So I just wanted to comment on my experience with my Primary water pump failing. I recently went to the dealer and got my last (3/36 - maintenance plan) oil change when my dad saw that there was a liquid spot left from my car Monday morning. I had already went to work, but he was off on MLK day and saw a 6" spot. He proceeded to call me and let me know that I was possibly leaking oil.

To make a long story short I went back to the dealer, had them check out, and come to find out my primary water pump (the one that cools the car) was failing because the gasket was broken. They said that it needed to be entirely replaced; that they cannot just replace the gasket. Luckily, it was on warranty, so free of charge.

My question/comment is/was this water pump also a recall. 6 months after I bought the car in 2009 I received in the mail a letter that stated the water pump has been recalled, so if/when it fails MINI will replace free of charge, no matter if I am in/out of my maintenance/warranty plan. However, I forgot to ask the dealer if this primary water pump was a recall or was the letter (don't know where the letter is) talking about the Auxiliary Water Pump, the one that has been recalled, the one that cools the turbo. I don't know if it was talking about the Primary or if it was talking about the Auxiliary. Reason being was because the dealer didn't say anything about the Primary being a recall they just said because I was in warranty it would get replace for free. But who knows if I was out of warranty, it seems that I would of had to pay for it. Either way it doesn't matter now since it has been replaced, but did anyone get a letter for MINI about the primary water pump being recalled? I do recall reading about peoples posts getting the primary water pump replace free of charge whether they were in warranty or not.

Overall my experience with this issue was obviously resolved and my MINI experience has so far been, always a 10. Let me hear your thoughts.

 

The letter that came out was extending the warranty for the HPFP (high pressure fuel pump) not any of the water pumps.

 

www.safercar.gov can tell you what *recalls* were issued for any vehicle. But just recalls, not TSB's, special warranty extensions, and so forth.

 

"Benibiker" is correct about the letter extending the warranty on the HPFP to something like 10 years or 120,000 miles.

The recall that was just issued on many of the turbocharged MINI's is for the auxiliary water pump. See this thread.

So far, MINI has issued nothing concerning the primary water pump. But with so many of them failing, perhaps they need to...?

 

Mine is leaking at 71K. I just had a front end accident and the day after getting it back from the body shop, I had coolant on my garage floor. I contacted my adjuster to see if it could have been related to the accident - not surprised he said it wasn't after he looked at it. But the kicker is that he contacted my local MINI dealership to see if there were any known issues. He was told that they see water pump failures between 55K and 75K and that it's a common problem.

I love my MINI and wouldn't throw out the baby with the bath water, but gimme a break! I've had a few cars in my 44 years - I don't think I've ever had to replace a water pump. Ever. The fact that MINI's is plastic and BMW just released an aluminum water pump tells me everything I need to know - they know this is a problem.

I wonder how many water pumps have been replaced so far?

 

Interesting. In fairness, I've had to replace the water pump on my '97 GMC Jimmy twice in the past 5-6 years; and my father just had to replace the one on his '04 Chevy Tahoe -- within a month of mine going out a second time on my Jimmy... Are water pump failures contagious...?

But yeah, I agree: typically this is not a component you'd expect to have high failure/replacement rates... It could be that a lot of manufacturers have been skimping on their water pumps... Seems like everything you buy these days is purposely designed to fail within a few years under normal use, simply to keep the spare parts market active...

 

Man, I hope they're not contagious - I just dropped over 2K on my Jeep. As a beach buggy turned commuter vehicle since this water pump issue, I've had to replace the front differential, alternator, AC compressor, shocks and muffler from the cat back. Water pump's fine, though...

Agreed. Interesting that so many failures happen *after* the warranty period ends. Possible bonanza in the extended warranty market? I know I was BOMBARDED with offers from MINI to purchase their extended warranty and I had more than 1 tech mention the water pump issue. Hate to be a cynic, but that's what's wrong with business today.