That absolutely sux. I feel your pain. Do you think the dealer has any insurance that would cover customer thefts?

 

Since they requested the iPod stay there, so they could test what's going wrong, I'm going to insist they pay for a new one. From what I'm hearing so far, most dealerships have insurance that won't cover "personal" items left in the vehicle. I gave them back my iPod, actually handed it to the SA when we arrived, so if they put it back in the car, that was their bad, not mine, and so they should be responsible for it after all, I believe.

 

Hey if you gave it to them, it's their responsibility to properly care for it. To put it back into the car was stupid. What if they just left it in plain sight?! That would've been very irresponsible.

 

But the Tritec engine is a lot less techy than the Prince engine, plus the Tritec has been well documented by Bentley service manuals. BMW is keeping the Prince well protected from DIY'ers, at least for now.

 

I believe they are having issues translating the manual from French to German & then to English.

 

no doubts. lost in translation.

 

Any word yet on an official recall?

 

this isn't official... But my guess is that it will never happen.

Matt

 

Doc I believe you are correct. It is not a safety issue & that seems to be the only thing that gets a recall. Hot tail pipes yes, rattling engines no.

A recall of our power steering pumps is on my wish list.

 

Dumb question.....

Is the cold start chatter also a problem in base coopers? Is it exclusive to the "S" only?

 

I believe it only affects the Cooper S. If you have a Cooper then no worries about this issue.

 

Well, so far I've only heard this once which was today actually....

I've already put the call in to the service dept and have a date set up to take it in and get it fixed.

So far, that's the only real problem. Yeah, the sunroof won't open right away on a really hot day... But I wait about 1 minute after the air cools it off while driving and it opens right up. That I can deal with...

A clatter that is causing potential damage to the engine, is a far more serious matter.

I just wanted to know because I'm going to drive a MINI no matter what. Perhaps, I'm looking to far ahead into a scenario that might not occur, but if there are more problems and I have to have the dealer buy this car back under lemon law, I will get a Base Cooper to have fewer potential problems.

IMO, the Turbo is a kick in the pants and makes the Cooper S the most fun car to drive ever, but it may be too much power for this tiny engine to handle.

 

This is not a knock to those who own & love thier base Coopers. But how can you go from an S to a base madel? I know I sure couldn't.

 

Well, I struggled between the 2 for some time. I felt like a maniac when I drove the "S" so I went with that... If it gives you white knuckles and makes you smile, buy it!

The base is much more affordable and the fuel economy is a bit higher. I honestly could be happy with either. I honestly don't forsee that happening unless the car is spending more time in the dealership than in my garage.

The nice thing about the base is how much you are getting from an engine that has 115 hp... Kinda cool to realize that that 115 hp engine is faster and more responsive than my Honda Accord 4 cyl that is over 150 HP...

 

For me it is mostly about the handling, but that power is so enticing. I currently drive an R53, in the future there will be an R56 I'm sure. S or not to still be determined.

Back on topic....

Cold start chatter.

 

I took my '08 S Clubman in the shop today for yearly maintenance and told them I had heard the cold start chatter twice since I have gotten the car. They kept it about 3 hours and got it to make the noise and have order the parts to repair. They hope to have parts in next week. This all went much smoother than I had anticipated.

 

Good...your car should run smoother when they get the work done...

 

The wife got a 08 clubbie. I'm actually impressed with the torque it has. The engine is very, very nice....

Matt

 

Does this mean the new cars won't have the cold chatter problem?

 

The re-designed timing chain tensioner went into the factory parts stream in March 2009. Engines assembled after mid-March should not have the problem.

After 3 months with the latest tensioner repair (SIM-11-02-07), all is well with my MCS. All starts have been normal - even those situations that always set off my car in the past.

 

The new Minis should be fine. My MCS just had SIM 11-02-07 done and is running great now with no chatter. Of course it is 98 degrees outside. We'll see but this problem has been solved...me thinks.

 

My Cooper never had the cold start chatter. It had a constant chatter. The rattling never stopped. It has been at the dealer now for almost a month. They changed many parts on the engine without success. They finally came to the conclusion to replace it with a new engine which I hope they do soon. I want to get it back so I can sell it and buy an R53.

 

Whatever rattle your engine has isn't the same as the S models are experiencing. Still sucks you have a problem.

 

Re: Post March 09 being fixed. My MCS was delivered to me off the boat on May 1st. So it should of been delivered fixed, yet i have had the cold start chatter 3 or 4 times so far. In my 07 i had the cold start 4 times in 2 years not 2 months. The VIN can tell you build dates right? What digits?

-Will

 

The question to ask is when your engine was assembled ...