Car is fixed. This is the write up. They deemed it a goodwill repair. No mention of warranty or campaign.

 

Year and mileage?

 

That's good that it was a good will. My understanding was that to get a reimbursement for the warranty extension you need the specs. Kind off topic; just wanted to stat that
Sent from phone

 

It was an 07 with 32k miles

 

Low mileage like that still holds no faith for me on "good will" to "keep faith in the brand" being that I'm at 90K on my 07 lol. Don't see a dealer doing it for me until MINI has an official release making them do it.

 

I agree. I mean, obviously I'm glad they fixed being nearly 2 years out of warranty. To be clear, in addition to the low mileage, my wife's car is also a very late '07, with production of 10/2007. Also, I don't know how much it played a role, but they asked for and I submitted receipts for purchases of OEM filters and 0W-40 Mobil1. The SA seemed to suggest they would want to know if oil changes were performed on schedule.

We are fortunate that we don't drive the car much and that at out current use of about 3k miles a year, this fix, even if the design is still flawed, may still last a over a decade. I haven't gone through the replacement parts to see if they are "new and improved," but I posted them in case one of you wanted to.

If this doesn't get resolved, it makes one wonder what will be of the resale value when these cars are 10-12 years old and they aren't worth very much and how many people who know about it will put them up for sale at the first sign of the rattle or out-of-spec chain slack. It may already be happening.

 

That is what happened to me, three months after buying my 07 with 45K I got the death rattle, thank god I purchased a 6-year warranty! Dealer failed to catch that the valve cover was defective (leaking oil, bad cyclone separator), they paid half my deductible. Thought it was time for a carbon cleaning, boy was it worth it! Now I'm waiting for a thermostat housing, end of next week I hear from my dealer.

 

Interesting, it seems mini is now using another timing chain, which is used in many other cars, like 135i, f02 740i.

Btw, i need to replace everything.... On my own, no recall here in Hungary. Also need to deal with carbon build up. Approx cost.: 1600 usd

 

So I brought my Mini into the dealership today (Mini of Palm Harbor, FL) and let them know the issue and that I have gotten word of a possible good will/warranty extension of the timing chain and left it with them.

I received a call later this afternoon and they did find issues with the timing chain and they are currently contacting MINI about a "good will" replacement, and will let me know by Monday.

Hopefully that will go through and it will all get covered.

Ill post an update once I hear anything new.

 

Thats where I went last week to get mine checked on. They are good people, I don't think you will have a problem with them taking care of you.

 

I called Mini of Mt Laurel PA today and they told me that there is some kind of service bulletin they received, but its for cars made up to may 2010, mine is october 2010. Kind of sounds like BS to me.

 

Sent 2 emails to the service dept. at my local dealer(lost my voice or I'd have called), days pass, no replies. Apparently they don't want to answer me about a service bulletin? I'm sure something got lost in the pipeline, they've taken great care of me thus far.

 

The timing chain issues still occur even with 2011-2012 models! It's not like the timing chains are that much different.

 

Or not.. since thats about when the N18 engine was rolled out.

Um, yea, they are quite different. The N18 head has dual VANOS.

http://new.minimania.com/part/G2NMK3...ER-S-2007-2010

 

Well I dont have a N18 engine and I wouldn't be covered according to them.

 

I read that the potential class action suit was not including my 2012, I assumed it was because of the design of the n18 in the later models. Additionally, I haven't seen anyone talking about the death rattle in the later models. Have I missed something?

 

Just a heads up.. after a visit to the dealer today.. and talking to my tech friend..

There will be a recall/campaign. Mini/BMW is sourcing updated parts for all dealers before said campaign will commence. Because its almost half a million cars around the world.

Its going to be for all n12/14 cars. 2007-2010 MYs.

 

awesome update, thank you for that - since this is a recall, it doesn't matter if you aren't the original owner of the car, correct?

 

Whether it's a recall (like the auxiliary water pump) or an extended warranty (like the high pressure fuel pump), all MINIs sold in the USA are covered.

BTW: As a 'second owner', you can/should register your car with MINI USA as the new owner so you get notifications of recalls.

 

^ interesting, thanks for that info!

 

I call my dealer tomorrow ask for confirmation... How things are going here in Hungary...

 

Definitely interested in this, I hope it comes to reality and they do this campaign.

 

There is no official recall/campaign yet. Only a service bulletin about the chain issue.

 

Called my dealer today (Markel MINI of Omaha) and got this for an answer: "We have a notice of an upcoming recall in the system, but if you know what it's for, you know more than us at this time. All it shows is a pending recall, not yet active, take no action at this time". He said that usually means the manufacturer is gathering and distributing parts. He said if the recall was put into effect this month, it could be 2 or 3 more months before they have the parts on had and are cleared for doing recall work.

Basically he said "Make sure your oil level is correct, even a slight dip in oil level could cause the cold start up noise" to basically nullify me until the recall, IF it even comes out before my issue becomes detrimental.......

Sounds like I'll be buying and installing the longer tensioner and hoping that's all I need at this time.

 

Nope, nothing missed. Word is the updated head design of the N18 also led to an updated and better chain design... at least.. at the dealers they are not seeing N18s with chain issues.