Hi, My wife has a 2011 Countryman S. She was driving down a flat road and experienced sputtering and then it stalled. It would not re-start for about 10-15 minutes. The car then ran fine. The next day it did the same thing. This time we towed it to Mini. They told us she ran the fuel too low ( 3 gallons left in the tank) and this causes a problem with fuel pressure being low. There were 3 bars left on the fuel gauge and we were told to never run it this low. To me this sounds more like a problem with the high pressure fuel pump. Has anyone had any similar issues? Thanks, Brett
I am skeptical. I have read of these symptoms occurring from substandard gas and/or water in the tank, particularly with low levels in the tank. Note - The CM has a tiny ass fuel tank. Smaller than the Hardtop or Roadster.... Getting down to 3 bars or 3 gallons is typical and doesn't take long. I often fill mine when the bars turn from yellow (normal) to red (low). From the 2012 User Manual: Fuel tank capacity If the range displayed is less than 30 miles/50 km, be sure to refuel; otherwise, engine functions are not guaranteed and damage may occur. Approx. 12.3 US gal/47 liters, including the reserve capacity of 2.1 US gal/8 liters. If the engine can no longer be started because of an empty fuel tank, add at least 1.3 US gal/ 5 liters of fuel. If the vehicle is at an angle, a larger amount of fuel may be necessary.
:cornut: Welcome to MA and congratulations on the MINI. It would be most helpful to know whether or not the engine threw a 'code.' Now is too late to check as the dealership would have cancilled it. A suggestion: go to our 'Sponsors' listed above and purchase a 'Scan Gauge II' for ball park $150-$200 including shipping and install it(takes only 5min and plugs directly into the OBD II). It is one one the simplest mods but gives you tons of real time information including 'computer codes.' You can set it up to give you(on my MARGI 08 BRG R56 MCS/JCWm) engine temp, boost, voltage, post inter cooler air intake temp, and/or many other real time engine values to suite your own needs. These values are shown on a miniscule light weight 3/4" x 3/4" x 4" rectangular gauge with LED read outs that again, are 'Real Time.' Best of all though, if you have an engine problem that throws a code, it tells you imediately and lists the code(it can manually cancil the code also) which you bring here to the MA Library and look up. That will tell you what the code means and hopefully, how to fix it. Of course if there is still a problem, then you list the code and explanation in a new thread here on MA and MINIacs will be falling out of the wood work to help you. SCAN GAUGE II Excellent Investment. Jason