Hi Folks!
I am new to this site. I am madly in love with my '03 MINI, but it's been sick for a while and I don't know what to do. After driving for say, 20-30 minutes the car starts to shudder when in drive. I can press on the gas--even pedal to the metal!--but it doesn't want to go. Instead it will creep along at a snail's pace, then kick in and zoom away, only to go back to the snail's pace later.

So my questions for you mechanical wizards and MINI enthusiasts are:
a) What the *bleep* is going on with my beloved car?!?
b) Can a regular mechanic work on my MINI or should I wait until the MINI FLOW place opens up locally in a month?

Please help! I miss driving my car! Any advice you have would be massively appreciated! ThankyouThankyouThankyou!

 

OK manual or automatic tranny ...

I'm thinking it might be a throttle positioning/computer trouble

 

That would have been pertinent information to share! It's an automatic tranny (sorry, I know that's blasphemous).

 

Being an automatic it COULD be a tanny touble as well When yousay it shudders do the RPM's remain constant or do they jump around ???

 

The RPMs jump around a bit

 

sounds like an idle/air control trouble or the throttle position I mentioned earlier

 

i am having a simlilare prob with mine. or mini cooper s 6 speed. doesnt do it all the time but when i start it up, it will not go past 2k rpms with the pedal to the floor. i shut it off a couple times and its fine for a while.

 

that sounds like a TPS or computer trouble ...

Since the throttle is fly by wire versus a standard throttle cable

 

My Mini was fixed--apparently there are sensors that attach to the brake pads that monitor traction (? I might not have that quite right). One of mine was dead and the other 3 were very "weak". The mechanic said that if they can't detect traction, it will cut power and was therefore causing my problem. He replaced the sensors. It's been 2 weeks since I got my car back and it's been fine. [girl knocks on wood]

 

The mechanic also flushed the radiator, and fixed a few other computer things--the latter might have also fixed the problem.

Whatever--I hope this information helps.