[GAJ]

Ok folks! I need your participation to help resolve, an erm, difference of opinion! To cut a long story short, do you think that the MINI has an undocumented safety feature which disbles the engine in the event of a flat tyre to stop you driving off and damaging a wheel.

The full thread detailing the, ahem, discussion, for anyone with time on there hands can be found here.

Oh! And welcome to NEWMINISCOTLAND to anyone who has not visited before!

So thanks folks! Get voting!

 

[vagt6]

If the MINI does have some nutball device that stops the engine upon a flat tire, I'd suggest to disconnect the device ASAP!

If a tire blows at speed, you're really going to need power to steer the car to a safe landing place. Without the engine, the power steering pump won't function, brake boost won't work, and you're in lots of trouble.

I think the second choice on the poll may be the correct one . . .

 

[Julz]

Oh here we go!! Right, just to clarify seeing as Gaj doesn't like being told he's wrong... I recently got a flat tyre, took the car home and ordered some more tyres (Ihave 18" after market wheels). While the car was sitting in the garage, I went to start it, the ignition went on, but the car would not start. I had two orange lights flashing on my dash, the tyre pressure one and the ABS one. I have since replaced the tyre and the car now starts fine. I spoke to someone at mini about this and they say that the pressure sensor would have thought that there was no tyre fitted to the car seeing as it was completly flat and was purely warning me of the situation. This can be over-riden by holding down the tyre pressure button thingy under the hand brake. The engine does not shut off whilst the car is moving, it's just purely a way of warning you that you're away to drive away and wreck an alloy.

However, if you're like Gaj who was convinced it was a flat battery and don't like being told you're wrong.. please.. carry on!! Otherwise, admire this piece of genius!

 

[Rich-UK]

So they can make the engine not start if you have a flat but they can't make the passenger side window one touch up

 

[GAJ]

However, if you're like Gaj who was convinced it was a flat battery and don't like being told you're wrong.. please.. carry on!! Otherwise, admire this piece of genius!

I never thought itwas a flat battery! Read the thread dear! After picking up the toys that you are throwing about!

 

[Julz]

I apologise, it was Steve who thought it was a flat battery, you just thought my car was knackered!!

I ain't throwing toys, I'm just getting fed up of being told I'm wrong even though I've had a mini man confirm my first theory! So how else would you explain what happened then?

 

[Steve74]

If there are no pressure sensors as Gaj said then how can the cars systems detect a continuing or complete loss of pressure if the wheel is not spinning and the ABS sensors are not picking up rotaional values?

I said it could be a flat battery even if the rest of the electronics were working. Wouldn't explain why the car started again though. Could just be knackered. Lots of other things on the mini seem to go that way!

Seems very strange.

 

[Julz]

So you're still claiming to know more than someone from mini??

So now if you think my car is knackered, how have I managed to do over 100 miles in it today??

 

[Steve74]

So you're still claiming to know more than someone from mini??

Well I did used to work for BMW for a number of years so have a fair idea of how a car works. As I said to you before, BMW didnt have a clue about stumble or cracked windscreens (or at least their technical rep wouldnt admit there was an issue) and having had numerous problems with my car and a complete lack of ability to fix them right first time I wouldn't hold my breath for a correct answer.

100 miles - sounds like an intermittent problem then, but who knows? There are a few threads on here about non-starts, mostly in the US though.

Sometimes people are going to have a different opinion from you Julz.

 

[Julz]

Of course they won't be quick to admit to a problem, but when I phoned this guy, I didn't tell him exactly what happened just to get his 'honest' response, and he told me what would happen and that was exactly what did happen, so fairs fair, people are going to have different opinions from you too, including the experts, and some of them do actually know it all!!

 

[Steve74]

Of course they won't be quick to admit to a problem, but when I phoned this guy, I didn't tell him exactly what happened just to get his 'honest' response, and he told me what would happen and that was exactly what did happen, so fairs fair, people are going to have different opinions from you too, including the experts, and some of them do actually know it all!!

As I said - who knows? Just an opinion

 

[sjbartnik]

Ok folks! I need your participation to help resolve, an erm, difference of opinion! To cut a long story short, do you think that the MINI has an undocumented safety feature which disbles the engine in the event of a flat tyre to stop you driving off and damaging a wheel.

The MINI has no such feature. The whole point of run-flat tires is that you can continue to drive the car even if you have a tire (or 4) with zero air pressure. The flat tire alert system is a totally passive system in that it merely alerts you if it detects a tire pressure problem.

The system does not directly measure air pressure -- there are no pressure sensors -- some cars do it this way, but it's more expensive and requires special wheels. The MINI system does it the cheap way: it uses the ABS wheel speed sensors to monitor wheel rpm. If a tire loses air, the diameter of the wheel/tire will lessen as the tire sidewall collapses slightly. This will cause that particular wheel rpm to be higher than that of the other 3. The flat tire monitor interprets this is a low tire pressure problem and flashes the warning light.

The warning light will continue to flash until the system is reset using the button near the handbrake. The system will not reset on its own which of course explains why it continued to flash even though the car was stopped.

Many of the cars we get here at the dealer come off the truck with the flat tire light flashing because the system has not been initialized (or reset). The car starts happily with the light flashing. The system does not prevent the car from starting and any suggestion to the contrary is simply incorrect.

I don't know what was preventing the car from starting in this particular case, but it was not the flat tire monitor.

 

[BlueCS]

I agree with Sean. After factory training on the methodology the tire sensor uses, its highly improbable, if not impossible, that it would detect a flat tire from a standstill before the car is running.

If the ABS light was on, that would signify another problem...

Besides (on something of a tangent) I don't think factory would mind selling a replacement wheel.

 

[Julz]

Fair enough! I'm just going by what the guy in Oxford told me! Plus, I don't have runflats and a did reset the sensor so I could drive home without having an epileptic fit! The car started fine when the new tyres went on and that's what matters to me!!

 

[Steve74]

Too many gremlins in the machine!

 

[Wul]

Julz and GAJ - get a room you pair! and sort this pent up anxst once and for all

 

[Julz]

Don't worry Wul, Gaj and I have long since kissed and made up (with the aid of a box, he is a bit tall you know!! )

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

I think the MINI is a clever little car, but I do not think a flat tyre will keep it from starting.