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2011 Mini Cooper Clubman S Limp Home
I am hoping you can help solve an incredibly frustrating and money consuming issue with my 2011 six-speed Mini Cooper Clubman S.
In short, the car constantly goes into limp home and/or runs on fewer than four cylinders. Four years, three qualified mechanics, much money, and many parts later, the problem still exists.
I purchased the car in 2021 with 118,000 miles for my teenage daughter. I have three daughters all of whom learned to drive on a manual 1998 E36 M3 and all of whom have completed Tire Rack Street Survival two times each, in a variety of cars including the Mini. Awesome program.
When it came time to get her a car I was looking for a fun practical manual that was cool and could carry a student’s things to and from school. The Clubman was perfect. I found a nice example that seemed to need only normal refresh and maintenance work.
A few months after purchase it developed a problem where it would, without warning, drop into limp home mode and then proceed to misfire and run on less than four cylinders. If I stopped and turned the car off and back on, everything would reset and drive normally until the next instance. The problem went from sporadic to regular over time.
This became a safety issue as my daughter was driving regularly on I-95 in Baltimore, so I took the vehicle back.
The codes showed as multiple engine misfire, etc. I did a large amount of work and replaced many parts starting with the obvious (HPFP) to the minute. Nothing has worked. I work with a very good mechanic who has also invested a ton of time and thought into solving the problem. It is a great car (when it runs!) that I would like to keep for my third daughter to drive. However, I am nearly out of patience and money to invest. I have attached what I believe to be the pertinent work that has been done in the effort to fix this issue. I have also listed the specific codes it shows. Any insight is greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time and your efforts on the membership’s behalf.
Jody Poduje
Sorry to hear about this ongoing issue. I must disclose that the Mini brand is not in my line of experience. But based off your attachment, you have just about covered everything. Except wiring. For the engine to misfire on all four cylinders at (what appears to be) the same time, I would look at the engine wiring harness for where the ignition coils and injectors connect. This could be at the ECU, but what I am getting at is it possible the harness has an internal but intermittent defect that is causing your issue?
While I am not trying to throw parts at the problem, I have trouble believing that over the past few years, and multiple attempts at fixing this problem by competent mechanics, leads me to believe it is the next thing in the system (wiring harness) or something was missed. I wish I knew more about the Mini platform to be of more help, but in the diagnostic process, we rule out what’s working vs what is not in order to narrow down the culprit.
How does the issue surface? Randomly? After driving for a certain amount of time?
It happens after driving and is “consistently random” or “randomly consistent,” if that makes sense. It is inevitably going to happen but could be 20 minutes into a ride or an hour. Once it happens the first time on a trip it will then continue to fail with shorter intervals after “reset.” On long trips, I had taken to running with my scanner to clear the codes while moving, as with no real key the car does not allow me to turn it off and on while moving. Once codes are cleared it runs fine until it does not. I have tracked temp, gas level, intervals: any parameter I could easily monitor with some accuracy, with no pattern to be found. I agree on the electrical/wiring issue. How can one test the entire system looking for a short? Replacing the harness seems a bit much. I realize you are on the BMW side but truly appreciate your thoughts.
Due to the symptoms, it could be heat dependent. These can be tough to diagnose because the only consistent symptom is after the vehicle has been driving for a while. At this point the repair becomes what we call a “shot gun fix” by replacing everything in the system. Because of the parts already replaced I cannot offer much guidance other than try the next thing in the system that has not been replaced yet; the engine harness. I understand it could seem like too much but there are no other options; all other possibilities seem to have been addressed, including the ECU.
One observation: Why is there a fault stored for the oxygen sensor being disconnected? If that fault keeps reoccurring, replace the sensor or the harness.