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I recently bought a 2010 Mini Cooper S w/ 57k miles on it. I absolutely love the car. I've had it about two months, and recently I've started hearing a grinding noise. I've been foolishly discarding it, but now (after research), I'm discovering that it's more than likely the infamous "death rattle."
I know there are SEVERAL topics on this issue, but most of the ones I were finding were older.
So, did MINI do anything about this? If it turns out that I need to replace my timing chain, will MINI cover any part of the cost? I saw there were some class-action lawsuits and possibly recalls, I just can't find anything concrete on what ended up happening.
Also, what have your guys costs been to fix this issue?
Strange....I saw online that some people say it's also due to "low oil." I went to check, but the dipstick might be broken? It came out alright, but I really have to force it in. So I feel like it's hard to tell if I need more oil or not since "forcing" it back in might just be smearing oil on the dipstick?
If the oil level is ok, then check for the timing chain rattle . When the oil is very low you will get the oil light kick on or the rattle of the chain. Don't drive it and fill with oil.
Certain MINIs Gen 2 Cooper S from 2007- ~2009 received a letter from MINI to check the tensioner and replace the tensioner and chain if necessary. Might be under that worth the call to your MINI dealership, otherwise you have the links, above.
If the oil level is ok, then check for the timing chain rattle . When the oil is very low you will get the oil light kick on or the rattle of the chain. Don't drive it and fill with oil.
Certain MINIs Gen 2 Cooper S from 2007- ~2009 received a letter from MINI to check the tensioner and replace the tensioner and chain if necessary. Might be under that worth the call to your MINI dealership, otherwise you have the links, above.
Thank you! I brought my car to the MINI dealer this morning. They're going to do an inspection and see what the problem was. I WAS running low on oil so hopefully it's just that which is causing the rattle.
Worse than I thought....needs close to $4k worth of work, including a cracked timing belt. I'm considering trading it in a getting a leased MINI. I'm finding it hard to justify spending that money. SIGH! I've only had the dang car 3 months.
The oil light should come on, usually when you have about 2 quarts of oil in the car and make a turn.
These cars use a timing chain, which stretch but rarely break, you may be thinking of the serpentine belt being cracked which is a common occurrence with these cars due to it's small diameter.
As for the dipstick being tough to remove and install, that could be due to a damaged timing chain guide (the dipstick passes through the guide).
We usually have a customer in and out of the shop for under $1,000 for a timing chain, installed.
I would ask to see what and why they feel you are in the hole $4k, even at dealer rates I can't see a timing chain costing more than $2500.
Also, strange that the oil light didn't turn on. Is it supposed to?
No. The oil light, like almost all automobile oil lights, is an oil pressure light. When the oil pressure drops below a (usually very low!) value, the light comes on. When that happens, you don't have oil pressure, and you are putting extra wear on the moving bits inside your engine. If you keep driving with the light on, you go from putting extra wear on them to directly causing damage.
If the oil is down a couple of quarts (that's about half of the total amount in there!!) and the light comes on under hard braking or in turns, that means the oil pump has sucked in air instead of oil and you have basically zero oil pressure. Not good.
The oil level in a 1st- or 2nd-gen MINI is checked using the dipstick, same as in most cars. Unfortunately the stock dipstick in the R56 cars is challenging to get a good reading from, hence the number of "how to read the dipstick" threads.
Sorry to hear about the timing chain. Nkfry is probably right about why the dipstick was hard to remove and insert, though.
No. The oil light, like almost all automobile oil lights, is an oil pressure light. When the oil pressure drops below a (usually very low!) value, the light comes on.
Yep, this.
For those of us coming from BMWs, though, it may come as a surprise to see that the MINIs do not also have an ADD/LOW OIL light (triggered when the crankcase is about a quart low). If you see the OIL light in a MINI, it's probably already going to be a bad day for you.
Thus the importance of manually checking the oil - particularly if you have a turbo. And to complicate things even further, checking the oil is no party with the stock dipstick.
In any case, sorry that you are dealing with this only three months into MINI ownership.
For those of us coming from BMWs, though, it may come as a surprise to see that the MINIs do not also have an ADD OIL light (triggered when the crankcase is about a quart low). If you see the OIL light in a MINI, it's probably already going to be a bad day for you.
Thus the importance of manually checking the oil - particularly if you have a turbo. And to complicate things even further, checking the oil is no party with the stock dipstick.
In any case, sorry that you are dealing with this only three months into MINI ownership.
Yea, thanks .
I'll just bite the bullet and fix it. I do love this car. The situation just sucks.
I suppose I was being a bit dramatic, the $4k includes a bunch of other small things needed. Attached is the breakdown.
Obviously some of the stuff (i.e. new tires) would be cheaper elsewhere so I wouldn't have them do that.
Tires are of course gonna be cheaper elsewhere.
The vacuum pump leak can be fixed with less than a tube of RTV and some brake clean. We have disassembled multiple vacuum pumps and fixed the oil leaks both from the mating surface of the head and the canister of the pump itself with good results.
How do they know you need a carbon blast if the car isn't timed right? Improper timing will change compression numbers. Have they removed the intake manifold to confirm the blasting needs done?
The vacuum pump leak can be fixed with less than a tube of RTV and some brake clean. We have disassembled multiple vacuum pumps and fixed the oil leaks both from the mating surface of the head and the canister of the pump itself with good results.
How do they know you need a carbon blast if the car isn't timed right? Improper timing will change compression numbers. Have they removed the intake manifold to confirm the blasting needs done?
That is a fantastic point, I'll ask about the carbon thing. Thanks for bringing that up!!
Well I'm quite peeved. After giving them the "go ahead", they called about an hour later saying that they screwed up the quote and it was an additional $1000.......I called corporate and they're going to reach out to the dealer on my behalf. Still, I'm upset.
Well here in Michigan we can deviate from our original quote up to $100 before we are required to call you. I would refuse to pay the additional and they need to buck up and eat their mistake.
Well here in Michigan we can deviate from our original quote up to $100 before we are required to call you. I would refuse to pay the additional and they need to buck up and eat their mistake.
Yea, and they did call me to let me know about the error.
But still. We both agreed on the price/work, and it's their fault. I do feel bad about (possibly) getting the service manager/tech in trouble.
In Chicago I would imagine you could find a number of good indy shops. You could probably have it towed to nkfry's business and still save money.
$89 to install a $15 cabin filter should clue you in to the pricing craziness. Oil change price is good, brake fluid flush is pretty high, etc.
I go to an Indy who looks for ways to save me $$$ instead of gouging me.
Agreed! And normally I would. But I was told that for the "death rattle" issue, it's best to go directly to MINI since some indie dealers have screwed up the repair.
Sorry to hear the bad news, dealers charge a small fortune for repairs, it can add up quickly in a short amount of time. An indy shop will save you thousands in repairs, however no indy shop needed if you stay clear of Mini's altogether. An R56 is about the most risky purchasing decision one can make, nine times out of ten it someone selling their money pit and have had enough!
When my Mini decides to take a dump im going to take it out to a field and burn the mother fo. The R56 has really hurt the Mini brand!
I forgot to mention I had a walnut blast of my intake valves perform by my local dealer for $800 for which they did a half $SS job, had it done right at an indy shop for $350! I wouldnt trust the dealer to perform an oil change without over filling it or trust them to even wash my car.
Well, I have yet to hear anything back from MINI, but I did get an independent quote to fix everything for $1800. So I'll wait a day or two to see if my complaints to corporate yielded any results, but otherwise I'm going to the independent shop . They also called BS on the carbon thing.
.
. They also called BS on the carbon thing.