Here at BA Auto Care, we are experts at servicing and repairing everything Mini. Our technicians are knowledgeable, certified, experienced, and can keep your Mini running smoothly. In fact, we are Maryland’s top Mini repair shop.

Lately, this is what we are hearing from our Mini customers:
My Mini Cooper stalls…..
My Mini Cooper hesitates….
My Mini Cooper stalls on acceleration….
My Mini Cooper stalls when cold….

This list of Mini Coper drivability issues is lengthy and will probably get even longer. Although this is not great news, we’ve discovered that most of these issues are side effects of having “direct fuel injection”. Direct injection is an incredible advance in fuel injection. The “direct fuel injector” can inject at very high pressure a very precise amount of fuel into the engines combustion chamber. This advance in fuel injection has let to much higher mpg and has also led to small and medium cars going 30-40 or more mpg. This is a giant leap forward in automobile technology and fuel savings.

Carbon Buildup on the Intake Valves
Drivability issues often relate to a buildup of carbon on the intake valves. Intake valves allow fuel, air, and crankcase emissions to enter the combustion chamber but now they only allow air and crankcase emissions to enter. This can lead to a buildup of carbon on the intake valves and a clogging of the upper piston compression rings. This did not happen in earlier engines because the cleaners in gasoline would keep the intake valves clean. This issue is worse when the Mini is driven around town a lot, cars that are driven on the highway or are driven hard suffer less.

To rectify the problem the intake valves must be cleaned directly (very expensive) or by innovative use of chemical cleaners. There are also additives that can be used with the engine oil to clean the compression control rings. The right solution depends on the severity of the problem.

If you think your Mini has this issue the first step is to start the diagnostic process and to confirm the cause of the problem. Then our Mini technician can recommend the most efficient way to rectify the problem.