Are the engines really as bad as I've heard?
 

Hi everyone. I'll try to keep this brief. I may be the owner of a 2011 MCS very soon. Unfortunately, as I was reading in a different forum I found several people bashing the motors in the Mini's, stating that they are notorious for more or less falling apart around the 60,000 mile mark. Not only that, but that the service from Mini/BMW is usually pretty bad.

I realize this is basically a forum of Mini fanboys (and I don't mean that disrespectfully), but I was wondering if I could get some honest opinions on this. Any high mileage owners out there that can share their experiences?

Thanks all.

I am about to hit 120k miles on my 2008 MCS. Following engine related issues:

Heat exchanger @ 50,000 (warranty)
Chain tensioner @ 50,000 (warranty)
Timing chain cartridge, carbon cleaning, valve cover, throttle body @ 108,000 (about $2,200) done at Flow MINI
Oil pan gasket @ 109,000 ($400 - should have DIY, but was already in for the diagnostic cost) done at Flow MINI
Turbo oil feed line and return line @ 116,000 ($120) DIY, still leaking so I have some rework to do
HPFP @ 117,000 (warranty) done at Flow MINI

Overall, first four years were almost trouble free and no out of pocket costs. Went for a two year period, years 3 & 4, without ever seeing the dealer or repair shop.

Flow MINI has been an excellent dealership to work with. I know others have not been as fortunate, though it seems to me the consistency across MINI's network of dealers has been a little better the last couple years.

I'd rate the MINI as the second most reliable vehicle I've owned after a 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee that never saw a repair in 150,000 miles.

HTH!

It's human nature on forums for people to only post negative experiences with their car. People love to p1ss and moan.

Take care of the car and it will take care of you. Oh, and don't follow the 10,000 mile oil change interval. Change it every 5-7K with fully synthetic oil.

I LOVE MY MINI!

I wonder if there is any quality difference in the French and German made motors?

My MINI only has 27,000 and no unschediled maintenance. My buddies 2009 with about 120,000 no engine problems. He recently replaced a wheel bearing. Nothing major for him.

In general, 1st gen engines w/ manual Getrag trannies were more reliable & DIYable. The CVT was much dreaded, so w/ the Midlands 5speed.07-10 2nd gen engines had a few known issues best tackled by the dealership or MINI techs. They got better 11-present.

The 2011 MCS that you are looking at has a slightly different/improved engine over the 2007-09 engines. There are efficiency improvements (double VVT, variable lift intake), and an attempt at handling the carbon buildup problems. I think that the jury is still out on the carbon issue. Many of the issues could be improved by more frequent oil changes, like stated above. It is probably wise to expect more maintenance cost over the years than a japaneese car, but I would not expect durability problems. There are people that have significant mods (exhaust and intake mods to support major boost increases) that have had broken pistons, but I have not seen a recent complaint on that. It is likely that the redesigned engine would have improved on that particular durability issue.

Mike

No engine problems here!
 

2008 mini convertible with 52k and always garaged and oil changes as specified by my dealer...knock on wood still like brand new!

Not true. Just a bunch of fud.

2011 s with 34,xxx miles. I had the thermostat stick closed but that's been it. I have a catch can on mine but I rarely get anything out of it. I love the car is been awesome.

Sean

Pretty sure you don't have a N14/N18. Convertibles didn't switch till 2009

Gotta love the 1st generations.....

MINI covers almost totel cost of warranty repairs.
 

I will not argue that the MINI has more issures than the Honda's I have owned. My first MINI was a 2007 MCS, the first year of the 2nd generation and had a few issues. Everything except the cost of driving to the dealer was covered by MINI. They provided a free shuttle for any repair that took over a couple hours and a loaner car for more extensive repairs. When my warranty was about to expire, I evaluated extending the warranty or purchasing a new MINI. I chose a new MINI, so both of the MINI's have always been under warranty. I have never extended the warranty on anything I have purchased. I probably would extend the warranty if I kept a MINI after the original warranty expired. The reason for this is extremely high cost BMW/MINI charges for non warranty repairs. If you buy from a good dealer and keep the MINI under warranty, you have nothing to worry about.

Morris, 2011 MC

Jcausey,
The lack of oil changes affected my car. The previous owner relied on the car to indicate when to change the oil, and there were only 3 oil changes in 49k miles. The turbo was replaced, oil line was plugged, as well as the normal timing chain problems. The top of the head looks like someone poured dark brown wood stain inside it. I'm pretty sure that some of those issues would have been avoided with 'normal' oil changes. My car was previously owned by an older lady, who drove it like a corolla.

Mike

Thanks for the replies, guys. You definitely have helped put my worries to ease.

So I have had two cars to compare my Mini to.

I had a Lexus is300 with a 170K miles nothing but normal maintenance, I sold it to buy the Mini. Gas was sitting at $4.50 a gallon. The Lexus was well worth the money.
Second car Toyota truck with 161K on it. Granted I didn't drive the truck hard but the is300 had it fair share of hard driving -5 sp with limited slip.
My present '09 Mini has 26K on it, and expect it not to have problems up to 60k. I expect nothing less with the Mini. Anything less is a fail.

I believe the non turbo to be more reliable than the turbo version.

Agree with Countryboyshane. :thumbsup:

18,000 miles and thermostat stuck open within first month (fixed promptly).
No other problems.

If you look at the real numbers from JD Powers on PPV (problems per 100 vehicles) and ignore the noise coming from people who did have a legitemate problem with their car and insist the brand they bought is crap because of their issue, you will see that there really isn't much difference between major manufacturers. Here's the stack up:
http://images.dealer.com/jdpa/charts/2012008-1.jpg
Mini is down the list, slightly below average but ahead of outstanding cars, like Infiniti. If I look at this list and stack it up against my perception of cars I have owned, I drew the short straw with my Honda, the most visits to the dealer for "campaigns" and got the long straw with my Infiniti, which was outstanding. Also, PPV is a representation of ALL reported problems which can include the interior convertible trim and washer hose problems I had on my last Mini, to someone's engine falling out on the road. My 2 problems to their 1 (see anything wrong with that system?).
If you drill further down the list using numbers I can't post because you have to pay the provider to see them, a couple of company's up there like Ford and Cadillac actually have a very high walk home rate.
The point of all this is that, statistically speaking, most cars are only a couple of points apart and the best way to judge reliability is by warranty length. Typically the longer the mfr warranty, the lower the reliability. Now look where Kia and Hyundai are on the list.
The point of all this is that it is unfortunate that expensive pieces of engineering sometimes fail and the complaints from those buyers are valid but the complaints themselves are not an indicator of overall brand performance.

I have the 07 and the only problem so far (112k miles) is replacement
of the valve cover gasket (did myself, still might be leaking though), and
tightend up the oil pan gasket (I think it leaked there I got away with
just tightening it).

By this time on my 87 CRX (made in Japan) I had already had to
do an AC repair. Also the 2nd gear bumped from early on but I never
took it back under warranty (synchro now just beginning to fail at
300k miles).

Had a BMW 3 that was totaled by a maniac. Drove it from
80k to 135k miles. No problems.

Maybe I have been just lucky on it.
I do spend an endless amount of time worrying about will this
break will that break as I read these articles lol

21k and no issues. I do agree that the Justa requires less maintenance/repairs than the S. but then again, I am missing the performance. At least we don't get this issue.
Recall on 1.6L used by FORD.
Ford is advising customers to contact their dealers to arrange alternative transportation, at no cost, until a repair can be made. At this time, the repair process and parts are being developed, with no announced date for availability. Customers will be notified when the work can be performed.

So basically, pay for your car but don't drive it until we figure out how to fix the engine fires. Yeah right. So glad I have a reliable MINI CM.

I don't understand why JD Powers does not publish the types of problems as well. VDS can include any kind of complaint that sends a car back to the dealer. The early MINIs were beaten up pretty badly by JD Powers' reviewers for some things that were not exactly terrible:

(From 2003) "The top complaint among consumers was about the Mini's cup holder, followed by complaints that the engine hesitates or stalls, according to J.D. Power. Owners also complained about a noisy fan motor, wind noise and an uncomfortable ride, the survey found."

Besides two recalls and a thermostat that was changed at 17k, no issues mechanically with my mini.

Aside from *what* the complaint is... which is not reflected, and should be... MINI is twice as likely to have complaints as the Lexus, and Chrysler is three times as likely.

It would be much more helpful if they sliced and diced *important* problems vs. rattles, ergonomics, and trim issues. But it is not unlikely that the MINIs do have more large issues, overall, just look at this form for major complaints. Thermostats, death rattles, failing clutches in Countrymen... anything that causes your car to be undriveable is a major issue. MAJOR. Yes, we have them... and even though we love the cars anyway (because it is an enthusiast car, and we are enthusiasts) the general public is not as forgiving.

Sorry, wrong thread.