2nd Gen R55 Clubman Sudden limp mode under acceleration, but no code.

Discussion in '2nd Generation: 2007+ R55 through R61' started by dkdzyn, Dec 9, 2016.

  1. dkdzyn

    dkdzyn Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Hey 2nd Gen owners...

    I'm having a continuing issue that's quite literally "driving me crazy."

    My Clubby is a '08 Clubman S with 107000 on the clock. It is unaltered but the dealer I got it from turns out was a shyster and abused the heck out of this car and left nearly every possible maintenance concern unaddressed for a long time and then polished it up and sold it to me for a really low relative price. I should have known, but everyone has to pay the stupid tax sometime in their lives...

    I fell in lust with the car and now I'm paying the price to make it all right. So far I've spent the four months I've owned it fixing every major component in the engine bay and it had SEEMED that my independent Mini certified mech had it all fixed but even after thousands of $$ of repairs, I've found myself in the shop again twice this week with a persistent Check engine light. Something is throwing the engine into limp mode but not showing any codes when hooked up to the computer.

    After having the water pump, thermostat and the pipe between them as well as a heater core hose replaced Tuesday, it was running as good as I'd ever heard or felt it... Then that evening under moderate acceleration while the turbo was in boost, the CEL popped on and the turbo cut out.

    The light never reset until I took it to an autozone and had them put their computer on it. It showed NO codes and when I restarted it, the CEL CLEARED and it was back to "new normal" again. The car ran great all afternoon/evening and the the next morning did it again! I took it back to my mech and HE found vacuum errors using his more sophisticated computer. He replaced a small, cracked vacuum hose and unbent a crimped line on a sensor which the shady dealer had left hanging loose instead of re mounting it. My mech had me drive while he monitored his computer live while it was linked to vacuum data and it checked out great. So I left happy and ready to motor... All good until last night when it did it AGAIN under the same conditions, except I was pushing it harder (going around an annoying Impala driver who thought his LT was a match for a Mini S) plus the engine was warmer this time.

    So, now I'm back at my Mech waiting to hear the latest cost for this issue.

    All of this is to ask, has anyone ever had a problem like this and what did it turn out to be? How did you finally (hopefully) fix it?!?!

    Thanks!
     
  2. Savvy

    Savvy Well-Known Member
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    Auto Zone won't be able to read the codes it's throwing. Need something more specific to BMW / MINI, like a BavTech cable and software. Until you read those codes.... You'll pull your hair out.
     
  3. DneprDave

    DneprDave Well-Known Member
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    Maybe a problem with the turbocharger recirc valve, possibly a torn rubber diaphragm?
     
  4. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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  5. dkdzyn

    dkdzyn Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Still sitting on the shop.

    After another smoke test, a check of the diverter solenoid and finding nothing, it is still throwing a vacuum leak code, so they are going through everything...
     
  6. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    With 107,000 on the clock I am betting Carbon build up.
     
  7. 00Mini

    00Mini Well-Known Member

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    Carbon build up even if its not the cause of your problem now should be on your to do maintenance list.
     
  8. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    At that mileage I'd bet you a dozen donuts you have carbon buildup. DI is great, until you need to shoot walnuts. If you post your location someone may be able to point you in the right direction to good MINI mechanic.
     
  9. Zapski

    Zapski Well-Known Member

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    I had the carbon removed at about 108,000 on my '08. I wasn't throwing codes but it did make a huge difference in response.

    Is the turbo itself OK?
     
  10. dkdzyn

    dkdzyn Member

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    Well, with so many votes for carbon buildup and the legendary way these '08's suffer this malady, I'm inclined to believe it. I mentioned it to the service manager and he said possibly and that it DOES help performance to walnut blast it, but he's concerned that there's nothing wrong with the turbo before assuming it needs to be blasted, so they are looking at that first. it is the intermittent way it is happening that's not yet convinced him of carbon, but he says it's on the list.

    Thanks for the responses all!
     
  11. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Please make sure you let us know what is found so others will benefit. Good luck I hope they find the problem.
     
  12. DneprDave

    DneprDave Well-Known Member
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    You don't walnut blast the turbocharger! You walnut blast the intake valves.

    The service manager should know that.
     
  13. dkdzyn

    dkdzyn Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Well... down the rabbit hole we go! They have performed test after test and have narrowed it down to the timing being out and now are about to re-time the engine in the hopes that it's not a tensioner problem, which would be interesting because the Dealer added a revised tensioner bracket 3 months ago and the Mech in San Antonio who did the pos-purchase work (and is also Mini certified like my Mech here in Austin) replaced the valve cover and gasket and looked at it while they were in there, so I have no idea WTH.
     
  14. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
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    Well perhaps when the dealer add the revised bracket he messed up the timing. But if it were timing I would think it would be a consistent problem. I hope this fixes the problem but I am not sure. I would still check for carbon in the intake. After all this you don't want some thing els popping up.
     
  15. Zapski

    Zapski Well-Known Member

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    I'm leaning towards the turbo itself, but I'm waaaaaaaay over here and a total n00b when it comes to a lot of this stuff. I had to have mine replaced a couple years back. I'm at 134,000 now, so it might have been around the same time as the carbon work.

    My brain haz teh dumb when it comes to remembering time.
     
  16. dkdzyn

    dkdzyn Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Yeah, I'm still going to press them a little on the carbon possibility. If it were the turbo itself, I think that was something the tech was ruling out this morning. I don't think the turbo is the culprit only because there's no intermittent thrust or lag or loss of power from the turbo when I'm on it, it is clearly a device measuring something via electric sensors making a decision and then dumping the diverter and not allowing the turbo to kick in to protect it (or so it thinks). The car actually switches to suddenly running pretty strong, but a little rough or lumpy and noisy until the error clears and then is smoother and the turbo works great again. I think that's what sent the tech down this route as he got it to recreate the condition on the lift. I was worried it had something to do with the VANOS which I'm told is ALWAYS expensive!

    The tech who is working on my car does Minis all day for this mechanic shop. it is a BMW/Mini/Land Rover specialist shop. One of the shop porters said to me that the tech working on my car does so many of them that he can do a teardown of the front of the car that is a 3 hour job in the manual in less than an hour because he does it so often. I feel like I'm in good hands on this, I just worry about the dreaded BMW cascading series of failures that always seem to happen and the Mini 2nd Gen is apparently prone to them. But I like all of the speculation here on the board because you all have more real-world experience than I do and it gives me something to discuss with the shop so I know that they are overturning every stone.
     
  17. dkdzyn

    dkdzyn Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    LOL, Yeah, I looked back and the way I wrote that... it looked like I was saying they'd walnut blast the turbo. No, they know better. These guys have been servicing these Minis since they have first hit the street. This mechanic shop has been open for years.
     
  18. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    That 3 hour "service mode" tear own job only takes 1/2 an hour in a good shop like Helix or Detroit tuned.

    The dealerships still charge the 3 hours "by book rate".
     
  19. dkdzyn

    dkdzyn Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    Yep! Exactly. I did find it a little hard to believe it was only 1/2 an hour, so that's why I said less than... I kind of need to see the big fish before I totally believe it exists. :p
     
  20. dkdzyn

    dkdzyn Member

    Dec 8, 2016
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    So, the latest is they think it is all good. They retimed the motor and flogged it with two different techs over 18 miles and said they got no "disturbance in the force" from it. I guess I'm the guinea pig this weekend. If my own "Car"-ma doesn't break it, then I guess its good! I'm STILL putting that carbon buildup blast out on my upcoming list though... I need new tires, brakes and rear struts first though.
     

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