2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman Miserably Failed Emissions Test

2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman Miserably Failed Emissions Test

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apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Wednesday 19th December 2018
quotequote all
Nice forum here as always on PH!

Last week I picked up a 2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman and it has some odd symptoms:

- misfiring/hesitation a low 1000-2000 revs in all gears
- massive smell of petrol when standing outside the car
- miserably failed the emissions test with a massive 5.43% at idle and at revs
- high fuel consumption which is around double the norm

There are no warning lights, I've run a Bosch OBD 100 scanner on it and it doesn't come up with anything at all.
When the rain stops I'll whip out the plugs and air filter to see the state of them.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated?
Cheers all,
Paul


apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Wednesday 19th December 2018
quotequote all
Thanks, I have no idea if there was a walnut blast done as i just picked it up last week. Fully serviced by mini all it's life with 56k miles only. Mini want 160 quid to do a diagnostic ... i was thinking of the O2 sensor but then i should have a fault code and warning light....

apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Wednesday 19th December 2018
quotequote all
I'm onto it ... thanks

apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Thursday 20th December 2018
quotequote all
With the timing chain shouldn't it be sounding like a tractor?

Mine sounds nice and quiet and my mixture is definitely too rich with a strong smell of petrol all around the car. Sparks, filters etc being changed this weekend...

apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Sunday 30th December 2018
quotequote all
Thanks all for the pointers. Sparks, coil pack, air, fuel and oil filters, oil all changed and runs better. I'm having the walnut job done week after next and then the next will be fuel injectors and chain if the problems are still there .... fingers crossed!

apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Sunday 30th December 2018
quotequote all
Indeed however what's confusing me is that I have no error codes or warning lights at all...

apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Wednesday 9th January 2019
quotequote all
Due to the hols it's slowed things up but I have the walnut cleaning guy dropping by on friday. I've changed plugs, coils, oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter so fongers crossed and I'll update the thread when done ....

apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Friday 11th January 2019
quotequote all
Ok the cleaning was done and it's running like new with no hesitation anymore. The big test will be the emissions test when it goes for it's test as last time it was bad, bad, bad.

We ran it through a better OBD scanner and it detected that codes had been cleared! We retrieved the code which was a misfire in cylinder 4.
It's too early to say if all is ok now but I am interested to know what might cause a misfire in one cylinder apart from the coil and spark plug of course ....


apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Thursday 7th February 2019
quotequote all
Quick update .. misfire in cylinder 4 code has gone away. I am trying for the emissions test again tomorrow for the french MOT so fingers crossed. I have no idea if it works but i put some cataclean in this week just for the hell of it.

The car does go all jumpy/jerky when driving in gear at 1000-2000 rpm after which it behaves well.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow and I'll post any update

apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Thursday 21st February 2019
quotequote all
All sorted, passed the emissions test easily this time. In summary this is what i did to the car and I don't know which one or combination sorted the issue:

- walnut blasting
- Changed oil, oil filter, air filter, spark plugs, all ignition coils, fuel filter
- Bottle of Cataclean into 14 litres of petrol, ran to empty, filled up and the morning of the test i took it on a fast blast along the motorway and back for around 60 miles.
- Drove straight to the test centre, arrived 5 mins before my appointment
- Car straight into the emission test
- Passed :-)
- Car runs well now

I hope that helps others. Cheers,
Paul

apsona

Original Poster:

43 posts

264 months

Monday 25th February 2019
quotequote all
Indeed it is an n14 ... good point about the catch can. Thx