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My 2006 MC just turned 10 years-old the other day, and now has 139,000 miles on it with virtually no problems the entire time I have owned it. An engine mount failed early on, a bad oxygen sensor at 100k and the middle brake light about the same time are the only failures I have had so far. Without question the best car I have ever owned
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Mine is barely ticking up at all lately. Hit this last night:
Seems like when I was commuting with it I'd go 10s of thousands of miles without touching it. Now I barely drive it...mainly just, ahem...rallyx...and there's always something to do! Just did the crank pulley, coolant jug, and motor mount - each for the first time. Guess I've been lucky!
Hit 170k with my '05 MCS yesterday. Running strong!
Mind if i ask what major failures you have had and at what mileage, i was lead to believe that no way in hell would any part last so long on this car. you're post makes me very optimistic...
Just clicked the 90k milestone. 2005 R53 refreshed model original owner here. Kicked around selling it but, decided to keep her till the wheels fall off. Ok you high mileage 1st gen owners, what maintenance did you do at 90k? Looking to love her long term.
Just clicked the 90k milestone. 2005 R53 refreshed model original owner here. Kicked around selling it but, decided to keep her till the wheels fall off. Ok you high mileage 1st gen owners, what maintenance did you do at 90k? Looking to love her long term.
You can see by the lack of responses...none! Just keep the right foot down...
Just clicked the 90k milestone. 2005 R53 refreshed model original owner here. Kicked around selling it but, decided to keep her till the wheels fall off. Ok you high mileage 1st gen owners, what maintenance did you do at 90k? Looking to love her long term.
Keep in mind, at 90k I did a few revisions but I like being proactive about stuff as opposed to waiting until it goes.
This is my experience:
At 90k miles… I replaced the main radiator fan assembly, crankshaft position sensor o-ring, belt tensioner and the a/c clutch coil.
Listen to when you shut your MINI down, the motor will stop but the radiator fan is still spinning. Listen to it if you can. If the bearing is starting to go bad, you will hear a ticking sound until the fan stops.
At 100k miles, I would look at shoring up any oil leaks you might have: oil pan gasket, replace the crankshaft position sensor (on the front side of the motor on the engine block), replace the camshaft position sensor on the passenger side of the motor underneath the passenger side engine bracket and then replace the valve cover gasket. While you are in there, replace the dip stick o-ring to prevent any additional oil leaks. This should shore up any oil leaks you might have…
Overhaul the ignition system on the MINI. This includes the coil pack, wires, plugs, camshaft position sensor and crankshaft position sensor as list above. (oil leaks)
Check out and swap (if need be) the power steering lines that might be leaking P/S fluid. Inspect the fan assembly underneath as it may be time to replace due to age. If the fan dies, the P/S pump will fail shortly after.
When was the last time your engine mounts have been changed? There is a passenger side mount, the dog bone underneath and the transmission mount.
Front end suspension… Inspect your drive axles and look for torn boots. From my experience, the inner rubber boots tear before the outside boots (hub) go. Replace the inner and the outer ball joints.
Cooling system at 100k (for me anyway), swap out the radiator, thermostat, gasket and housing (plastic). Replace the top and bottom hoses and this is a good time to flush the coolant system fluid. Becareful over time, there is a T-Connector in back of the thermostat housing that likes to die due to age of the vehicle. A few folks have sourced a coolant leak from this T-Connector (myself included) when it fails. Working around the thermostat/housing can cause this connector to finally give up the ghost. It is in back of the motor near/underneath the air box/filter. The coolant line reaches the t-connection and a small hose runs to the expansion tank for adding/removing coolant.
As you replace your brake pads, if you are noticing uneven/accelerated wear (in back?), you need to replace the rubber bushings that hold the calipers in place. A lot of people only replace the rotors and pads and forget that the caliper guides are rubber and fail over time. I was getting about 36-38k miles on a rear set of pads and that came down to 16-18k miles for the rear pads before I figured out that the rubber guides were toast. You can replace these guides with the OEM rubber pieces or get steel collars that hold the calipers in place perfectly. Good and bad to each option.
If when the crank pulley decides to go/die, replace it with an aftermarket pulley that will not die on you. When replacing the crank pulley, make sure you replace the front main seal behind the crank pulley as well.
My random thoughts for you…
Last edited by CooperSAZ; Oct 13, 2016 at 04:21 PM.
