The fact that the pump has been replaced in my car twice already suggests it's the same faulty pump design.

The current pump is fine. It's just a concern I have for the future. As I said in a previous post (which you quoted in one of your responses), I just bought the car--last week in fact.

 

He's just saying that so you can't lemon it. At least in California if the same part needs service after 3 times, you can lemon it

 

My 2009 JCW hardtop has been out of commission for 3 weeks now, 2 of them at the dealer while they put a new engine in it. I've posted this on another thread already but symptoms were similar to what I've read on all 12 pages of this thread...excessive oil consumption (2 quarts in 1500 miles), cold start problems/rough idle/backfiring, then CEL and power loss, and even an occasional RPM surge when idling...

Dealer said I had zero compression in cylinder 3 and ended up replacing the engine due to cylinder wall scoring. I am out of warranty and Mini is covering 75% of it under "goodwill".

My SA called yesterday to tell me the car would be ready to pick up this afternoon so when I called this morning to arrange a shuttle pickup (I didn't get a loaner) he said when they started the car today it still had a rough start so they suspect the HPFP and are checking it. Still waiting for a call back on that issue.

My question is...if it turns out that the HPFP is dead, could that be what ultimately led to the chain of events described above which resulted in the need for a new engine, which I am on the hook $2,600 for? Just wondering if that may be grounds for demanding they cover more than 75%, since the HPFP is an extremely well documented problem.

 

Countless members have had the HPFP replaced with no engine problems at all, I think it's just a coincident that your number 3 cylinder was bad. I believe you just had a bad engine to start with, sometimes engines just fall apart for whatever manufacturing defect. I don't believe you should be financially responsible for anything, it seems Mini will do whatever it takes to save a buck.

 

I think you're right. I appreciate your feedback on my various posts as I work through this issue.

 

I just replaced my HPFP for my 2007 MCS with 79,000 miles. Mine had rough idle on cold starts and ended up going into limp mode with codes 2880, 2AAB and 2AB4. 2880 is a high pressure fuel sys min. And 2AAB and 2AB4 are related to O2 sensor due to the inability to compensate for the low fuel pressure. The strange thing for me is that I have been running the Alta Accessport for 2 years now with the Stage 1 FMIC map. When I got the check engine light and limp mode I uninstalled and went to stock ECU and sent to dealership with cleared codes in fear of them over riding the map. At the dealer, the stock map did not exhibit a rough idle or throw any codes for two days of cold start tests. I picked my car up and drove about 10 miles and hated the lack of power so I installed the map again and within seconds of start up a check engine light and limp mode. I decided to buy the HPFP myself through ECS Tuning and installed last week. Started right up with aceessport map stage 1 FMIC with noticeable idle improvement and no check engine lights for a week straight now. Someone explain this one.

 

Having this done Wednesday afternoon. It's on my N18 with 64k miles.

 

at 119637 miles my HPFP could be at fault after reading all the symptoms from this site and others. I am the second owner who purchased an 07 about a year ago from a VW dealership but declined their ext warranty. I did not know about the letter to Mini owners until I read this thread but wanted to know if it still applies to me since I am the second owner? I will be calling my local dealer to confirm since it lost pressure in mid 5pm traffic today :(

 

Perhaps the stock map on the ECU was compensating for the lack of fuel pressure whereas with the AP Stage 1 map, with it's own air/fuel curves, the demand was too high for the weak pump, which caused the codes and idling issues.

 

I think the warranty applies to any owner. If you didn't get the letter, call MINI USA and have your address information assigned to your car. At some point there might be a safety recall for something, and they need to know who to contact. Apparently no one did that for you.

If you've been following the thread about the HPFP, have you also had the chain tensioner done, too? That's a bit more important--the HPFP might strand you, but a chain failure will scramble the engine, and '07s are definitely affected. That is a "service campaign" and the work will be done free.

Call MINI USA to get the ball rolling on both of these issues--866-ASK-MINI (866-275-6464) Mon - Fri 9:00am - 9:00pm ET.

 

Doesn't apply to every owner. I called miniusa and my dealership. Other '11 MCS owners have it warrantied but she said cause my mini had a better part hahaha. And because there's nothing under my vin number. Go figure, MINIUSA FTW!

 

I understand, but he has an '07, and as far as I know, ALL '07s are included. And he wouldn't have gotten a warranty or recall letter if they didn't know he was the new owner. I think the extended warranty goes from '07 to '10.

Best thing to do is call MINI USA, get the car ownership information transferred, and see what they say about the HPFP, timing chain, and the turbo shielding, if applicable.

Just noticed your mileage, Jred--the warranty was only to 120,000 miles. Yikes!

Also, just noticed your location--have you joined HMMS yet? That's my old club, before I moved here--great bunch of people!

 

My HPFP quit just a couple weeks ago at 9,000 miles, at 6am in the dark on a country road about 2 miles from my house. Fortunately, the car kept running, roughly (I thought it had blown a spark plug) and barely made it up the driveway. MINI sent a flatbed to take it to the dealership, which is an hour away.

Last year, I took it on two 720-mile round trips to upstate NY, where MINI dealerships are much more rare than they are here. This definitely makes me feel a lot less secure about driving it up there this year!

 

As long as you're under warranty, MINI will flat bed your car to a dealership--hundreds of miles, if necessary.

Also, if you have a breakdown when you're over 100 miles from home, your "trip interruption plan" will go into effect. Call MINI USA and tell them you're using it. Good for expenses like hotels and meals. I used it in '09 when my water pump started leaking in New Mexico. We limped into to Albuquerque, and the dealer had it fixed very quickly, but it was too late in the day to continue driving, so we stayed overnight and ate dinner on MINI's nickel.

I've driven my MINI to 17 states plus D.C. and I don't worry about breakdowns. Any car can have a problem, of course, but it's not a big deal. If you are that worried, though, own a car new enough to have a warranty.

 

That's necessarily true, it goes to the '11-'13 models as well just depends on the vin number like I said.

 

Perhaps a company should create a better performing after-market HPFP...

 

I just had mine replaced at 108k under warranty last week. Mine was warrantied out to 150k under the factory warranty. Jred defintiely call the dealer the warranty is dependent on VIN. I had no issues getting replaced.

 

I feel bad for the N14 guys...the hpfp is expensive. It cost me $420 out the door at Detroit tuned for my N18. I don't get why it became so cheap since basically the part looks the same.

 

Thanks Daff!! Yes I did call local Mini of Southwest this morning, gave Allison my vin and she did mention the HPFP, Chain Tensioner and heat shield were the 3 issues on the 07'. ext warranty. Flat bed truck came (I used my Farmers Road Side assistance since it's free to up to 120 miles) It's at the dealer now, they will do a diag check on Monday to make sure "exactly" what it is. If it is the 3 above they will replace at no cost. I'll keep yaw'all posted. I'll have to check out HMMS!

 

Well, the dealer called me today. Looks like the low oil I had caused the chain to have some slack and jump the timing. I was about to change that oil soon...oops! It's $155 for that diagnostic check. they want another $155 to do further testing with valves, etc.. Im thinking just change my oil and reset timing chain and take it to my guy to do any further testing or checks, what do you all think? She did say the chain looks fairly new must of been replaced by previous owner. Thanks

 

One of the service advisors at MOTW told me that people were bringing their cars in with only a couple of quarts of oil--and wondering why they were having timing chain issues! The oil change interval was originally about 15,000 miles (more or less, according to the computer readout), but that has been considerably reduced since then. We used the "free" oil changes from the dealer when my car was newer, but supplemented them with additional changes. At the time we had the timing chain service done, my car had about 88,000 miles, and nothing had broken--just a little noise. The dealer mechanics I talked to told me it was because we'd been so vigilant with oil changes. Guess it's because we're old school--back in the day it was common practice to change oil every 3,000 miles, and while you don't need to be that **** with synthetics, it's certainly a bad idea to wait until the oil level is low! I would plan for about 5,000 or so between changes, and monitor levels to make sure it's not using more than that. Frequent oil changes--even if you have to pay someone--is still the cheapest insurance against engine problems.

We still drive the '64 Porsche 356 my husband bought in '67, so that's what I mean by "back in the day."

 

"Jump the timing" sounds suspect to me. One tooth? Two? It just really doesn't sound plausible low oil or not to me. I would think even a one tooth "jump" would cause valve collision and you would be running very very poorly if at all. I'm no engineer nor have I the clearance ratios but it doesn't ring true though I could be out time.

 

I agree and so did my mechanic. My oil light never alarmed me prior to being "low" like it did when my turbo oil line was leaking. My mechanic said the chain tesioner may have been the culprit for it to jump off. The dealer confirmed that the tesioner is the newer one and was replaced in the past. Since the chain is stretched out in order for me to replace that i'm looking at about $500 for parts and $2k for labor. Could be more if the valves were craked. yikes!!! Might as weel get a new engine.

 

Find yourself a good independent you can trust. I've the luxury of living in a metropolitan area where there are a few ex dealer techs on their own. They are the best, usually. I've had chains done complete with all new stuff on 2 different cars in the last 18 months and neither of them cost me over a grand total. The last one was mine just a couple months ago.

 

My dealer is saying my 2009 JCW is not covered for the hpfp issue because of the VIN. I don't understand how the part is the same and others are getting extensions yet mine fails under 80k miles and I'm out of luck.