Just spent some time on the NHSTA website and filled out the "complaint" form for my failed timing chain at 39K on my Mini S. Sounds like this is a common issue, but I think the NHSTA needs to know that its a safety issue if it fails on the highway or in the middle of an intersection. It can be found at: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Vehicle+Safety/Recalls+&+Defects
They need the vital info like VIN numbers and owner contact info.

Love my S, but need to get some resolution. If you have the death rattle when cold or have spent major time or money making sure your vehicle is safe, take a few minutes and give the NHSTA your info.

Thanks.

 

sorry, the best link is:
https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/

 

Did it actually fail or does it just make noise at startup? I wouldn't worry about it at all if it is just at startup. That is just how the N14 behaves.

 

My 2008 only made noise on startup until last week - now it makes noise every time I slow down to an idle or maybe thats the only time I hear it. Just passed 62,000 miles.

 

That's not a safety issue. Granted it's a prevalent problem, but if it was let go to the point that it failed (never heard of a complete failure), that is neglect.

 

Funny how these post to complain to a government agency usually comes from a poster who has never been on the site....or had 2 of their first 3 posts like this one.
The timing chain/tennsioner has been an issue on gen2 cars....and cars that had symptoms of an issue were fix....underwarrenty. not sure what happened in your case, but did you ever complain about odd noises?? Rarely does this stuff happen suddenly...

 

Thank you!

 

I'm a new Clubman owner and new to the site. I noticed the rattle noise about 2 weeks after I purchased the car, googled "mini engine rattle" and ended up here. Love this site, spent two nights just sifting through posts.....so much info. As far as a recall goes, I've had a number of cars over the years that ended up with a recall, and what it takes to make it happen is for people to actually get involved and stop talking to each other about a problem and find an outlet to make things happen. Many of the posts I've read about the "death rattle" seem to indicate that a rattling timing chain will eventually lead to part failure sooner or later. Honestly, if its a known early-failure part which is WAY below the industry standard for how it should perform. I want it fixed before it breaks in the dark, on the side of the road with my 1 and 5 year-old kids in the back seat. So, forgive the "newbie" post, but if the timing chain/tensioner issue is causing premature engine failure, AND it's something you didn't plan on happening...... Well, that is where I don't want to be. Also, there are many Mini owners who are not mechanically inclined, they just love their cars and may not know the difference from a "good" or "bad" sound from the engine compartment, they get in drive, have some coffee, listen to some music, whatever, and then one day they have a major engine failure from a minor part that was a KNOWN factory defect. BMW/MINI knows this and they are banking on the fact that 1) most people don't know what a timing chain rattle sounds like, and 2) the part will not fail until AFTER 50K or 4 years. When I started looking into the whole timing chain thing, I was shocked not only about just how much people have spent on repairs for this particular part, but mostly how prevalent the problem actually was. My Mini is still under warranty so it should see a fix, but what about all the other Mini drivers out there that are either out of warranty or about to have a catastrophic engine failure that could have been avoided? I just put the NHSTA info out there for anyone else that wants it, that simple. Thank you everyone for all your posts on all sorts of topics, this site is a Mini goldmine!

 

I absolutely agree with that!

 

Rarely does this stuff happen suddenly...
ZippyNH - I agree with all you said except this part.
My car was fine until 1 day I got the rattle. 2nd day OK. 3rd day again. Dropped it off at dealership so they could listen to it in the morning and it did it so they replaced everything. I was out of warranty but they were gracious enough to only ding me for $500. Oil has always been up and believe me I take care of my vehicles.
No problems since fix back in Dec.

 

A little over a week in the shop. Now has a new timing chain, sprocket, tensioner, a few gaskets, couple new valves, head had to come off for some work because of chain damage so it will get a new head gasket too. What about the folks out of warranty with 50-60k on the clock? This is a well maintained car with a perfect maintenance schedule according to MINI that ended up with THOUSANDS in repairs, it just has 40K on the odometer......thank god for the warranty. I love this car but the timing chain and tensioner thing is a crime.....Come-on BMW!

It is sad that people don't think of these has high-mileage vehicles. The quality of materials is pretty awesome and design is timeless. But I've heard some people say, "oh, 62K miles on X MINI...look for a year or two newer with 30K on the odometer". You would NEVER hear a Honda or Toyota owner saying that, and that is BMW's fault.

Ok, got that out of my system. Still, my MINI S is one of the funnest cars I've ever driven and frankly, most newer cars lack a soul. Just a little angry about the death-rattle thing.