I guessed that perhaps the S engines were all made in France and maybe the non-S engines were made in Japan. Not so. I stopped by a dealer the other day and found some of the new, non-S, engines on the lot were from Japan, and others from France. It's a strange thing. I wouldn't think that Mini would have enough volume to justify multiple engine plants on startup, even with the PSA volumes added in.

I understand Karl's arguments that a 2 year old, UK-based, study isn't the definitive predictor of reliability for the brand-new Prince engine. Ten-four. It's just the best (and only) data I've got.

IMO, when it comes to cars, past quality provides a somewhat reasonable predictor of future quality. Good examples include Lexus, Toyota, Acura, and Honda. Bad examples include (insert your favorites here). Although cars are spec'd differently for different markets, at least when it comes to the Mini, I believe the base engines for S and non-S are sold in UK and other markets.

In time the Japan engine source will be identified. I'll be interested to see if my Mitsubishi prediction was accurate.

Regarding the issues regarding the BMW 7 series and other models, a friend in the know was commenting to me that the software for the new Mini is vastly different from the R53. He said the new code seems more like the code written for the 7 series. Humm...

 

I was at the dealer the other day and spoke to the "guy that knows everything". He was totally unaware that some Mini engines were made in Japan. At first he completely denied it. Then I showed him a "Made in Japan" window sticker and he was speechless.

For those following the car press, Peugeot's relationship with Mitsubishi is public knowledge these days - which means I still don't know who manufactured these Japanese engines, but maybe someone here does.

 

I agree it's a typo. Mines a '07 week 32(mid-August) build.

 

 

So, the origin of the auto trans (Japan) got moved up to the engine field on the form?

 

my 09 MCSa's sticker says Engine = France, Trans = Japan But then this can be misleading because Aisin Intl has tranny plants all over the world, inc France and England

Despite PSA's involvement with Mitsu, the Prince is subassembled in France, shipped thru the Chunnel, and completed in England. BMW struck up this relationship and procedure after the first gen cars because of the huge expenses in assembling the Tritec engine in Brazil and having it shipped to Oxford - cheapen the logistics of manufacturing.

But then maybe PSA has subcontracted to Mitsu for making say the blocks, heads, etc.? Weird.

 

It is wierd.

I'm no expert on Country Of Origin rules, but wouldn't dismiss the packaging label (window sticker) as a typo. From what I have read, proper compliance labeling is required by federal law and regulated by US Customs and Boarder Protection for tariff assessment among other things.

 

*sigh*.. people - it IS a misprint. No prince engines have been made in Japan.