I would like to know what exactly it says as well. Is there one out there with anybody?

Whoops! Double post

Also, I’ve been looking to see if I can do this without putting the car into “service mode” and I’m not sure....I have larger hands and a bad back, so it may be better to do it, or start and always keep it as an option if it’s too tight. But the thing is, I can’t find any info on putting a Countryman into service mode! Is it the same procedure as on, say, and R56? If anybody has done this please post. Or I can always use advice! ;-)

Fantastic! Thanks Minnie the Moocher!!!!

I see nothing there that would disqualify my Countryman as far as I can see....... huge props to Minnie the Moocher! This is great. Now I have an actual copy of a document to point to when I call them today.
Minnie, does the letter state anything vehicle specific that I do not see here? Aside from the VIN of course

well it’s legible, that’s good enough for me!

Well, I just got off the phone again with MINIUSA, not sure what’s going to happen. They are supposedly passing it up the chain....we’ll see.
Minnie, being able to quote directly from that letter was invaluable, thanks again. I quoted directly to them the paragraph about how the “integrity of our products is essential..........we are determined to exceed your expectations” etc. and pointed out that that is most definitely not happening in this case ;-)
Fingers are crossed, they are supposed to call me back tomorrow.

Well I’m not sure if it’s a good sign or a bad thing, but somebody from BMW North America called me this evening at about 4:00 pm pacific time. Unfortunately my ringer was off and I was in the kitchen, so I missed the call. She left me a message saying that the person I spoke to earlier at MINI USA had forwarded my information to her and she wanted to speak to me about it. I called back and left her a message. So hopefully I’ll have some more info tomorrow.
Cross your fingers for me .......

Just got off the phone with them. I am severely pissed. They said they won’t do anything. When I stated that it’s obvious that it’s a design issue and not part specific, she played dumb. So I said ok, tell me then, since this covers all models beyond my production year, what exactly was changed in the process or parts that makes some eligible but not others? She claimed not to have access to that info....so I said ok, put me on with somebody who can answer my question, and got a bunch more bs and runaround! Her supervisor is now supposed to call me tomorrow. I told them this is terrible customer relations and I’m thinking about calling the media! Don’t know if that was smart, but I’m serious, I absolutely WILL do it if I get the same crap tomorrow! I am already filing a complaint with the Wa state Attorney General’s office today. I won’t take this crap. They need to at the very least, be able to describe to me what makes a vehicle qualify for the extension and why mine does not. If you can’t answer that, that is a problem for me! Just saying it’s VIN specific does not tell my a damn thing!

Exactly what I was thinking, they needed to cover a certain number to keep the NTHSB (whatever it’s called) happy, and just kinda arbitrarily chose some VIN #’s (in batches probably) to keep from being forced to do a mandatory recall on them all.
otherwise they could have told the exact part that was changed in the manufacturing process that “fixed” the issue. But I’m sure this isn’t the case because it’s for multiple years and models, that’s a design issue! And because a good customer relations agent, when asked what the customer tells them is an important question and you do not know the answer,you say let me find out and let you know, and that’s usually what they will do. She first told me I needed to ask someone at the dealership to get the answer......? I said “but you guys make the car!” When she said she didn’t have the info and could not put me in touch with anybody who did....sigh......I said “then find out!”
For crying out loud, I am not an idiot, and I know when I’m getting the runaround. She finally told me .... get this..... that “there was no forward facing person that I could speak to who could answer it, the only ones who could don’t speak to customers! I had to laugh out loud at that! And told her that there are ways around that! “Ask them, and then relay their answer to me” I suggested...lol.
At the end of the call she actually asked me if I had any other questions she could answer for me!?? I was so exasperated at that point that I actually said “why would I ask you anything else, when you refuse to provide an answer to the one I keep asking?
AAAAAARGH!!!!!!

Well, I spoke with another rep from BMW and again they said that my vin isn’t covered. But still refused to tell me what part or process was changed to address the issue. As in, what part on my car is now different from a 2011, let’s say, that is covered by the extension? If they can tell me that they switched to a different part with a new part # I can accept that, or even explain how they changed the design or manufacturing process to address the problem. But they either won’t or can’t. That’s why I feel like it’s more of a design flaw that was not rectified at all. But they had to issue a certain number of extensions in order for the NHTSB not to force a recall or something. The people who are experiencing the problem but didn’t get the letter are just screwed I guess. It’s really infuriating.
I keep repeatedly asking them to find out and tell me and I’ll drop it if they actually did something that really is different between the cars, but so far I haven’t found a damn thing to make me think they did. I can’t find where the have implemented a different part number, and as far as I can tell, it’s still the same old turbo in there? I just don’t know.I have filed complaints with both my state attorney general and the NHTSB but I doubt much will come of that.
The guy is supposed to call me back next Thursday, lol, we’ll see what he has to say then.

In the meantime I think I’m going to just go ahead and order one up and replace it myself.
I found the JMTC 40mm turbo and install kit with the oil line for a good price. It’s an upgraded one that basically has a JCW compressor stuffed in it. It’s supposed to spool up quicker and provide more boost for longer than the stock turbo. While I’m in there I’m going to throw on a cold side inlet pipe from M7 and replace my leaking oil filter housing gaskets while the turbo is out. I have an email out to JMTC to make sure that this turbo will fit without any modification to anything, as soon as I hear the ok I am going to place the order.
Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated. Also for the folks out there who have done the turbo replacement on their MINI’s please post any more tips, advice, issues, warnings, whatever! I am trying to soak up as much knowledge as I can before I do this. I’m pretty handy and mechanically inclined, but I have never had a turbocharger before and it’s all new to me. Also this is the newest car I’ve owned. When I first looked under the hood I was lost, lol. It took a little while and a few minor maintenance jobs before I started to feel confident working on this like I do my truck, :-/

I just decided to hell with it all, I want to get this thing fixed ASAP, so I just got done spending a ton of money and ordered everything up. It’s all on the way, just gotta wait for it all to show up. I got the JM40/JCW turbo from JMTC and the install kit with a new oil line. Pre-intercooler down-pipe from M7, and new studs for the exhaust hookups, as well as a new manifold-to-head exhaust gasket and the 2 sets of gaskets to fix the leak at the oil filter housing.
Im excited to get it done now. I’ll just make sure I have everything I need and I’ll set aside 2 days to do it, but I’m pretty confident I can do it in a day, I think, lol.

If anyone has any suggestions of anything I’ve missed, please post it for me.
Thanks everyone!

Now I’m getting antsy and a little bit stupid. I just got a update from USPS and my new turbo has left the regional warehouse in Seattle and is on it’s way north to me! I should get it before noon, if it comes with the regular mail. I can’t wait to check it out. Now the stupid: I got worried that the OEM downpipe was getting restricted after 6 years of use. And then got paranoid about the back pressure killing the life of the new turbo. So I was going to order a hi-flow catted DP, and called CNT Racing and talked to a guy there, twice, lol. And after he told me that even a hi-flow catted DP would cause a CEL, I decided if that was the case, I might as well just go ahead and get the catless one instead and save some $$.
The good: buying a new DP got me an extra year of warranty on the turbo! Nice!
The Stupider: My son was totally egging me on to get the cat less all along, and I totally caved! Heh Heh, I’m a sucker!
The truly dumb: As far as Wifey knows, my son and I are just fixing the turbo and oil leak..... I hope it’s not too loud!! Ha ha....but that part of me that will eternally be 15, I do hope it’s louder, and maybe has a little more aggressive burble and pop! But I have a feeling that won’t happen unless I delete the second cat, or the resonator. The boy and I will definitely get busted then! Ha Ha! I’ll post a report on how the turbo looks tomorrow. :-)
As far as the warranty goes, I’m still waiting to hear back. The guy is supposed to call this week “but not before Thursday”. Riiiiight!

Well the new turbo from JMTC. I’ve gotta say, what a good experience dealing with these guys! I peppered Arric with several stupid questions and he was extremely gracious about answering all of them, and putting my mind at ease that I’m doing alright by my MINI doing it the way I am.
Also, I cheaped out and got a refurbished one, but pulling this thing out of the box, if I hadn’t known, I would have assumed that it was brand new! It is beautiful.

Definitely a good way to go. I ordered the turbo, install kit, & oil line from JMTC and after shipping costs, I’m still under $900 for that. Even with everything else I’ve got coming, I’m still well below half of what Seattle Mini wanted to do just the turbo replacement. Hell, I’m still under half the cost of the OEM turbo, which is $2200 at the dealership!

Definitely a good way to go. I ordered the turbo, install kit, & oil line from JMTC and after shipping costs, I’m still under $900 for that. Even with everything else I’ve got coming, I’m still well below half of what Seattle Mini wanted to do just the turbo replacement. Hell, I’m still under half the cost of the OEM turbo, which is $2200 at the dealership!

Well I wasn’t expecting to hear from anyone from MINI or BMW until at least tomorrow. So I was busy doing some stuff and noticed that I missed a call while my ringer was off. It was Ross for MINI, of course! Dang! He left a voicemail saying he was calling to give me some information. So I called back and of course, I got his voicemail. Left him a message ack, but I did tell him I will be very busy tomorrow, (have to go to Tacoma to meet with my attorney, not related to the car,lol) so I’ll be gone for over half the day and he may be better off calling back on Friday or Monday. We will see what this information is. I really doubt it them calling to say “we’ve changed our minds and will fix your car!”
But maybe they finally will give an answe as what they did differently that makes my car not covered. That’s what I really want to know! What if anything did they do different. But so far, they have been VERY unwilling to give that information!
its really simple too, they only have to say, “yes we stopped using part #X which is a (blank) and replaced it with new part #Y to remedy the issue”.
then I will verify that myself or call an attorney possibly, because it’s BS we have to pay for new turbo’s because of a design flaw that they may not have addressed on the N18’s during production.
I know I’m not the only one to have had, are having, or will have a turbo prematurely fail.
Good luck everyone, I really hope the majority of you don’t have to ever deal with this! It’s frustrating as hell, and ungodly expensive for what it is. Especially for WHY it is!
next update will be their response......or a pic of my new DP when it arrives :-)

Oh yeah, I’m totally excited, like a little kid who wants to open his presents early! Ha ha. I wanted to just go out there today and start working on it, but I am forcing myself to be patient. I don’t even have everything yet. I wanted to try to do it this weekend, but the charge pipe won’t be here until Monday along with the tube of lube (heh heh) to prime the turbo with. And I have to take my dog to a specialist in Seattle on Wednesday, so I probably won’t do it until after that. That’s going to be a long wait for me, I’m so impatient.