Whatever oil brand you choose, just make sure it says BMW Longlife-4 certified in the leaflet. Castrol Edge (from BP) is indeed the OEM choice, but I use Mobil1 Formula EXP since Castrol isn't available in my area (unless you go to the dealer). I even use it in our Audi A5 and VW Beetle 2012 since it also complies to VW 504.00/507.00

Some even claim Longlife-1 (older) will do just fine but I am no oil expert...

 

Yes, the timing chain tensioner issue is turbos ONLY ...

 

I like to add my $2703.52 to the discussion of the rattles caused by timing chain issues. I have about 112000 miles on my 2007 MINI S. At about 80K I would occasionally notice a disturbing rattle, usually when the car was cold. I did not pay much attention to it, even after reading some of the posts about the timing chain guides etc.. At about 85K however, my high pressure fuel pump failed and the car barely ran well enough for me to limp into the dealership to have it repaired. After the roughly $900 I paid for that repair, (later partially refunded by an "extended warranty" recall) I became more vigilant, and paranoid, about the operation of my MINI. Around this time I began to notice a low volume sucking sound seeming to come from somewhere in the air intake path. I also began to question the wisdom of the 20K interval between oil changes suggested by one of the service managers. And at 105K my water pump developed a hairline crack causing a slow coolant leak, and had to be replaced.

Finally in this saga, yesterday I paid $2703.52 to pick up my MINI from the dealers repair shop. Last week after two straight days of the "death rattle" on starting (I should note that where I live it had been below freezing for a week) I parked my car in the garage. The next day when I attempted to start it I heard an extremely loud "thump" sound followed by the clicking I've learned to associate with a low or dead battery. I stopped trying to start the car, connected a battery charger and started browsing the web with those symptoms. It didn't take long to find myself coming back to the possibility that my timing chain had slipped or broken. I also found the dollar amount of $1700 for a timing chain replacement and $7300.00 for a failed engine, quoted more than once. At this point I was kind of panicked but I decided to have the car towed to the dealership for diagnosis, ASAP. Well, I was lucky, a "bore scope" evaluation showed no cylinder head damage or ruined valves, and the timing chain was definitely broken. In addition to the timing chain repair I had my intake valves cleaned, the cylinder head cover replaced ($300.00, remember the sucking sound I mentioned earlier?) got a new battery and did an oil change.

To summarize this situation I have to say that I love my MINI and am relieved my engine wasn't blown. So, I weigh $2703.52 against $7300 plus and consider myself lucky. I also feel the service manager at my dealership did everything in his power to remedy a bad situation. Most importantly when I talked to him before I decided to tow the car in, he strongly advised me against attempting to start it until the problem was diagnosed, which probably saved the engine. And he offered, and I accepted, to forgo some of the labor costs.

But I have the following cautionary suggestions for my fellow MINI S owners: This car has a high tech, turbo-charged, performance engine, using an oil pressure driven timing chain tension system. Always keep your oil at proper levels and clean (oil changes every 5000 miles or less)! Pay attention to any odd noises or behaviors and at the least check to see what other owners are saying and hearing from maintenance experts about them.

Lastly I really feel BMW/MINI have some culpability here since many low mileage MINIs are having timing chain failures. If it is a case of proper oil levels etc. I believe they should be proactive in providing that information, but truthfully I think they have a recall situation here. All you other MINI owners with R56 engines, be careful!

 

My MINI Cooper S just started doing this for two mornings in a row now. I know it's the death rattle. I had it replaced at 21,000 miles and I'm now at 56,000 miles. I change the oil every 4,000 miles. I also ALWAYS check the oil level too! I don't understand how my car could have this problem again. This is a serious N14 issue that should have a better warranty. The warranty for the repair has expired. I seriously can't afford to have this job done again.

Thoughts?

 

This may be an old question but does MINI guarantee their repairs? If they do for how long.

 

There is a parts and accessories warranty of 2 years, but it excludes "wear and tear" items.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I will make the leap of faith that an internal engine part is not a wear and tear item. Hopefully some of the people who are seeing this problem for a second time are inside the two year window.

 

Have you contacted the dealer to see if they'll make an exception on the warranty? If not, I'd call BMW USA HQ customer service and see where you can get from there...

 

I have not long acquired a '10 Clubman S, it has the start up rattling, and it's still there when warm, oil is fresh and topped up. I'm going to take it in for an inspection. Is there any visual clues as to whether the timing belts etc. have been changed already? I'm hoping the shop will be able to know its history and validate the work required. Also, can I check if my water pump has been fixed with that recall? Cheers guys.

 

When a dealer does scheduled maintenance your MINI, they update that information in the on-board computer. You can then use the turn signal stalk control to view same. Non-routine repairs (like recalls) are tracked as well, but in that case BMW/MINI has the information. It is my impression that all work follows the car, tracked by VIN, and is available to any dealer you go to. So, your dealer (or any other dealer) should know if your timing chain etc. had been replaced.

I don't believe there are any visual clues as to the state of timing chain that can be seen without removing the cylinder head cover. If I were you I'd have a dealer check on any work done on your vehicle to answer your questions. Good luck!

 

Thanks BlueNile, I will certainly go and see the dealer, it's still warranted, so they can do something if needed, sorry yours went thump n cost you a bunch of greens. Have you got an extended warranty now, or looked into getting one?

 

6hrs to get it fixed. All under warranty. They measured the belt to 73mm, it should be 72mm, wow, just one mm.

 

Hell all!!! I have just entered the MINI forum world. I have enjoyed all of your posts since the purchase of our POS 2008 MINI S. We purchased the car early Oct. 2012 w/29K - 3 months later the Timming Chain Tentioner has failed us leaving this POS sitting in my garage since w/36k on it now... I have just read about the NHTSA, and have filled out the required forms as well -- thank you for that info. I just do not know what to do - we now sit with a $355 car payment, and now cannot afford to have this thing repaird. I have written to MINI, NHTSA, called the selling dealer (they will do nothing), and the one and only MINI dealer here in Minnesota (they as welll will do nothing), and have checked MN lemon laws... the inservice date of this car was October 2008 - so even though it has been only 3 months after the mfg warranty expired - noone is willing to assist. Im desperate, as my wife loves this POS... any help is appreciated as I am seariously thinking of stopping payments...

Thankx,
Cuj

 

I see two choices for you, fix it or sell it........

And your warranty expired 6 mos ago, not three.......

Was the selling dealer a MINI dealer? did you have a pre-purchase inspection done?

The title of this thread is misleading, there is no timing chain recall on MINIs, so if you're waiting for that you're wasting your time. Maybe you could find an independent service shop that could save you some money, but unless they're experienced with this job I'm not sure I'd go that route.

Good luck.

 

Dosen't seem like it was purchased from a MINI dealer given the only dealer in the state was not willing to help on this issue. You might call the MINI regional people and ask for their help as the dealer you called has not incentive to intercede. I've had a generally positive experience with my MINI dealer - and both of my MINI's were not bought from my local dealer. I did have one post warranty issue, about 3 months after the warranty expired and with help from the dealer MINI agreed to cover labor on the repair and I had to buy parts. In my case it was the intake manifold that needed replacing due to a somewhat obscure cold weather starting problem.

I think you have no choice but to repair the car. Selling a car with a busted engine will not yield much as the buyer will assume a new engine in needed. Once the car is fixed then you have the better chance of recovering some (hopefully most) of your investment.

Good luck.

 

Switched to Rotella T6 and Hyperlube. PCV delete and no OCC. not burning oil and can get 39 mpg's @ 75 mph. its been 4000 miles since my timing chain was done. No rattling.

 

Which Hyper-Lube do you use? They have a racing and a non-racing.

 

Jcwaggie,
do you know how the different viscosity will affect engine function?
also, in the Hy-per lube, did you use both the oil additive and the coolant additive?

let me know. i have a 2012 S and i'd like to better protect the engine since i am in stop and go traffic at least 2 hours a day.

 

http://www.hyperlube.com/c3/Zinc-Rep...ditive-c7.html

 

I may be way off base here, but are all Rotella T6 oils for Diesel engines? Because no one in the US owns a diesel MINI. Does it matter to use this oil? And is that why the rattling has stopped? I've had my timing system changed and it's till a noisy engine.

 

I used rotella t6 in my wrx. It loved it, there are multiple threads showing UOA's for this oil in subarus. It's a very good oil and the price is as well. I don't know about using it in minis though.

 

the mini's make noise regardless(because the direct injection system), the rattling is due to the dry timing chains. the pcv delete takes care of the oil burning. the rotella is a a damn good synthetic with higher levels of zinc. That keeps the engine cleaner and flat tappet engines like ours like that ****. The hyperlube is actually a zinc replacement. the 2 together protect our engines. My engine is about as quiet as you can get a mini. it purrs. I also attached the defenders of speed seafoam fogger that acts as a noise maker delete.

....as for rotella t6 being good for our engines, I can't see why not. I have browsed many turbo sites and they like to use it. I believe if you dig deep you will find it is compatible with our engines.

 

So why doesn't MINI dealers tell you this ****? It would be helpful. Jcwaggie, would we us he same consistency of oil? 5w30 etc etc

 

For those who have experienced the timing chain rattle, how obvious is it, I got my 09 JCW Clubman about half a year ago and never took notice of engine noise. Oil changed every 5k miles(I've only put 5k this far anyways) and oil level consistent(no oil burning). The past week I've been listening closer to the engine noise cause of mods I've put in and noticed a slight rattle when I stand outside with the hood open. Sounds like rattling of a chain but its not horrible and I definitely cannot hear it with hood closed and I'm inside the car. All the reports I've read says that the rattle is very loud and obvious. Should I be concerned or just wait to see if it worsens?