I am joining the club at over $8500 same things almost for me $10k for the car with only 43000 miles 3 weeks later the deth smoke, but now after all the work although I own a 2015 911 can't let her go it is now setup right and it more joy to drive than my other car.
Ben

 

We have an 07 S we bought in 2011 with 18k on it. The engine was rebuilt at 50k miles due to a cracked valve. $3k, but I didn't have to pay for it as I guilted MiniUSA into comping it. Then the same thing happened to the same cylinder at 80k. Cost me $1500 as the dealer picked up half the cost. There have been other problems as well.

Overall, fun to drive, but not very reliable and expensive to fix/maintain. Like a BMW, Mercedes, etc. In a world of generic cars, it does stand out from the crowd.

 

My 1st Gen Mini was a trooper with 168K miles on the clock when I sold her. The clutch was about done and I was going to replace it but tore a bicep tendon off the bone in the gym.

Sold Pepper and bought a 2011 MCS auto since its difficult to drive stick with an arm in a sling. That one was on it's third engine when I sold it. I think that car just hated me as it hasn't given the new owner a lick of trouble lol.

Currently have 60K miles on a 2012 N14 JCW. Bought it at 20K miles, immediately changed the oil, flushed the coolant and put it on a 5K oil change interval. Before every other oil change I run a tank of gas though it with half a can of seafoam to clean the injectors, and flush the engine before the oil change. When at the 5K oil change interval it would consume 100cc of oil between changes. Haven't seen any consumption at the 3K interval mark yet.

Most of the Prince engine problems stem directly from BMW's bloody brilliant idea of running 10 to 15K miles between oil changes. Carbon will accumulate in the oil of a turbo charged car over that time frame and carbon is an abrasive. Now throw in the HP per liter. The same power output from my engine when it was stock would translate into 637 horse power in a 5.0 liter engine.

 

I have an 08 R56 Cooper S with 134K. Anybody surpassed that? I'm curious how long I can keep this puppy going without a whole new engine.

 

 

 

Thanks, did you do the work yourself? If so, any tips or shortcuts?

 

What year is your mini? Looks real nice. I replaced my turbo fall 2016 - same issue - wastegate failed with too much play. It was not too difficult - once in service position there was plenty of room...just follow the directions and torque specs. My tips....

1) Buy a new turbo - not a rebuilt - you want a new wastegate!!!
2) Buy the turbo and all gaskets, nuts, studs etc from Way or ECB Tuning and save a lot of money versus going to mini parts counter.
3) Buy the Borg Warner turbo without the Mini Emblem/Box.... if you require the BMW/Mini emblem and box it will cost about $500 more for exact same turbo.
4) Is your Oil Filter housing leaking? Good time to replace the gaskets and clean up the mess while the car is in service position and the turbo/exhaust manifold is off.

Mine just crossed 100K this week.... and as a reward... my check engine light came on at the 100,000th mile exactly !!! That is probably just the bad gas/misfire one - always goes away after a bottle of Techron once a year (it was due).

 

Thanks, it's a 2013. I have all the parts for the install, just waiting for the weather to warm up a little. Bought the car last September with 130k but previous owner must have taken good care of it - car was almost immaculate. First thing I did was install a timing chain kit with a tune-up and oil change. Is it absolutely required to put the car into the service position for turbo install? Thanks again.

 

It is not too difficult nor does it take too long to put it into service position.... buy a bag of the fender wheel trim body clips. There is so much more room to work on the downpipe/cat, oil feed/returns and turbo support bracket when in service position. I replaced my oil feed line which required removing the down-pipe/cat without being in service position.... never again IMO. Some services such as timing chain book states put into service position... there is no need as there is plenty of room.... other services just bite the bullet.... your knuckles will thank you later!! Good luck.

 

The "r" in r56 does not stand for reliability. The engine is basically a plastic grenade waiting to explode. I'd go r53, later one, like a 2006 if possible.

 

That's not my experience at all. My 2010 R55 MINI had been extremely reliable, it hasn't broken down even once.

 

Now the transmission has taken a dump. This car is a POS. I have less than 60k on it.

 

Auto or manual and what is it doing?

 

I have the R56 N14 2009 MCS
Bought with 35,000 miles and now have 148,000 miles...
$$$ For sure to keep maintained
But it's still running strong and fun to drive...
Prob less headaches than the N18 engine and newer

 

My N14 JCW is running strong and my N14 MCS did also. The N14 S needed the major things done like the thermostat, water pump, oil lines, timing chain, carbon blast, then it was fine.

Cooling:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...9-no-heat.html

Turbo Oil lines

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-oil-line.html

Timing Chain:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...5-r56-n14.html

Carbon DIY

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-cleaning.html

 

2009 Base, paid $6,000 one year ago. Almost 100K miles now.

My opinion is that the N12 is likely a reliable engine, especially if you change the oil every 3-5 K miles. Mini's oil change recommendations are criminal and will lead to shortened engine life, guaranteed.

The oil retains it's lubricating properties, but becomes full of contaminants.

I keep hearing how S Minis use a significant amount of oil. My N-12 uses almost none between changes.

I believe the S motors are inherently less reliable in Gen 2 Minis and that is exacerbated by people driving the S harder and not changing the oil soon enough.

 

Just hit 139,000 on my 08 MCS.