Congrats dude! Don't let your brother drive it again, from what you described it did sound like a money shift, but I am only basing it off the shift-high rev-shutdown description, not accusing.


Is this an ongoing meet, where and when?

 

Thanks man. Now I'm just waiting for the car to be fixed. I miss driving mine while I drive the AT Conv they gave meas a loaner. Def not lettig anyone else drive the car when its fixed.

It's not really a MINI meet. There are all kinds of cars that come out (muscle cars, hondas, subies, I've even seen impalas). There's usually 3 MINIs that come out sometimes 4. If you're in the area, you should stop by. It's always nice when there's more MINIs. Put it this way, people come and talk to Randy coz his MINI is just bad ***. It's in Northridge, parking lot of In & Out and Costco every Wednesday nights.

 

Parts came in and dealer will start installing...
Camshaft, exhaust/hydraulic/intake valves, cylinder head gasket, starter
Anti-freeze.

Still waiting on other parts - will get an update by end of the week.

 

I ordered a 2012 MCS whichI haven't gotten yet, but I leased it also because of the same concerns about quality. Three year lease so the whole time I have it it's covered by the warranty and the maintenance plan. I've been around the block a few times and I've bought a lot of new cars over the years. This is the first one I have ever leased and I feel good about that decision.

 

Update...

Just got a call from SA and he let me know that the MINI engineer working on the car is not happy with the way the new head is running. They will do a thorough inspection and will decide if a new motor will be put in. SA said the good news is that they have a new motor in stock.

 

Nice. I was about to get a rebuild until some bean counter did the math and figured it was slightly cheaper to install a new long block. I would have even paid the difference to do that!

 

We just had a connecting rod go out on our 06 Mini S with 71k which has destroyed the engine. Can't get Mini to give us any assistance what so ever. Their only reason is that it's out of warranty. So we are stuck with a $9k bill to have them put in a referbished engine or the dealer offered us a wopping $4500 for the car. All this after 2500 in suspension work last month, and all sheduled maintenance done at a mini dealer. Joshk how did your sister get mini to comp the engine they aren't budging for us.

 

Our 06 Cooper S w/ 71k just threw a connecting rod. Mini USA refuses responsibility and has denied assistance. Engine is shot after 5 years and all scheduled maintenance. $9000 to put in a rebuilt engine or the dealer said they'd give us a wopping $4500 for the car. Any suggestions

 

So every part replaced under warranty has a 2 year 20K miles warranty?

 

I finally got the MINI back. So far so good!

 

So did they replace the engine or just the head etc. You last post says Mini did not like the way the head was operating. What's the scoop?

 

They found engine out of timing caused by crank bolt backing and sheared bolts on flywheel. They also found bolts and pin sheared off after they separated the transmission from the engine. Here's what they replaced:
Short engine (rmfd), chain tensioner, oil pipe, sealings, gasket rings, guide rail, slide rail, hub, spark plugs, twin mass flywheel, timing chain, sprocket...

Learned my lesson not to let anyone else drive the MINI. LOL (seriously though). I got lucky that they fixed the car under warranty when they could've turned around and said owners neglect.

Question: Since its a remanufactured engine, do I have to break it in again? I forgot to ask when I picked up the car. Thanks in advance.

 

I'm glad you got it covered.

I would use the same break in procedure on this engine as the new. Most remanufactured engines have new bearings and rings etc. so you probably should observe the same requirements. It sure can't hurt that's for sure.

At least that is what I would do.

 

Congragulations Iwill e at the show on Sunday morning or perhaps In and Out wed night . See you around .

randy

 

Thanks for the advise PatM!

Randy, I'll definitely be coming around again. Might not make it this Sunday but I'll be there next Wednesday. Hey that 5 Guys and a Burger is better then In & Out!

 

A remanufactured engine will require a break in, it's basically a rebuilt engine on a used block. A used block is a good thing, it's had time to be seasoned if you will.

 

Thanks for all the info from all. After some persistant emailing I was able to get Mini USA to cover half of the repairs. So we are happy that they stepped up to help us out even though they had no real obligation.So we'll have a 5 yo car with a fresh engine. be persistant the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

 

I purchased my '07 MCS in September. Within 4 weeks the Service engine light came on and I started feeling vibrations inside the car. The following morning I took it over to O'reilly's for a quick scan. They told me the forth piston was misfiring. Ohhhh BOY! I took it to the Mini dealership. After an intake flush they showed me the fourth piston. THERE WAS A CLEAN CHUNK TAKEN OUT OF THE PISTON. Fortunately I found out at the dealership that the previous owner had bought the extended warranty. It covered everything along with the loaner car. It's been in the shop for a month and a half now, and Mini has finally allowed the mechanics to replace the engine. I should have it back this week.

 

sorry about the news . The same st happened to ours .Low oil or a piece of the plastic chain guide broke off and fell in timing gear and / or caused timing tensioner to fail , jump timing and bent every valve. poor designed turbo replaced a year ago causing oil loss is my assumption. I just wonder how bad the pistons took it,being the engine wasnt even started or running when this damage occurred. The starter turning it was enough to do the engine in. Amazing

 

Out of warranty as well. I dont recall surging.Well knowledge is power.I wonder how much a complete timing gear and tensioner kit cost or even exist because I believe the tensioner is hydrauliclly engauged which I dont like but may be designedto compensate dwell or something. Sometimes its not bad engineering but meerly poor materials of construction? Still owe a few chips on the 2008

 

I hope mini steps up but for everyone wanting to get rid of thier coopers id advise them to investigate any 2007 or newer GMC consideration as an oil loss/cam/transmission/steering gear issues emerged esp. on suvs like suburban LTZ .greatly due to active fuel manag. design. recipe for disaster.

 

Add me to the list of R56 owners with total motor replacement. My 2009 "S" has been an absolute terror where mechanical issues are concerned. As of today, I've had 4 high pressure fuel pumps replaced, 3 timing chains, 3 water pumps and, shockingly, 4 clutches. Back in December 2011 (as in a month and a half ago) I took the beast in to the local dealer for a variety of odd noises, rattles and performance issues. At that time, I was at 44k on the odometer and the car was driving as though it had 120k miles on it. The dealer had been checking things out for a few days when I got the call about the new motor - apparently, while the tech was test driving my car, the **** hit the fan and valves were bent, pistons exploded, dogs fell from the sky, etc... At any rate, new motor was installed, along with clutch #3 and within a few days I was motoring off with half a new car. Of course, endings aren't always happy, so I found myself back at said dealer within 2 weeks for another round of bizarre noises and, this time, an appreciable loss in engine performance. Well, it's been 10 days now and after an escalated PUMA case over a particularly odd noise, I was notified today that the entire transmission is being replaced. Apparently, the input shaft was causing the bizarre rhythmic harmonic noise. So, not to sound ungrateful for my MINI now having been almost completely rebuilt, but the prospect of all these new parts working in conjunction with my 3 year old turbo has me a bit worried. We still don't know why the engine power has fallen off so sharply. Having owned 4 MINIs and 12 BMWs, the answer I keep getting regarding the power loss being a natural symptom of age and miles just doesn't cut the mustard. My car shouldn't be driving like a beat up Chevy after only 3 years and 44k miles. I can't complain about the dealer - they've been great, but one mention of the turbo being at issue ilicits the kind of response that one only traditionally sees when insults have been lobbed at someone's mother... So, any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

 

FormerMA:

My recommendation is to get rid of the car. I know 3 separate people who have gone through similar never-ending engine nightmares (the same problems you see on all these forums) with their MINI S cars. A MINI is not worth that much headache, in my opinion...it's not even close to being some exotic performance car.

 

I couldn't agree more... Ordinarily, I'd drop this sucker like a hot potato, but I'm not in a position to trade at the moment. I've got a year left on an owner's choice plan and my payoff far exceeds the trade-in value. Call me old fashioned, but I just wouldn't feel comfortable offloading the car's issues on an unsuspecting private party, either. So, given those issues, any suggestions for motivating a dealer to replace the turbo? Of course, MINI offering a buy back wouldn't be a bad thing either.

Oh yes, after the new transmission was installed today, the car is now showing a DTC fault from the steering angle sensor. So, another day, another Puma case for the dealer. This'll be my third DSC failure...

 

I'm with you....when I unload my rattling, clunking S at some point I will be completely honest with any potential buyer.

I wouldn't count on a buy-back from MINI in most cases, but yours sounds like a case that's out of the ordinary (even with MINI's typically under par reliability for the S cars), so you might have a chance!