I have a brand new cooper. Is this what I have to look forward to?

 

Probably not, especially not with a brand new one.

Dave

 

The design of the faulty engine components has been changed.

 

I purchased my 2007 Mini Cooper S on December 7th of 2007 for $31K. Today my little Mini of Doom has just 42K miles on it. Last December 2 weeks after my warranty ran out with just over 35K miles on it my little bundle of zippy happiness died. The engine/turbo/chain cratered it. I babied my car, I changed the oil religiously at the 6K mark at the dealership because the 15K interval seemed nutty to me. My service rep even explained that because the Mini uses synthetic oil that it didn't break down as quickly. I checked oil levels, I checked fluids on a weekly basis.

I found a Mini guy who did the work for me and I was back on the road a bit disappointed but still in love with what it feels like to drive a Mini - I didn't take it to the dealer because I got annoyed that even though the car was being towed in they wouldn't look at it for days before being able to tell me what was wrong. Truthfully I also resented the fact that I was a long standing customer and that they wanted to charge me $100 just to run diagnostics - to me the repairs were going to be expensive so starting out with $100 just for diagnostics on a car with a dead engine was bad policy especially since I would've had the car repaired there.

Last year in November while the car was still under warranty I noticed water in the driver side foot well and asked the dealer about it and about how warm the driver foot well would get occasionally. I mentioned the Service Bulletin about poor insulation on the heater core and I was told "Yeah, that happens. It's not a big deal." When I pushed the issue the Service Rep told me that Service Bulletins are honored at the discretion of the dealer and not to worry about the water and the warmth near my feet.

This weekend on a trip from Atlanta to Sarasota I realized that the sloshing noise I heard was not my water bottle; it was coming from inside the car and after a sharp turn, I found my feet sitting in about 3" of water. Long story short... I stopped running the A/C thinking that it would help the recurring 3" of water in the foot well. On my return trip I got the "Lights Not Working" warning lamps every time I stepped on the brakes and then the Bluetooth went out, followed by the radio which would stop and switch to Auxiliary and then the interior lights started acting up.

I was pulled over by a lovely police officer in a backwoods town in South Georgia because my headlights were out (they came back on) who helped me wring out the driver's side mat and to dry out the area best that we could in the parking lot of a Dollar General - with towels I purchased at the Dollar General ... a store I'd never been in before but that seems to be the only business in some towns in South Georgia.

The 5 hours I still had to go before getting home turned into 9 hours because I had to pull over every time I hit rain since I was driving with the sunroof open and the windows down and couldn't run the A/C.

Today I called MiniUSA and had what I think was one of the worst customer service experiences of my life (no hyperbole - it was awful). After the call and learning that I am at the mercy of only 2 Mini Dealerships (both hours away) I have decided that I am going to get the leak fixed and give up on my beloved Mini because a company is only as good as their customer service. I know that parts fail and that even great cars can go horribly wrong but I just can't see ever being comfortable on a long trip in my car again.

So yes, I would say read these boards - keep up with the things that go wrong with your model / year Mini and buckle up. Nothing beats a Mini for fun, nothing. But when things go wrong - you really are left with boards filled with the same issue and terrible customer service at the National Level.

 

This makes me wonder, if we strongly insist that they replace the timing chain under warranty, will they do it? I'm wondering if I should just get a new chain or is the engine design to blame more than a faulty chain?

 

THey will not. They have specs from MINI USA. If you are within spec, they will not change it on their dime, or on MINIs. They may do it and bill you for all of it.

However, if there is a settlement you may not get your money back if you elected to change they chain while they were still in spec.

Whether we like it or not there is a process to things.

 

MINI has issues a campaign/recall to replace defective timing chains. Details here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ng-chains.html

 

I have seen so many issues with Turbo and Timing Chain in the older Mini Coopers and was wondering if anyone knows if there is a Class Action Lawsuit Active for that right now? I have a 2009 Cooper S Clubman and it has less than 50,000 miles on it and has had two timing chains and a Turbo replaced! The last timing chain and turbo was in March 2013 and the car just happened to be a few days out of warranty! Imagine that! After weeks of fighting with them, they finally agreed to cover half and dealer agreed to sell me parts at cost, which helped, but I was still out $2100 that I didn't have and shouldn't have had to be out on a car with less than 50,000 miles!!! The car has had a Maintenance Program on it from day one and all the maintenance has been performed as recommended and at a Mini Dealer! Now, once again my Mini is at the dealer and I am in a loaner car because they feel there is another issue with the Turbo and also the Vacuum Pump! I am now at 52,000 miles! What the hell??? I drive it to work and home which is about 50 miles round trip and run to the store on occasion! Why can my car not stay out of the shop? I have tried to trade it off, but I am not getting offered crap for the car? Can't even get payoff and I started out in the car $5000 to the good! I am so aggravated at this point I'm about to scream. I'm a single working mother just trying to get by and bought the Mini because I thought it was a good deal, a good car and it got good MPG! I don't have the money to put into more repairs. I need some help! Some advice! Anyone got anything you can suggest???? I think Mini/BMW needs to pay! Why would they manufacture cars that don't even get to 50,000 miles and has to have major repairs? I have never had this type of problem with Chevy, Dodge, or Hummers that I have owned!

 

I don't want this to come off as if they shouldn't help you out, or it's your fault or anything.... but a bit of advice:

I'm going to assume that if you had timing chain tensioner issues AND turbo issues, and had the dealer provided service plan, you never checked your oil?

The computer's preset intervals for oil changes are WAY too long, and these cars like many other turbocharged cars consume oil between oil changes. With longer intervals, you can lose enough oil to cause problems. If you never checked your oil between changes, and only brought it in for an oil change every 14-20K miles as the little dash light told you to, I can almost guarantee that's why you've cooked turbo's and tensioners more than once.

 

Ouch! I have 49,000 miles on my Mini Cooper S and have already replaced the timing chain and I have had to add half a quart of oil every 1000-1500 miles!

I can understand why you have had two turbos replaced along with the timing chain, Mini needs to be more forthcoming about the importance of checking your oil level!

If you wanted a car to where you just have to drive it and not worry about maintenance or adding oil you should have purchase a Toyota or Honda.

If the salesman would tell the buyer that you have to add oil every so often most would not have even purchased the Mini in the first place.

There are those who want a reliable car to where they don't have to do any maintenance or adding oil in between oil changes, that's why they purchase the maintenance program!