Shouldn't have to pay until work is complete. You have to authorize the tear down to diagnose the problem. For the timing I was quoted 179. You are only responsible for that if the repair is not covered by the warranty. Otherwise, you just pay the deductible. The warranty pays the shop the total amount minus the deductible, which you will have to pay to get the car back.

 

If the chain did jump it most likely did affect the timing, might not be enough to notice while driving, but if not fixed it can lead to extensive, and expensive damage to valves, pistons etc. Don't know your dealer but if you feel uncomfortable there go to an independent shop, just be aware that driving the car with the timing off is risky at best.
Our MINI just flashed the yellow engine icon yesterday, when I got home checked for codes and P1497 showed up = Downstream throttle air leak. So it's going into our indie shop shop tomorrow. Checked all hoses and for any obvious leaks around the engine bay, no luck. BTW one of the potential problems associated is the death rattle, in a round about away....Will keep posted.

 

If the chain has stretched enough to jump get it in for service! Do not pass go! Do not collect $200. You can trash the whole motor if you don't take care of it now. Usually not a ring jump. Mine barely made any noise at all but I was suspicious. Once inside I had a broken guide rail!

 

Timing jump, sorry.

 

One thing no ones mentioned is flushing the engine with an additive before draining the oil during an oil and filter
change, I did and was surprised how black the oil was and the crap they came out with it. This was after 10,000km, I'm switching to 5,000km flushes,oil and filter changes.

 

What did you use, and what steps did you take...in other words...a DIY guide...

 

The tech at the shop gave it the once over and could not find any leak visually or by sound, so they did the smoke test and eureka, found two O rings in the OCC tubing that were gouged, mea culpa! He replaced them and solved the vacuum side problem, there was a slight leak where the output side from the engine heads to the OCC, the pressure side of the link, due to the connector having slipped out part way, it appears a clip was missing, which BTW was missing from new - (item 16 in the attached diagram)...so that took care of the air leak...the noise I was hearing that I thought was the death rattle was just normal engine noise, he checked the tensioner and it was OK...

 

Just so you know... We call'em wallet flushes in the industry..

Your better off not doing them.. Just use proper quality synth oil and change it at 8km.

Oils job *is to turn black*...

 

Basically just a normal oil change but before you change the oil get the car up to temp pour in additive where you top up the oil through the valve cover(I used liquid molly engine detox) and run at idle for approx 10min let oil cool so you don't burn yourself then continue oil change as normal.

 

The tensioner does not "fail" and therefore does not need to be "checked". The slack is what needs to be measured. When the timing chain slack exceeds the travel of the tensioner, teeth are skipped, leading to piston/valve contact. The "new" tensioner is just a little longer. The design is the same. It can control a little more slack, that's all.

DOC

 

That's an interesting statement. I replaced my second tensioner after about 30,000 miles. The plunger did not push in smoothly. When pressure was applied to the plunger, it would go in a small distance and stop until more tension was applied then it would suddenly move in again, stop, add more tension, then go in abruptly again. After replacing it, everything is fine. Not sure you want to describe that as "fail" but it certainly wasn't working as designed.

 

Interesting. First I have heard about the tensioner "sticking" in its travel. Did you measure your chain slack or simply replace the tensioner? What tipped you off to this and what was different after you replaced it. What were your oil change intervals?

Thanks,

DC

 

The original tensioner gets lose or actually the bolt that holds it in place which can cause the chain to stretch, etc.

 

Pulled it and checked for good play in the spring - , and unusually heavy or uneven wear - , none was found, all's well that ends well, at least for now.
And I do oil/filter change every 4500 - 5000 miles, Castrol full Synth 5-40, at which time I also rotate my tyres....

 

I heard the chain rattle, and no, I did not measure the chain length. As you can see, I bought my MINI new. I did an initial oil change @ 1,800 miles and have changed the oil and filter every 6-7,000 miles. I do want to do the complete chain assembly replacement soon. I have a bit more than 68,000 miles on the car and it is running fine.

 

I own a 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman S that has under 50,000 miles on it. Back in February, 2013 the tensioner, timing chain and Turbo all went out!!! Less than 45,000 miles! I was less than 2 weeks out of warranty and Mini refused to cover the $4000 in repairs! I left my car at dealer for over two weeks while I argued with Mini to back up their product. They finally agreed to pay for half! I decided to go back and look at my car fax from when I bought the car and found out this was the 2nd timing chain it has had replaced! I feel like Mini should have covered this 100% and now I am trying to find someone that might know if there is a Class Act Lawsuit on this yet? If not, does anyone know how I would get something like this started? I did research online for weeks and found these issues all over the place in these cars! Something needs to be done! At this point, I am going to lose money on this car because of the repairs I've had to pay for in the 10 months that I've had it! I am also worried it will happen again and Mini told me on the last one that they will not help me on any other issues on my car. If this happens again, I DO NOT have $4000 laying around. I am a single working mother and I shouldn't have to worry about this type of thing with a vehicle. In all my experience in owning high end vehicles and high performance cars, I have never had this happen! Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions please share with me?????

 

I would trade the car in ASAP for something different. It's not worth it, that's one of the reasons I held back on a 07-10 R56. But at least they're helping you by paying half. They're greedy bastards. Hope it ends well and you get rid of this lemon you have right now.

 

Sit tight ladies and gents (N14 owners) a solution and resolve is in the works. Don't quote me, but a little birdie told me BMW/MINIUSA is involved and will make headlines in this thread.

 

Is there an estimate on timeframe before we hear something?

 

EXTREMELY interested in that statement boOst spIKe, watching this thread closely...

 

heard the same thing last month. Will wait and see. I only had to pay 100 deductible for a full replacement, though I'm sure my 3rd party warranty would love to recoup the rest...

On a side note, did my first oil change and the day before I added half a can of seafoam I had laying around to the oil. Probably put 50-60 miles on it before changing the next day. Didn't really notice anything extra coming out of the drain. Curious if anyone has had any real world success using "cleaners" before changing the oil.

And for the single mom, one post person above: I agree you should probably trade your car in. This isn't the car for you if you are not somewhat mechanically inclined, have an extended warranty or have deep pockets.
There are many sites out there (consumer reports/ edmunds) that offer reliability scores on used cars. Might want to do some research on something more reliable. Also make sure you check your oil. Two failures in that short of time would make me think the oil is consistently low.

 

 

You might want to check out the Edmonds site before referencing it as a good site to look at Mini Coopers reliability.
http://www.edmunds.com/mini/cooper/2...liability.html
Given the known history of timing chain failures, I don't know how Edmonds could give the Mini an absolute five star rating for reliability but the do.
Having done my research, I knew enough not to buy a Mini without it being covered with a warranty but unfortunately a very large percentage of potential Mini buyers out there will not take the time to perform a proper research of this cars reliability history, which is not contained on sites such as Edmonds, but rather found through searching through forums such as this one and even then you have to dig deep becuase it is very natural for enthusiast forums to try and protect/deny/hide negative postings about thier favored Mini Cooper.
Of course they (the forum members) do no favor to unsuspecting prospective buyers, such as the lady mentioned in the above posting, who may come here to this forum looking for honest answers about the good and the bad about these cars before purchasing one and recieve only the good.
I, for one, can appreciate the candid responce above about "buyer be ware" if not mechanicaly inclined, under warranty or very deep pockets before considering purchasing one of the "S" series Mini's due to such issues as timing chain failures and carbon build up.

 

Have you even read this forum? When something like a quarter of the posts in this section of the BBS talk about the timing chain problems in one form or another, I find it hard to see how you can accuse anyone of trying to hide negative postings...

 

I think he's talking about enthusiast forums in general, not singling out NAM in particular.