Hey so my 2013 mini had had some issues with idle and its been a long process trying to figure out the issue the check engine light was on and the obd scanner was saying it was the maf so I went ahead and replaced it turned out not to be the issue so with a lot of tinkering and exploration online I got it boiled down turns out it was the variable timing solenoid thought I would share it on here to help out others experiencing the same problem

 

Recently bought it less than a month ago, the previous owner told me after driving some miles (when the engine gets heated up) there was an idle issue. Also, the previous owner replaced the coils however, they were bought from eBay. A mechanic friend of mine was honest about not having experience working on this type of car. The computer diagnosed misfiring with coils #1, #2, and #4. We removed the coils and sparks, cleaned them, then checked the pressure which all came back with positive pressure. Next, I questioned the fuel injector, pump system, and computer. This mechanic is a friend who was doing me a favor, extremely thorough guy, and honest with his experience. My issue is I don't want problems every month and having to keep taking it back to attempt something different to fix it. I want my car done right the first time and drivable. His conclusion was the computer kept my valves open and would not operate once the engine was warm. His fix was to bypass the computer and unplug a connector at the top right of the engine.
I for one think it's a bad idea to do that and my gas mileage has been horrible, the timing feels off when changing gears, and there's no torque while accelerating. Plus I just bought this car and I shouldn't have to unplug anything to drive it.
. However, my car doesn't idle so terribly now, but I'm still having more problems. My idle felt like the engine wasn't getting gas to it.