Cold Start Issue

[Bing]

I have a 2005 MCS that has a little over 3000 miles on it. It was built in mid-November 2004. It is a great car but I have noticed recently when the car is cold and has not been started for awhile (sitting overnight), it will start fine and in about 5 seconds after start it will start idling low and almost quit. Then about 5 seconds later it will snap back into a proper idle. Has anyone had this occur ? I am wondering if there is a computer upgrade or something for this problem.

Thanks,

Bing

[Aqualung]

I have an '04 (Jan build) w/ ~20k miles that while I haven't seen this exact behavior, I have noticed it's taking longer to crank over in the AM...longer than the middle of the winter w/ the extreme cold. Takes 2-3 secs to get it to turn. This also occurs if I take it out for lunch (5 hrs after arriving @ work and it sits).

I forgot to mention this last week when I was in for svc (windshield), but will when I take it in in a few months for its normal svc. I'm at v39.1 and I asked about the v41, but was told by the Service Advisor that my car didn't need it.

[GBMINI]

This is a famous (infamous) problem with MINIs in USA - particular areas of the country are most affected at the start / end of "winter" - general opinion is that the chemical mix in the gasoline changes and confuses the engine computer.
You could try to get your dealership to wipe the learned engine parameters - then the car should run OK through the summer until the gas mix changes again in (approx)November.

The software is better than it used to be - GBMINI#2 used to stall and have to be restarted; now GBMINI#3 just runs very rough and tries to stall for a few seconds.

Gary (head tech) at MINI Peabody suggested a lower octane gasoline (easier to ignite) but I have not tried that yet.

[RenaultF1]

Quote: Originally Posted by GBMINI

This is a famous (infamous) problem with MINIs in USA - particular areas of the country are most affected at the start / end of "winter" - general opinion is that the chemical mix in the gasoline changes and confuses the engine computer.
You could try to get your dealership to wipe the learned engine parameters - then the car should run OK through the summer until the gas mix changes again in (approx)November.

The software is better than it used to be - GBMINI#2 used to stall and have to be restarted; now GBMINI#3 just runs very rough and tries to stall for a few seconds.

Gary (head tech) at MINI Peabody suggested a lower octane gasoline (easier to ignite) but I have not tried that yet.

Gary & Chris told me the same thing (when I bought my MCS in October), I've been using lower octane the last couple of times I filled up because the car was basically stalling on the 1st cold start of the day (it's been going in the 20s overnight here in Maine ). It actually helps a lot. However, I definitely would like to get my ECU reset on my next service so that I can go back to higher octane.

[Aqualung]

Quote: Originally Posted by RenaultF1

Gary & Chris told me the same thing (when I bought my MCS in October), I've been using lower octane the last couple of times I filled up because the car was basically stalling on the 1st cold start of the day (it's been going in the 20s overnight here in Maine ). It actually helps a lot. However, I definitely would like to get my ECU reset on my next service so that I can go back to higher octane.

which octane did you go to, 89 or 91?

[RenaultF1]

Quote: Originally Posted by Aqualung

which octane did you go to, 89 or 91?

Middle grade here...89. Ours go 87, 89, 93 in Maine.

[Aqualung]

Quote: Originally Posted by RenaultF1

Middle grade here...89. Ours go 87, 89, 93 in Maine.

roger that, thanks...

[Bing]

Thanks for the info. I will try the lower octane fuel at the next fill up.

[lukebuzzy]

Cool Thanks for the info Ian

[dave316]

This has been happening to me too. not as quick, occasionally after 15 seconds. I remember reading something on these boards about starting your car then blipping the RPMs a bit, then taking off. Alot of people were saying it was bad to leave the car idling at a cold start.

[Kaelaria]

DO NOT run lower than premium octane in a MCS! Not only will you lower your MPG, make the computer pull timing to save your engine from detonation - it doesn't fix the cold start problem! It's a simple by product of the current software. There's nothing we can do right now to 'fix' it, it's all in the software. Flashing helped greatly on mine, other software upgrades have had good luck as well. As for stock software cars, we can only hope MINI cures it in the next version, and you'll have to get your car updated.

[Rich'sFroggy]

I have this problem also with my '04 MCS. I agree with one of the posters above. It most often happens with seasonal changes ie: the fuel reformulations they do. I always run 93 octane of higher.

The problem also occurs after a session of hard driving. After a "spirited" commute home at night, I pull into my driveway, apply the parking brake and the revs drop well below normal idle sometimes almost to the verge of stalling. even if I gun the throttle a bit it still drops. Next morning it's usually fine.

[holdenontoit]

On another board this question has gotten a lot of airplay.The suggestion was made to do the following at start up:
turn the key to the position just before start up, if you look at the speedo, you will notice that after a few seconds, the DSC triangle at the bottom goes out.This is an indication that the fuel pump has successfully delivered gas to the motor, as it seems that there is some kind of flow back to the tank during longer periods of innactivity.Once the light goes out , proceed to cranking the engine with no accellerator .This worked for me and I think the real culprit (at least here in the Northeast) is partly due to the "summer" gas.I do let the car idle for a minute or so before taking off, and yes I sometimes get a stumble innitially, but it goes right away.Good luck. Jock

[mini4bea]

I, too, have this problem and brought my MINI in last week. Though they found nothing wrong, the MINI techs (Keeler MINI) suggested that every 6 or 7 fill ups to use a lower octane fuel. I'm going to give it a try. Oddly enough, my MCS didn't do this at all during the winter, but has started to struggle during this damp spring weather.

[Pawn80]

I picked up my 05 MCS in Feb. I have been having the same problem but only in the spring weather. i havent used lower than 93 octaine either.

I am having a weird whinnig noise tho when my car sits for a while when its running.
i'll be at a red light then it starts like a buzz/whine then slowly quiets and disappears.
anyone heard of it???