Cold Start

[Wade]

I have a 2002 MINI Cooper S with approx. 3700 miles, here's the issue:
At first start every morning I have to start the car twice - first attempt it doesn't quite start; switch it off then re-start and it runs fine and operates normally the rest of the day.
Anyone else experienced this?
Thanks

[Intrepid]

Never happened to me.... not ever ever ever. Sounds weird - get her checked out!

[Ezzer]

Somthing related to '2002' and only '3700 miles' I suspect... drive it more!

[MINImeat]

I've only very rarely had this problem.

For me, it's usually after there's been a dramatic change in the weather and I've written it off to the ECU being too slow to recalibrate/compensate for the change.

If it happened more often, I'd be concerned, but it doesn't bother me on the rare occasion when it does happen.

[Bilbo Baggins]

It is a common problem, do a search on here and you will find many similar complaints.

Mine does the same thing, not all of the time but frequently. My dealer told me to put some mid-grade fuel in the tank instead of premium. When I tried this it seemed to lessen the problem. Now I alternate between mid-grade and premium fuel. Usually I do not have a problem.

This is an on-going problem and MINI is aware of it.

[Wade]

Thank you Mr. Bilbo Baggins - useful information, I'll certainly give it a try.

[dmholmes]

Been an ongoing problem in my 2003 Cooper. Switched to a lower octane and the problem has gone away.

[KatanaPilot]

Please do a search and you'll find several threads on this.

Basically the engine software isn't happy with the summer formulation of our gas. Pretty much every single MCS in the Northeast is having this problem. Putting in a lower octane fuel seems to help, but your performance and gas mileage suffers. Several of us have tried several different brands of fuel, and that doesn't help at all.

My own car has been having this problem since late April. I have given up hope of MINI coming out with a fix. By the time they finally have a fix available, we will be back to winter gas.

[MiniSMan]

i havent had any problems with my MCS starting in the summer i use Mobil super 92 octane it always starts on the first try i live in the North east near New York City its an march 04 build

[sequence]

My 05 MCS--as well as about 4 others I know with 05's--have this cold-start problem as well. Jeez you'd think BMW would have a fix by now? It's almost like the car needs a manual choke or something....

But at 1800 miles this is my only issue--otherwise my car is rock-solid with excellent mpg (average 29-31.) I wonder if it's fuel formulations for emissions standards, ie ethanol/MTBE? Jimbo

[tukansam]

[swamos]

Yes, it's a common problem. Your dealer can fix it for you. It will still do it occasionally, but it is mostly a successfull fix. It helps if you put the best quality fuel in that's available too .

[KatanaPilot]

My dealer is well aware of it. It is a software issue, and there is nothing the dealers can do about it. My car had V36 and now V39, and nothing helps.

I asked the service manager what percentage of MCSs are experiencing this hard start issue, and he said "every single one of them." Once the gas formula goes back to winter gas formula, your car should be fine.

[jvw]

If you hold the key in the start position for twice as long, will it start on the first try? This was an annoyance for me for a while. It never seemed to start as quickly as it should. But I've become used to running the starter for a little extra time and it seems to work ok. Probably hard on the battery. Warm starts are fine for me.

[Skaught]

Same thing with my 2004 S. Live in South Central US. Dealer installed v.39 about two weeks ago. Instead of doing it 90% of time, now it's about 10%. I can live with that.