Hello, I Have an 07 S with ~60K miles on it, 11K of which are mine. ~1000 miles ago it started running rough and sluggish. Took it in and they said it needed a decarbonization and tensioner (1K+ bill), but chain was within spec. Started running bad again shortly after. Got it back into the shop and now quote me 2K+ for a new chain. I'm at a loss of what to do. I know I need to contact the service manager and such, but come on. How can I be liable for a part that they replaced which now caused my chain to be out of spec. Very frustrating. I've put more $ into fixes than payments. Any other thoughts or recommendations?
Thanks!

 

Original work done seems a bit high.

The decarb doesn't have anything to do with the delfection of the chain though.

Remeber, the main fix for this issue is actually the chain and not the tensioner. The longer tensioner merely takes up the additional slack caused from excessive heat buildup due to low oil levels, a temporary fix more or less.

The only way to permanently make sure this doesn't happen again is by installing the newer updated chain (And the other related parts ) and be sure to change/check oil levels frequently with these French engines.

 

They seem to have made a bad diagnosis on the chain being within specs. This is a known problem and there is a possibility MINI will offer some assistance. The fact you are not the original owner will count against you.

The carbon build up is a common problem on a number of engines and in my opinion is maintenance. Replacing the chain tensioner could also be considered maintenance. At the least though, the dealer owes you a credit for the labor required to get to the tensioner. This labor will be required once again because they did not properly diagnose the condition of the chain and it now needs replacing.

 

Reading through realoem, I wonder why the new chain 11317534784 was never fitted to production vehicles... My guess is that there is no significant difference between the original chain 11317516088 and 11317534784, other than they have explicitely tested the chains for compliance.

I had the problem myself and fixed it with the newer replacement tensioner 11317607551. My problem was minimal and happenned occasionaly on colder days. Once the engine warmed up the noise would go away.

My point here however is that the rattle did not affect the performance of the engine in any disernable way, so I am wondering whether the diagnosis is at all correct. If you have sluggish performance but dont hear the diesel-like rattle maybe they ought to have a look at the turbocharger and the oil lines.