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I had the whistle show up @ 3K miles, took it in (along with printouts of this and other threads about the waterpump issue) and my noise too was diagnosed as the waterpump and friction drive. They ordered the parts and I scheduled another visit to have the work done.
They replaced only the friction drive, and the whistle was now twice as loud. My dealer consulted with a "field engineer" and he deemed the noise as "normal", so I was told that nothing else would be done to fix the noise.
After 3 more visits back and forth (mind you, all this was time taken off work), numerous calls to MINI USA, and eventually a letter to MINI USA VP Jim McDowell, my dealer put a shim in the pulley of the friction drive, bringing the whistling noise back down to the level it was when I first took it in. I still have the same waterpump. My dealer has told me they have gone above and beyond as far as service, and that the matter is now closed.
By the way, my letter was answered with a letter from someone in their PR dept, telling me they've "looked into my concern, and since the field engineer says it's normal, my case is closed".
Since the market for small sporty cars sucks right now going into winter, I'm parking my Cooper for a few months, and in spring I'll be trading it in. I'm beyond pissed off. I'd trade it now, but common sense kicks in when I see that I'll lose $4K if I trade now.
At least some of you have gotten the waterpump replaced, and you are fighting this and going back again and again until it's fixed.
MINI lost a customer for life, over a $300 waterpump. Amazing.
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