Hi - I bought my 2009 Mini Clubman at a Toyota dealership in May. A few weeks ago I noticed it was showing a low oil warning and after I topped off the oil it started having a burning smell. I recently learned that it is leaking oil at the turbo and is most likely the oil feed line. I bought an after market powertrain warranty for the car when I purchased it that clearly states that the Turbocharger assembly including boost valve and wastegate; seals and gaskets were covered. However, upon taking it to a Mini dealer - they are saying that the oil feed is not covered and that they would have to take the entire front of the car off in order to fix it. It would be an $1100 repair. My question in all of this is: First, wouldn't the oil feed line be included with the Turbo assembly? Second, there is a factory recall on my car to put a new/additional heat plate in the car... wouldn't that job require the same thing and why wouldn't they just replace the oil feed when they do that? and finally, Does anyone know where I can get the work done cheaply? I live in an apartment complex so I can't do the work here myself. I do know about the Detroit replacement part and have read all the articles about how to replace the part... so would it be in my best interest to buy the part and have someone install it for me?

Sorry this was so long winded...

Also - The gentleman at the Mini service center did say that he would send an email to his corporate office and see if Mini would take of the problem or even offer to give me a discount... I am still waiting for a reply from them.
My last resort, if I can't get this covered somehow, is to take it back to the place I bought it and try and get me into another car.

Suggestions?

 

The heat shield just clips on the feed line from what I understand, so installation of that would not require removal of the feed line.

Whether it should be covered by the warranty is something you would have to take up with the warranty company.

I think I've seen some folks find independent garage that will do the job for as little as $700. It is a labor intensive job, so the price you can get it done for will be driven by the labor rates of the so that does it.

 

I just had mine done at my local MINI dealership for $699 and they also replaced the timing cover gasket and some clamps. They had the car for a day and a half, but now there is no more oil leak. They also put a heat shield on the top of the oil line and some sort of silver blanket/cover down the oil line.

I was originally quoted $900 for the job, but after I asked for a break in the price I was given a customer loyalty discount since I bought the car there and have them do all the service work.

See if they can give you a better price or look for an independent shop to do the work.

 

Thanks for the info guys! I am still awaiting a response from a nearby mini dealer on a price break. They said they would let me know something by today. Guess we'll see...
I will keep you updated though!

 

My Mini dealer charged me $700 to replace the oil lines, took them a day and a half to do it. It was something I did not want to tackle myself. The $1100 your dealer originally quoted does seem too high.

 

I just replaced mine last weekend. it took me all day to do, but it did save me $1200 at the stealership. I just got the detroit tuned line and followed their instructions. on a scale of 1-10 for difficulty, definitely a 10 unless you have small hands and you're a lefty; I am neither of which. But, it can be done.

 

Yeah - I heard all about the do-it-yourself repair job - I don't have the facilities to even attempt it or I would - I'm very big on the whole "do-it-yourself" plan...
FYI: A service manager at the Mini dealership in my area was able to get the whole thing taken care of (lucky me!) Now - I have to get the windshield replaced (frickin' trucks!) and eventually the breaks which is another $500.00 job... Anyone know where I can get the breaks done for cheap? LOL! Might be worth it to trade the car in on a new one... was looking at the "Pac-Man" (paceman) - Anyone care to comment on those?
From here on out - if anyone has this issue (the oil leak problem) try and get the service dept. to contact the Mini corp. office and see if they will flip the bill for it. This is a very common problem and it should be a recall anyway.

Peace - and thanks for all the reply's / advice!

 

brakes are DIY too. can be done in a parking lot. Don't you have any car friends?

 

Ugh... Not really... I moved to Atlanta a little over a year ago and all my friends are musicians that live pretty far away. I'm working on that though... just recently started getting a life! LOL! That being said though... I may plan a trip to FL and visit my "car friends" there and make them help me on it.

 

BMW corporate did pay for my damaged turbo oil line, !

 

Once all that ice melts in hotlanta you need to go see waymotorworks.com

He is in Atlanta and runs a independent mini shop.

 

Yes we keep all the brakes in stock so we can take care of that once Atlanta thaws out.

 

Hey everyone... just wanted to give you an update on the whole oil leak at the turbo thing. The good news is BMW took care of the whole thing. They estimated it at $1100.00 - then, upon finishing the job, they discovered that I had a bad oil leak at the back of the engine. I think they described it as an oil plate. They estimated that job at over $5000.00 because they needed to take the whole engine out of the car. The service manager said he would pass it by Mini corporate once again and see what they could do. I told him that I have a powertrain warranty and to check if it would cover it. It did, which is ironic because the warranty wouldn't cover the oil leak at the turbo. In other words... the warranty company wound up paying a whole lot more for the job. Now - I plan on taking the car to the Toyota dealership that I bought it from and see if they can take care of the breaks. The way I see it, they sold me a car that had bad breaks in the first place. A month after I had the car, the break warning light came on and when I took it to them, all they did was re-set it and tell me the breaks were fine. Then when I took it in for an oil change and tire rotation at a different place, they told me that the breaks needed to be changed. So we'll see what happens!

Thanks for all the feedback guys and I will let you know how it turns out from here...

FYI: I am thinking about trading it in for a new one ... should I get another Clubman or do you think I should go for something else. Opinions welcome!

Peace!

 

Glad things worked out for you - good luck getting the dealer to take care of the brakes.