Hummm....that is puzzling. I would have thought that all '09's were fixed with the modification SIM 11-02-07.

 

date is stamped on the sticker on your door jamb.

also, my mini came with a birth certificate... that is I have the build sheet with the exact date it was completed (happens to be 1 day after my birthday). I'm not sure if everyone got one or I was just lucky.

 

I got a birth certificate w/ my 07 but not with my 09. I will check the door jam. Thanks

 

that since all cars didn't have the issue, that they used up what inventory they had, and maybe found a box lying around? But this really shouldn't happen.

Matt

 

Just check build date on my 09 MCS. 03/09 So in theory i could have one of the last cars w/o the cold start fix. Is there a way to confirm what parts are installed? I am dropping the car off to the dealer on Wednesday to fix my clear bra and they are looking into the cold start issue anyway.

 

If you have experienced cold-start symptoms..a loud clatter/rattle which lasts for up to several minutes...I would insist that they perform SIM 11-02-07. My car runs noticibly better after this modification was done. And I haven't had any cold-start clatter (fingers crossed) since. I really feel the problem is solved. Hope I'm not proved wrong.

 

It was definetly the cold start chatter that i have seen here and on youtube. My 07 did the same thing but MUCH less frequent (once or twice a year). I will let you know what the find out on wednesday. I will ask the to specifically check if SIM 11-02-07 has already been applied to my car at the factory.

 

My '08 Clubman definitely has/had the cold start issue. The dealer refused to fix until they could hear it themselves which is not happening as it only does it to me maybe once every 9 or 10 days. I did just have a new DME put in my car. I am hoping they would have installed all software updates at this time. Does this sound correct? Have not had cold start problem since, but this would not be highly unusual given the previous pattern.

 

After the whole ordeal, I finally got the cold start rattle problem addressed. I haven't received my car back yet, but we did receive a faxed copy of the WO which says, "Removed the tensioner as measured as in bulletin it is within in spec to only get the tensioner. I ordered and replaced the tensioner with a new updated on and the car is now quiet." Hopefully that's all I needed and I won't have to go through this again. I'll see what the car sounds like when I get it back.

They had no time estimates for me when I asked how long they'd be working on the car because they'd never done a timing chain tensioner change before. I can only guess that every other time a customer came in to complain about a rattle, they were told it was "normal" and the customer accepted it. Hopefully now that they're aware of the non-normality of it, they'll pay more attention when customers complain about a persistent rattle...

 

I think you are right about the "normal" rattle noise. Most people would tend to take that kind of answer as legit. I'm glad you did not and I hope it works out well for you. What a mess you've been through!

My car was in the shop for 2 1/2 wks and had the SIM 11-02-07 done (among a few other things). It is running much better now and I'm a happy camper who is moving on to other Mini related things....new wheels and tires etc.

 

Mine is an '09 built after the supposed improved parts were installed and it did it several times, once when they had it at the dealer's for some unrelated work, they kept it overnight and claim they heard it so they checked the tensioner and found out it was too short and/ or the spring was weak so they replaced it. I haven't noticed any difference in the way it runs, but it hasn't made the noise since .............point being, there are '09's with the improved parts and they still can do it.............

 

Just because your car was built after the date when the new improved parts were supposedly being installed doesn't mean that your engine has the new improved parts. I would think it is possible that some engines could have been built with the older parts and show up in cars assembled after the 'magical' improvement date. Just being cynical here.

 

According to the tech who did the work, mine had the new and improved tensioner in it already - it just failed.

But I agree with what you said, at least for those cars built near the cutoff....anything built much after that should not have the suspect parts in it.

 

That is not very comforting to hear.

 

Pretty much anything is subject to failure...I guess.

 

yeah, if the vacuum pump that's integrated into this persnickety valve train system siezes up, so too does the engine--catastrophic failure. there are reports of this both here and M2, and the VP was once fingered as a probable cause of the rattle issue.

 

I took my '09 MCS Clubman (build date 10/08) to East Bay Mini last week for the cold start chatter problem and they wouldn't fix it because they couldn't reproduce the noise. So they made a note of it in their system and I drove it home.

Started it up yesterday afternoon after it sat for a couple of days (and the outside temperature was mild to cool). Bam! Heard the diesel tractor noise for about a block, and then it went away. Heard it again during the first drive this morning when the car has warmed up (while accelerating, between 2000-2500 2000 rpm). This is frustrating, does Mini really want us to drive the car until it rattles constantly before they will fix it? Wouldn't it cost them less to check it and fix it right now?

Edit - Forgot to mention that the dealer is 50 miles away, so it was a hassle to get there. The other closest dealer is Mountain View Mini, also 40-50 miles away :-(

 

Compared to myself and many other people, you're lucky.
200 miles for me to the nearest (US) dealership.

 

+1

We've got a new dealership opening that's 45 minutes away and I like this

 

I posted in another part of the board re: the end result for us...so far. I've only had Nigel back for a few hours, so I haven't had a chance to see if the cold start's completely gone. I've been kind of pre-occupied with everything else that went wrong.

http://snipurl.com/mfibm

 

I know when my car was built but how do I know when my engine was build? Since I'm soooo close to the transition date. My engine might be before the date and the build for my car started right after? Anyone know how to check the engine build date

 

my 07 cooper s had this....now at 77,000 miles it does it all the time.....i'm waiting for it to blow up

any wareentee issues?

bobby

 

Well, "blow up" it will eventually, as has been already demonstrated numerous times both here in the States and on the Brit MINI2 web forum. No engine can survive with a loose timing chain whanging against tensioners, rails, guides, etc. Unlike the previous MINI motor, the Tritec, this engine is not "free-wheeling". There is insufficient clearance in the cylinder head for an extended valve head and a piston at top dead center at the same time. When (not if) your timing chain breaks, the engine will be catastrophically destroyed - no repairs possible.

Looks like you're out of warranty mileage-wise, but still in the timeframe. Spend a bit of $$ now to save some really serious money later, and have someone install the latest timing chain tensioner, which is the root cause of this debacle. They're cheap, and it's only an hour or two of shop time. It may be enough to stabilize your timing chain, maybe not if things are already worn beyond limits.

Maybe you can get a dealer to authorize the "full monty' repair (SIM-11-02-07) based on the timeframe. Never hurts to ask. Good luck!

 

OSKI, I hope EB Mini comes through for you. I must say, though, that their BMW wing and, for that matter, Concord BMW aren't known for their customer friendliness. That's why I only patronize Weatherford BMW, who, unfortunately never got into the MINI business. The difference in the service departments is night and day.

 

Awesome...

My closest one is about 120 I think. They're opening one up out here only about 10 miles away in February(ish)! I'm ecstatic :D