Bought my 09 JCW a week ago with 58K on it. Noticed coolant under the car 5 days later and thought I had a rear freeze plug leaking until I read the forum. Did more looking and was thankful to be a thermostat housing. I need to order now and do it myself. $150 sounds a lot better than $450.
I'm not sure why an aftermarket company does not make a metal replacement. I know Mini wants you to keep all original parts but they need to make quality parts before we can keep it all original. I guess they like making a ton of money off owners every 30K miles or so.

 

well i can join the club i believe. saw some coolant under my car while changing the oil. and my CEL is on with codes p0597 Thermostat heater control circuit/open

Someone correct my if I'm wrong but sounds like i need a new housing

 

Replaced mine at 15k.

 

Did mine with the Supercharger at 112K or so, was not leaking at all. The waterpump was shot however, but for an 04 112K I thought was pretty good.

 

just called BMW store in Cincinnati and they wanted 530 plus tax.. ask how much for parts are he said 150... 380 in labor for this!!

i briefly searched for it but does anyone have a DIY write up on this ?? with a link please

 

It really wasn't hard to find in the How To section.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...hermostat.html

 

Just finished replacing the thermostat housing. This was the first time I have worked on a Mini seeing how I have only owned one for a week. It was kind of a pain in the butt. Now that I have done it, i am sure I could do it a lot faster. I was not sure on a couple of things like the way they put the wiring harness right above the thermostat housing. I think if and when i have to replace this again, it wont be as bad as this time.
If there was ever a part that should have been recalled and redesigned, it is the thermostat housing. I had to pay $158 for the part at the local Charlotte Mini dealer, a little hi i do believe. I asked the guy behind the how many he had and he said he had 7. He said there is a reason he sells 4 or 5 a week hahahaha. I wasn't amused but I paid the $158.00 and walked out with my head down low. I'm surprised there was not aftermarket part available. Everyone getting ready to take on this adventure, "Good Luck"!

 

Did mine around 58k miles. Unclipping all the electrical stuff and getting the hoses on and off was the hardest part. The back hose has a clip that is hard to figure out how to remove. There is a "how-to" thread I participated in somewhere on NAM.

 

bmw holds the patent, wants to make their money .....

 

Time for a redesign. Sad thing is I believe they are still installing the same part on the new cars coming off the assembly line.

 

bmw is very stingie with their patents......

 

Yup. Dealer replaced mine twice on an '12 N18 MCS under warranty at ~1700mls then again ~2,300mls nearly a month later (4th visit with the same concern). Both repair invoices state 'stat replacement.

No CEL but the 2spd-engine cooling fan was running high speed continuously when warm from new. 'A feature of the car, Sir; they all run hot.'

1st replacement 'might have been a sensor' when I pressed a furtive SA for further info but 2nd was definitely new housing/'stat + coolant; I felt it very necessary to check!

 

I just did mine about a week ago, replaced the thermostat and housing. Was lucky a mechanic friend of mine had the part and sold it to me for $50, but when I got in there the water pipe around the back was broken as well. Lucky for me only MINI carries that part and it was $100 for a 1 foot plastic pipe. However, now it seems my turbo isn't boosting or anything anymore so I guess something else is messed up.

 

Haven't replaced it yet. But I confident it will be the next repair on the car since I've already had all the other typical MINI failures.

 

106k miles I have not replaced mine.
I asked the dealer about that, and the timing tensioner thing and they
said to not worry about it.

 

114k miles and replaced it the other day. '07 MCS. Pain in the butt! I don't know if it's been replaced before. Just bought the car.

 

'11 MCS N18 with 22,300 miles. Not a single maintenance issue since delivery.

*touches wood*

 

07 MCS with 55k- have not replaced yet

 

2012 Justa. It was replaced as part of another repair.

A solenoid in the oil system was leaking. It contaminated the wiring harness attached to it. That particular harness also plugs into the coolant temp sensor, which is part of the t-stat housing. The new harness does not connect to the old sensor, and the sensor and t-stat and housing all get replaced at once.

It was going to get the housing replace as part of the service campaign, but they found the leak while they were under there and replaced all of those parts.

Just over 9500 miles on the clock, and just under 12 months since I bought it.

 

Replaced 2 years ago at around 70k miles

 

Mine just rolled 80K and is in for the water pump and t'stat module replacement. EuroMotive, Forest Hill MD. About $560 less than BMW/MINI of Towson, what is it with these guys? Known problem, absurd charge rate and refuse to issue any TSB. They know its a piece of crap and we get it up the tailpipe anyway. Ah, the face of modern automotive tech circa 2012. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

Replacing mine right now (typing with greasy fingers). Thermostat housing w/sensor about $75.00 from Parts.com. One month out of warranty. This job is a PITA.

 

3rd 'thermostat' warranty action of a new hose replacement (at 4000mls)containing, I think, a new temp. sensor plus a cradle for a modified wiring point on 18/09/12.

This was a result of 'phoning the dealer (following a NAM thread; thanks people) to ask if there was a new recall, quoting VIN and being invited in.

There was no warranty paperwork offered; 'will be recorded on your key data, Sir'...

Engine fan seems now continuing to work as expected after, apparently the 2nd thermostat and sensor on the 4th return visit, before this 5th visit for it's 3rd sensor. (Getting complex now...)

I really hope this is the 'final solution'.

Please keep supporting each other by reporting these anomalies. It shouldn't be sufficient for the MINI techs to claim 'they all run hot' or 'a feature of the model' any more, should it?

 

thermostat housing replaced on mine @ 47K £81 ( $130 ) plus antifreeze , and did it myself. Any reasonably competant DIYer should be able to do it , by following some of the "how to" tutorials about

 

Here's pictures of the leaking gasket. Purchased housing and thermostat from Parts.com