yellow engine light. It showed some of the same signs posted, i.e. its as if the turbo was not working. After my first visit to BMW they changed the oil pump, which took about a week.

A couple of months ago, the same light come on and again went to BMW. This time they said it was the water pump and changed that!

It has been running well until I start using some of the gorgeous acceleration when the exact same thing happens. I live in Mexico and there are no real weather problems, temperature usually ranges in the high 70s. I get the feeling it is overheating because the light turns off after a few minutes of driving a little easier or stopping it turns off. I refuse to send it into BMW and be without my car for another 2 weeks before I have some better idea of what is happening.

Dont get me wrong, I love the car, but before I do any upgrades (eg a cold air intake) I want to make sure it works ok.

I would really appreciate any inputs and ideas.
Could be the diverter valve . On mine at just over 4K RPM The orange light comes on

I will attempt to get it changed at my mechanics next week . I’ll report back.
 
#6 ·
I live in the Philippines with no mini dealership to support me. My check engine light cam on and my car does not want to go past 152kph and I felt that the car has no problem until I reach 5-6k rpm. At this range, the engine felt like there is no more power.... Any ideas?
 
#7 · (Edited)
My Cooper D has had power loss issues, resulting in a new turbo being fitted under warranty. It has now had 2 EGR valves replaced, and is thus on its third valve! Did I mention that it is only 2 years old.
My other half also has a Cooper D, and despite my car coming back from the dealers 'fixed', it still clearly has less power than a car of almost identical age and mileage. :puzzled:
Despite these problems, I have never had an engine warning light.
 
#9 ·
At least you have a dealer to go to. I live in the Philippines where a dealership is NON Existent :frown:

Can you let me know what the dealer did to your car to make the check engine light disappear. I too have the same problem and we don't know what to do with it.... :(
 
#11 ·
Hey everyone, I have this problem too... From what I can tell it may be cooling related. Unfortunately, it happens when I sit in a lot of stop start traffic (for 20min or so, going through the city). I don't do this very often, but each time I do, the warning light comes on!!!

When the light is on, it feels like its restricting revs to under 4,000rpm and it prefers anything under 3,000rpm. After 3,000 it feels like its really having to work hard.

When this happens, I switch the engine off and back on again and it clears the error. If I'm still stuck in the traffic it will come back on again shortly after. If I am clear of the traffic, it doesn't come back on.

Has anyone experienced this as a cooling problem? What solution was implemented?
 
#31 ·
Its funny you mention being stuck in traffic. I also experienced the same light on my Countryman S before and for some reason the light disappeared and my vehicle gained power again. Yesterday afternoon I was stuck in traffic doing stop starts for about 30 minutes. This morning on my way to work the yellow light came up and my vehicle lost power.
 
#12 ·
Heard rumour elsewhere that stop/start can affect performance.

Not the same problem as mine as I never get the warning light, and my journey rarely uses the stop/start, if at all.
After my 2nd visit to the dealers in a week, they have kept my car. Been given a courtesy car for a further week.
As I say no warning light, and there are no problems stored on the car. However, the technician came out for a drive in my car, and within a mile had detected the 'power issue'.
It's like the engine has the power, but cannot put it on the ground through the wheels :confused: By their own admission, they have no idea what is wrong, and intend on swapping parts to see what they can find :rolleyes:
 
#14 ·
Picked the car up, and needed to drive to Glasgow and back. This pretty much gave me 300 miles of a test drive.
There now appears to be more power/torque and through a much greater range of revs :D Even found myself doing 90, which is very unlike me :eek:
Looks like this was the part my car required :nice:
 
#15 ·
Im having very similar problems as some of you above.

15month old R56 cooper S with 21k on the clock. In the time i've had the car the engine management light has come on yellow twice and i've had that awful rattle noise on start up looked at, but only dissapears for a short while once I get it back.

I mainly drive my car using the low down power upto about 3000 revs, but recently have noticed that anything past 4000 revs the car just doesnt respond. Feels totally out of power and almost on the verge of breaking if I push it. Certainly no turbo working from this point.
Whats even more strange about it is that the engine light has only just come on today, but im sure this problem has been going on for a while and definately for the last 2 weeks.
Anyway, booked in for the dealership on Thursday.

I have to say, I love the way my car drives and the sound etc. but the problems and poor build quality are making me want to get rid. Im not even particularly fussy with things like electric windows having a mind of their own and sunroof sticking. I just live with that, but the engine and drivability is very different. Plus the awful rattle on start up.

Hopefully its worth somewhere close to what I owe on it!

If someone has a Mini MCS out there thats problem free, then your very lucky
 
#16 ·
Took my car in on Thursday and it turned out to be the fuel pump causing the problem. Luckily they had one in stock, so fit it for me under warranty and gave me my car back.
I couldn't believe how fantastic it was to have it back to full power! What a flyer! I must've been down on power for ages, as i'd forgotten how quick the MCS is!
But...............here I am 3 days later, and its broken again. :angry:
Took it out today and could tell right away it wasnt right. As soon as I got some open road to use the revs I knew it was the same problem again.

So furious, but I really love the car when its working properly. Plus there isnt alot else out there for the same money that offers the same thrills, so maybe i'l have to continue the love hate relationship I have with Mini until I can afford something to replace it
 
#17 ·
Thought i'd update this thread incase anyone suffers from something similar to me.

Anyway, took my mini back in yesterday to be looked at once again after it only worked properly for 2 days. This time the technicians have said that my ECU had cut power for some reason, so they reset it. Apparently when the mini's are low on fuel, the ECU automatically reduces the power to safe guard from running out of fuel, so my problem was along the lines of this, although they did acknowledge that mine had lost alot of power wether I had a full tank or not, so was a little differerent.
Its working again now though, but it's only been a day. Only annoying thing is that once again the dealership seem a little lost as to why it was playing up. I'd be far more confident if they knew exactly what the fault was.

Hopefully thats the end of my troubles
 
#18 ·
Just had the same problem here on my 07 MCS Clubbie in Norway:
Engine warning light coming on, with half the engine amber/orange.

Message reads: Engine fault. Redused power.
Then later: Increased emissions.

Idle is very uneven, and had to nurse it to the dealers this evening. Wouldn´t do more than 40 km/h.

Interesting to see that northern Americans have have had similar problems as we have similar climates. Updates or more info. from Canadian, American - or other Northern European owners, are appreciated!
 
#19 ·
Just had the same problem here on my 07 MCS Clubbie in Norway:
Engine warning light coming on, with half the engine amber/orange.
I have the same problem on my MCS 09. But only when it's cold and i haven't been driving for 2-3+ days.
I just drive or rew it a bit, turn the engine of and on again. All the warnings are gone and i have full power again:)
But Minis apparently doesn't like the cold very well:(
 
#20 ·
Here in Alberta Canada the Gen. 2 Cooper S cars experience problems when ambient temperatures are below -14C and the relative humidity is high. The check engine light in the tachometer comes on in yellow with a diagonal slash through it, the idle stumbles between 900 - 1300 rpm, exhaust backfires, and the car is a real pain to drive. City is manageable, but on highway the revs are limited to about 3000 rpm, with subsequent low speeds causing a serious safety problem. Has happened to my '09 MCS twice this winter, the second occurrence the small check engine light in the speedometer stayed lit, after the problem resolved. I pulled two trouble codes from the OBDII port:
P1637 : Throttle Valve Position Control; Control Deviation.
P1638 : Throttle Valve Position Control; Throttle Stuck Temporarily.
The fix is reported to be a new 4-port intake manifold, part#11-61-4-584-240.
Two of our Edmonton MINI Club members have had this part installed to '09 MCS models, and the problem has not reoccurred.
I need to book a service appointment with my dealer soon to have this work done...
 
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#21 ·
i had this light come on this morning on my 59 plate JCW (3500 miles)! i started the car and the revs surged past the 900 normal idle point to about 1500 and then calmed back down. Drove half way down the street and went to accelerate and almost no power and then the light came on. Drove it about 1km down the road with the exhaust burbling, spitting and popping before everything ran smoothly and power restored. Drove it 15 miles to work and 15 back again this evening and all seems fine again.
Not sure what caused it - not particularly cold this morning, especially compared to previous mornings this and last month.
Only thing i have noticed is the fan seems to come on a lot more than previously and i also have a sneeking suspicion that the heater inside the car isn't working as it only gets warm when really working the engine before going cool again if doing normal revs.
It's got to go to mini to have a couple bits done soon anyway so will mention this when i take it in and see if they have any joy :(
 
#22 ·
I am new here.. i came to the forum searching for answers. i live in germany and recently we have been having sub-zero freezing weather.. for the last 2 weeks it has been -12 and up. my car started pulling this number that Yellow peril was describing. also increased emissions due to engine malfunction, and decrease battery life. and its also saying the car needs service when it was just serviced.. the germans are not known for their customer service and when i took the car to them initially they were very not nice about helping me though my car is still on warranty, which by the way is voided in 2 weeks. the car is barly 2 years old and i am starting to have all these issues.. what the heck?! i will definatley keep all abrest on this matter. i love my mini.. i just love looking at it every morning.. its like the first day i drove it from the show room. i still get giddy. but i am not a happy camper right now.. :(
 
#23 ·
Engine light and wet weather

I have had my Mini One for just under 5 years and it has been mostly trouble free (apart from needing new roll-bar bushes). However, last night for the first time the yellow engine warning light came on. I had driven home through torrential rain and some big puddles, but the light only came on when I started the car up an hour later to put it in the garage. It was difficult to keep it ticking over as it kept stalling. Have left it at home in the garage today in the hope it will dry out. Hope I haven't done any serious damage. Have absolutely no idea about mechanics or electrics. :frown:
 
#25 ·
I have had the same problem a few times each winter (I live in Ottawa, Canada) since owning the car. I have a 2008 Clubman S. I presume the new intake manifold is not covered after warranty expires (?) How expensive is this part and how big a job to replace this myself?
Thx.
 
#26 ·
Hi,

My story is a bit different....and would be funny if not disappointing.

I own a 2.5 years old Countryman Diesel All4. My wife use it and it went perfectly till when we took if for the first service (a few days before 2 years). The day after the service the car showed the orange engine fault light on and off (not continuously) so i called the BMW service and booked the car for a check. The car was still under guarantee when the fault appeared but after guarantee when they made the check. The BMW team told that the Turbo needed to be replaced and after long discussion they agreed to do it under the guarantee terms........things went well for 3 months and the light came up again....I took the car to the BMW service and the y guy told me that there were no particular issues and they reset the computer blaming on a fault.........now, a month later the light goes on and off again.......I am going to the garage next week (after Easter)....but I am afraid it will be useless.

Has any one of you experienced anything similar? By the way the car had 6 thousand Km when the first service occurred and has less then 8 thousand now.

Thanks,
 
#29 ·
Help please!

My 2010 MCS (86k miles) had the yellow check engine light, with the slash through it (not blinking) appear on the tachometer but not on the speedometer. The car idles nice and quietly and doesn't stall or struggle to start. The exhaust isn't sputtering or backfiring. I was going up an incline and felt like the car was really struggling to stay around 65 mphs. The more gas I gave nothing happened. The owners manual says when that light shows up that you are no longer given the full power of the car. The car runs fine in town and on freeway. The error code gives me CC ID 029. Prior to all of this I unfortunately had to fill up at a cheap gas station that has what they said was 92 Octane premium fuel, and it is recommended to have 93 Octane running in this car. Could just a cheap batch of gas cause this check engine light with decreased power? If that's the case I will be going on a local joy ride as I have 3/4 tank still. Any input would be appreciated.
Thanks.
 
#31 ·
Engine malfunction reduced power light

Just had this light go on AGAIN, second time in 5 days on my 09 Cooper S. The first time, brought it to my mechanic who scanned it and said that I had pushed the turbo too hard...which I may have done, as I was driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Yesterday, it went on under normal driving conditions. I experienced no loss of power in either situation, and the car seems to be running normally. Does anyone know how to reset this light? I disconnected the negative battery cable for 5 minutes but no dice.
 
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