I currently have the car in an Indy shop. It went in for the heater not blowing hot. Turns out someone had put some kind of stop-leak in and clogged up the heater core (we've owned the car 1 1/2 years). In the process of cleaning that up, they found water in the oil which lead to finding a crack in the cylinder head and the #4 camshaft lobe worn. The car has 130K on it. In looking around the mechanic found heads with cracks in the same place as well as the same wear issue on the same camshaft lobe. Does anyone know if this seems to be a defect issue with the 2003? Anyone else have the same problem? Is there anywhere to check and see if it's a big enough problem to get MINI involved, and if so, how do you do that? Thanks for the help!

 

Since the previous owner put that crap in the cooling system there's a good chance they ran it low on coolant at one point and overheated the engine. That might have been the tipping point for all the other stuff going wrong.
While I can't say that no one else has ever had the same problems you're having, they're certainly not at all common and it's not worth your time and effort to get MINI involved. It's a 10 year old car that obviously wasn't taken care of before you got it.

 

130,000 mile 10+ year old car....let's put this in perspective... Some of the kids that were born about when you car was built are going to enter 5th grade JUNIOR HIGH/MIDDLE SCHOOL in some areas....at what point do you think a manufacture can move on and get a free pass?! 10+ years old (even older based on production date/delivery dste !!)...that is 6 beyond the warrenty seems to be pretty safe to say (imo) they owe 2003 owners nothing....as most gen1 cars are FAR out of warrenty...heck gen2 cars will be out of production soon...
Get mini "involved" lol....warrenty WAS 3 year bumper to bumper...4 years mechanical.... Trying yo find used part in Good condition can be a challenge....let's face it...10 years is a lot of time on the road...and most cars are pulled off the road for mechanical issues (like a motor issue) unless wrecked....
The older the used car...the harder it is to find GOOD USED PARTS ....especially on a car that is used as s track car so much....
Sorry to sound rantish...but expecting mini to swoop in like superman is kinda like...well...believing in Santa....

 

+1 ...the voice of sanity!!
I think 90% of mini's junked are junked for major engine issues....
Usually having been run low on oil, coolant or over rpm'd by prior owners...
And you had stop leak...sounds like abuse/lack of prior MX. ...overheating gets $$...sounds like the prior owner cracked the head ...went for a fast cheap bandaid...and sold it. Simply put, you get screwed.

 

C'est la vie. $3+ grand later we have a great running MCS that won't need the water pump replaced at 6 hrs labor six months down the road. Our indy mechanic threw in free labor and replaced all the power steering stuff that MINI had problems with. So, overall no complaints. We'll just drive it til it dies.........

 

Sounds like you found a good guy to go to. The Cylinder head is a pretty major fix!! If you do the routine maintenance, and repair a few odds and ends, you'll get another 100k out of it!! Stuff ware's out, wadayagonnado? Got a pic?

 

Hopefully this works. I'm a newbie so not sure how to upload the pic.

 

The photo came thru fine, nice looking car.

Way to step up and get your car in shape rather than beating around the bush trying to drag Mini in. that was a no win deal.

You should have a solid ride now and have established a relationship with what sounds like a good shop.

Enjoy

 

Ditto!!
Congrats on getting everything back to good running shape!! Enjoy!!

 

Thanks! It's nice to have it back and running better than ever!

 

Nice! Red with a black roof, haven't seen one of those. Whats the name of the guy you went to? If you get a chance, put his name up for the other folks in your area.

 

Good idea! Joe Crowell owns Eurotechnik in Hendersonville, NC. As well as being an indy mechanic with great guys working for him, he has also won two National Championship trophies in the 944 Super Cup and 944 Cup series. So he knows German cars, how to tune and trick them out and how to race them. I am very fortunate to have found someone local with his experience and expertise. He treated my car like it was his and repaired it in the same manner.