Hi all!
This is my first time posting in a forum so bear with me... And apologies if I'm breaking any forum "rules."
I bought my 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman "S" in 2008 under the MINI NEXT Warranty.
In the spring, my timing pulley broke causing my timing chain to make a lot of noise, and also causing a loss of power/trouble accelerating. I started hearing the noise weeks before but it almost sounded like a hole in the muffler so I didn't think it was serious until the power issues developed.
Anyway... they replaced it under warranty and had to replace a bunch of stuff around it too as the loose chain damaged surrounding housing, etc. It turns out, this pulley was replaced when the previous owner had the car as well, but they have since revised the pulley from a composite product to metal so it is less likely to break.
Last week, I started to hear the noise again and lose power, so I took it back to MINI where they confirmed it was the timing pulley yet again. (WTF!) So they replaced it under warranty again but when they took it for a drive after, they realized the problems accelerating were still there.
Further investigation found that my Turbocharger is blown. (MEGA-blown.) They say that the two problems are unrelated, so I have to pay for the Turbo repair ($4,000) which isn't covered under warranty.
Is there any way the bad timing chain/pulley could have screwed up my Turbo? If so, I would think that the warranty should cover it.
They say the two are unrelated but it seems to me that timing should be pretty important to the function of the vehicle...
Any thoughts?
Lauren

 

Why isn't the turbo covered under the warranty?

 

I suppose because it's the "NEXT" Warranty (for used MINIs) not the new car warranty.
I understand they have revamped the MINI NEXT warranty so newer cars (2011+) are covered for this sort of thing, but for me, I'm unfortunately SOL unless I can prove the bad timing repair caused the blown turbo...

 

So if I understand you correctly you've had the car for about 5 years and how many miles are on your car?

$4000 sounds like a lot for a turbo replacement, you can buy a new turbo and put it on yourself for $1500 plus incidentals. Get a quote from an independent shop.

Also what are the conditions of your warranty?

 

No the car is 5 years old but I have had it for 2 years. (I got it used from MINI.)
I'm not going to spell out all the terms of my warranty here but basically it doesn't include any problems with the Turbocharger.
They are telling me the parts alone are $2,600 ($4,000 for parts & labour) so there is no real benefit to doing it myself.
That being said, I will have them do the work.
I'm not asking for advice on whether the $4,000 is reasonable or whether my warranty should have covered it, etc. etc. as there is no sense in beating a dead horse. What I'm asking is whether anyone knows if the timing pulley issue could have caused the blown turbocharger. It seems like a coincidence that a turbocharger would blow at only 5 years old, right at the same time my timing pulley blew for the second time.
If I can prove the two are connected somehow (which they may not be), then perhaps my turbocharger work will be covered by the warranty on my timing pulley.

 

The two probably are connected but not because the timing chain pulley failure caused the turbo failure. More likely running the car low on oil or not changing the oil enough caused both failures. The timing chain pulley did not cause the turbo to fail.

Buy a new turbo from Way Motor Works and take it into the dealer and have them put that one on. Should save you $1k in parts cost at least. Since they're not covering the turbo under warranty you can bring in any parts you'd like and have them put them on.

 

I have my oil checked & changed regularly by MINI so that's not it... but thank you for the advice.

 

Lauren, the oil can get low between oil changes, and that will cause problems. If you learn how to check it yourself and do it regularly, you will save yourself money and possibly save your engine someday. :-). I check ours once a week.

There may be an independent mechanic in Ontario... Are there any clubs up there?

 

Check out Southern Ontario Mini Club

 

MINI Next is somewhat of an "Extension" of original warranty for all major mechanical and electrical.....2yrs and 50K miles....

So what they are saying is that the Turbo is not covered under original warranty, and that it's not a major mechanical component ?

 

1.) There is no timing chain pulley. There is a Timing chain tensioner.

2.) the turbo is in no way related to the timing chain, other than they share the same oil.

3.)If the OP changed the oil according to MINI's schedule, (15K or more between changes), that may have had something to do with the turbo failure. As cold the previous owner's care and feeding of the beast.

4.) I'd be on the phone to MINI USA, and just see what they can do. Also if you were a member of the BMW CCA, you could probably use the club discount on parts to reduce the cost.

5) If you have to pay for it, FIND AN INDEPENDANT MECHANIC! I can't state that loudly enough. There is no reason to pay dealer overhead and profit if they aren't going to do something to help you with what should be covered by the CPO (MINI Next) warranty... You can probably cut that repair bill in half.

And lastly, if the car is still under the NEXT warranty, (less than six years in service, and less than 100,000 miles), the turbo should be covered. read the excluded items directly from MINI http://www.miniusa.com/content/dam/m...t_warranty.pdf

 

I threw a fit about the fact that this major part of the car is not covered and they have now agreed to pay for the parts ($2,600 of the cost.) So I'm just on the hook for the labour.
Joanie - I do know how to check my own oil and do so regularly. In fact I have also (on previous vehicles) changed my own brakes, brake lines, muffler, transmission, alternator... etc. But the turbocharger is beyond what I'm willing to take on as I am not even completely sure how it works.
I will check out the MINI club you recommended. Thank you!

 

UPDATE!!!!
I emailed the sales guy who sold me the car and explained what happened and asked him to send me the warranty information from when I bought the car.
He pitched a fit to the service department and now my repair is covered under warranty!

Thanks everyone for your advice and support!
I probably wouldn't have investigated this further without you!

 

 

 

I'm glad it all worked out for you!