Bought my R56 in feb with about 35k on it, now I am up to 40k wondering if there is anything maintenancey that I should do to the car? The air filter is a new K&N, had the oil changed at the dealer about 4k miles ago, planning on doing that myself within the next 2k. Outside of that I'm wondering if there is anything else it needs done, or I should do for prevnative maintenance that doesn't come on the service indicator.

 

Rotate the tires for the hell of it. Check the brakes. What year?

 

07, rear brakes were replaced by the dealer I bought the car from (non mini dealer). It's my understanding that with rotating the tires I can only rotate them front to back? Not some weird pattern like my Sebring had..

 

Depends on the tire. Get a Oil Catch Can. Watch out for the dreaded death rattle. Also change the cabin filter.

 

well technically...front tires go opposite ways to the back. and back tires just move straight to the front. All cars should do this. I've been doing that since day one with all my cars. But I agree, tire rotation, brakes, and fluids. Other than that, have fun with your MINI!!

 

Have been concerned about DEATH RATTLE, but how exactly do I diagnose it? I listen closely and there is a bit of a rattle, but HARDLY audible above injectors only when you listen VERY VERY closely. Is the timing chain supposed to make ANY noise at all? And when I say noise I can hear I have to get my ear like an inch and a half away from the cover to hear it over the injectors... Have been planning the catch can, but am awaiting the financial resources to procure one.

 

You will know. Youtube search MINI death rattle. You will find all kinds of videos.

 

PHEW!!! Have seen the videos and it sounds NOTHING like that...

 

You may want to consider having Mini dealer pull the service history on it. They should be able to tell you if the timing chain bulletin was performed on your car.

I'm not sure if all year model before 2009 has this death rattle problem?

Consider yourself very lucky then... the problem will creep up all of a sudden and your car sound like a diesel. Once the oil pressure is up then it goes away...then once in while it comes back especially early in the cool morning.

 

I thought these cars always sounded like diesels when at idle, because of the direct injection, which is what makes a diesel sound like a diesel....

 

This is NOT true if you have directional tires. Even if you had uni-directional or asymmetrical tires, it still isn't necessarily a good idea to swap sides with the tires.

-Charlie

 

If the coolant is 3+ years old you should do a cooling system flush. Probably one of the most overlooked maintenance item on cars nowadays.

 

Would the coolant have been changed when the AUX water pump was replaced under the recall?

 

No, they would have just topped it off.
Getting back to the death rattle. It'll sound like rocks boucning around in the upper passenger side of the engine. Unmistakable sound.
Keep oil up to correct level and change it every 5-6 K and that'll help but with the 07's up to 09's it's pretty common.
I think they recommend brake fluid flush every 2 years as well.

 

Cheap bastards! Ok so I'll just plan to change all the fluids when I do my oil change. I have the extended maintenance plan but it astonishes me that BMW thinks its ok for these things to go 15000 miles on the same oil.

 

The maintenance plan will cover at least an annual oil change. But check with the dealer on the latest oil change recommendations. I've heard that the recommended interval is now lower than stated with the OBC (perhaps 9,000 miles max).

Dunno about the coolant flush. I don't think that's recommended by BMW. Brake fluid flush is usually 2 years unless shorter period recommended by OBC.

 

Yea, I think that's why so many of us that bought used 07's-09's had some issues, tooooo long on oil changes, synthetic or not.
Once you get the few issues out of the way it's more smooth sailing. At least it has been in my case.
Oh, and I think I've heard or read that Mini has changed their intervals now to 10K. Still too long.

 

If you find you are losing signifigant pick-up since you bought your car, you may need to clean your intake valves. Once I did (I bought my 2007 MCS with 30k, did the intake valve clean at ~46K) I notice a dramatic increase in pick-up (similar to when I bought the car).
Aside from that, I agree to stay on top of the fluids, much more frequent oil changes than factory recommended (same old adage, ~3k - 3.5k miles), adding an oil catch can and keep revs up!
Have fun!! :-)

 

+1 on the intake valve cleaning. There are instructions on this site to do it yourself. But I went with the walnut shell blasting route and am very happy with the results. I honestly didn't know how much power I lost until I had this done.

 

Good thread, especially for someone who might be buying an 07 with 54k miles on it. Thanks guys.

 

An excellent independent MINI shop gave our club a presentation. My notes indicate that they warned to change brake fluid every two years, coolant every four years, that the lower control arm may crack at about 40,000 and the front engine mount commonly fails at 40,000 also. They also mentioned keeping an eye on the harmonic balancer, and that the thermostat housing is plastic and commonly leaks. The brake and coolant fluids change pH through repeated heat cycles, which then causes corrosion of the gaskets. Hope this helps!

 

My dealer changed the coolant when my AUX water pump was replaced, BUT, my main water pump was leaking and had to be replaced as well.

The dealer flushed my brake fluid and replaced the rear brakes at 2 years.

If you have the service records any fluid changes should be noted.

 

Great more problems to make me paranoid about. i think i need to buy the real deal service manual. If i intend to keep this car after warranty expires

 

hearing about a 2007 with 40K makes me look like a busy man

Here mine today a 2011 MCS driven of the not march 2011

 

Guywhomaybuyamini-- those problems that I listed were **possibilities**, things to watch out for. Most of them are pretty easy fixes if you are aware and keep them in mind. And it is a good guess that all cars have similar issues, that a small percentage of them will manifest. They were also mixed between Gen 1 and Gen 2 cars, so your mileage may vary. :-)