Joining the club on this one (09 R56 JCW). Apparently both my water pump and thermostat gasket are leaking. $900+ P&L for those two, plus a cracked drive belt. Ugh. Barely 5k out of warranty...

 

28k, Bedford NH Mini replaced my temp sensor for the fourth time! Thank Dog for the extended warrantee BMW granted me after the third sensor.

 

Replaced under warranty at 25k, car fans keep running at max speed on for 5 minutes after shut down

 

My dealer told me that any work they do, sans clutch, brake pads, or wearable items are covered by MINI for 2 years and 24k... I'm counting on that should my thermo housing go out again. Mine was replaced under an extended warranty I purchased through my credit union. Hate to do it, but the car may have to go when it expires in 3 years... So much fun to drive, but too expensive without a warranty~

 

'08 S at 80K under warranty (extended)

 

Drive belt?? What drive belt??

 

After I replaced mine, the indicated operational coolant temp went up about 10 degrees F and, the fan also runs a bit longer than before. I think it must be due to variability in temp sensors.

 

I think he said drive belt but meant serpentine belt. Not the timing chain.

 

49K miles and I just noticed a wet spot on the ground, seems to be coming from the back of the motor...

...and I just repaired my failed turbo oil supply line :(

 

Well, at least the scenery will be different. I did both of those within a couple weeks of each other too. Both just about a month out of warranty.

Jon in SC

 

It happened to my brand new 2012 MCS about a month after I bought it. Luckily, 14 months and 30,000 miles later...it's been perfect.

 

So has the thermostat housing (or water pump in my case) been redesigned? Or should I just expect to fork over ~$1k in another 50k miles when they break again?

 

Double ouch!

 

Well I got the housing off in about 2 hours, (it's been a long time since I've done any extensive under the hood work on any car), and I thought that I had the procedure down. When I began to twist the housing to free it up from the return tube coming from the back of the engine I heard a crack. I had the shop finish the job. I know now that the return tube is a little fragile especially since, 1) it is plastic and 2) that plastic has been subject to large amounts of heat. I know that, looking back, I should have been more careful. But I can't help but having no recollection of ever having to be so "dainty" working under the hood of any car that I've ever owned. Plastic, especially those parts directly connected to the engine and so close to said engine, really does not belong there. Just my opinion. I guess that this is something that I can look forward to further down the road, whether with this car or if I happen to chose to buy another Mini. The "check engine light" has gone off now for over a week after the on again, off again series. We'll see what the future holds.

 

im bout to hit 69K miles on my yellow mini. i ordered the parts myself and i'm getting my personal mechanic (THAT I'D TRUST WITH MY LIFE,..AND MY COOPER) to install them I was quoted $392 for the replacement at our local firestone. i ordered the parts for about $80.00 total, and labor shouldn't be too bad

 

Just spotted the leak this weekend on my '08 justa clubman 88k. Getting the part from my buddy at BMW for $86. Gonna DIY it. Shouldn't be any problems from what I read.

 

Had mine replaced Cooper 08 S @ 55k miles. I had a puddle of coolant on the floor of my garage after coming home from work the previous night. I had it towed to my buddies shop and changed it out for about $200.00

 

Thank you wallymango1, I will keep my patience about me when working with the rear return tube!

I replaced the water pump last Saturday, I am replacing the thermostat housing this Saturday. Should have done them together, LOL. Where one fails expect the other to follow soon. And at the price of coolant ($25 per gal) it makes sense to just do the two together.

Does anyone know if the thermostat housing was updated like the water pump (metal used now?).

 

It is still plastic, I didn't see a metal housing listed anywhere.

 

The thermostat is definitely still plastic, mine has been running well in that regard since I changed it a couple months ago. But yes be extremely careful with the return pipe, there is a metal clip on the back of the thermostat the connects to the return pipe if you don't remove it the pipe and thermostat will come out together. That happened to me and even though I didn't hear a crack there was a little piece of plastic missing from the end and the pipe is tough to find. I had to order it from the dealer for $100 and a weeks wait. It took me almost 3 hours to get the return pipe put back in because it just pushes in place and you have to hold it there while hooking up the thermostat and it's pretty tough. Don't get me started on all of the other problems I've had over the last 6 months though, this was the tip of the iceberg.

 

Just finished the thermostat housing. Not a horrible job at all! Did it in under 3 hours. The hardest part was removing the lowest pipe that feeds the turbo. Easy stuff.

I was super gentle with the return pipe too. I would rather do this job again than have to have done the water pump I did last weekend.

 

Just had my 2nd Thermostat replaced under warranty, (CEL SGII Codes U3FFF, sometimes P0597, stuck open). The first was a cracked housing, replaced late '11.

Was advised by SA that the thermostat is covered under the 7yr/70mi emissions warranty. Since the housing and the thermostat are one part, if the housing is cracked, it might be under warranty for some of you reading this.

 

This would have been great news last Friday

Oh well, the experience gained from this repair is priceless.

 

just took her in Friday.

 

I have just short of 80K miles. My mechanic sees some residue but I have not seen coolant leaking issues. What symptoms did you have before replacing the thermostat and housing? I went to the dealer and they said there is no issue. Probably just a bad independent mini mechanic just want to make sure.