Apparently there is a service bulletin: SIM 11 3 11 that is applicable to the N18 engine. I just had my car in for an oil leak, and they replaced the tensioner, cable harness, solenoid valve, cover plate, gasket ring, and replaced the oil due to a leak. I thought the N18's weren't affected by the bulletin but apparently not?

 

That's bad news as I had hoped that these "newer" mini's would somehow have addressed the timeing chain issues.
Guess I was wrong, hopefully when the 2015 year models come out with the different engines this timing chain issue will at long last go away.

 

Do you know what the bulletin says exactly?

 

This Service Action involves certain R55, R56, R57 and R60 MINI Cooper S vehicles with the N18 engine which were produced from 7/2010 to 5/2011.

Apparantly, some tensioner seal rings were considered defective (too soft a material) and could possibly leak oil. The action called for inspection of tensioner and replacement of seal ring, not tensioner, if oil leak was found.

 

I don't. It just says the bulletin number, like I quoted above. And "replaced timing chain according to bulletin..."

 

time to go to a timing belt that can be replaced. Or ask the motorcycle industry how they build theirs. My triumph hits 14K rpm and the tensioner and guides work fine.

 

[QUOTE="rckrzy1;3850214"]time to go to a timing belt that can be replaced. Or ask the motorcycle industry how they build theirs. My triumph hits 14K rpm and the tensioner and guides work fine.[/QUOTE

I'm hoping the new engine in the F56 will be reliable. I haven't checked how it has been in the BMW cars.

 

I had my tensioner replaced back at 30k miles under the recall with the cable harness and the solenoid valve too. Btw I'm at 61k miles and no issues since my thermostat was replaced at 27k miles.

 

I wish BMW knew how to make problem free cars like Honda. At 30K + for a Cooper S with decent equipment, buyers should expect quality on par with other brands. It's disappointing in my mind.

 

By the way, I was told the timing chain issue is usually caused by "driving the car too hard, or not maintaining the car properly and letting the oil run low". I laughed at both. It's ADVERTISED as a car that can BE DRIVEN HARD, and it's had all the factory maintenance, plus top offs in between. The driving hard thing makes me laugh even more. If I can't drive my tiny 30,000 dollar car hard every once and awhile, they (BMW) shouldn't be making cars.

 

My car was running good they just did it since it was under recall so I wasn't complaining. As for quality, Honda is the way to go. If you want good performance MINI is the way to go. If you want luxury Lincoln or Cadillac is the way to go. There's always something different so MINI shouldn't be characterized reliable. The Genesis 2.0Thas that problem, Mazdaspeed3, Mustang, and oh my friends lovely Camaro was built poorly. So you're gonna have problems with some performance car, the price you pay for fun toys.

Every car is built different so don't take it out of context that I said EVERY car is the same because that's not true. My '08 "Justa" was completely crap point blank. But my '11 MCS has been very reliable even on long trips(400 miles).

 

I had an SI that could turn 8300 RPM from the factory, with no worries of engine problems. It was a fun toy, but wasn't in the shop every week. It wasn't as fun as the MINI, no, but the MINI is also a ton smaller and less comfortable. I'm sure if honda made the new CIVIC type R with the turbo engine available here, it would still be reliable, and probably as fun or better than the MINI. I love the MINI, but fun shouldn't come at the cost of crappy quality. If the car was like 15k new, that would be one thing.

 

Anytime a supercharger or turbo are on a car, your reliability decreases. I've had a few turbo cars and all had their share of issues. So far MCS is looking solid. But I'm sure in time things will get interesting.

As for the $15k comment, my grandparents had a Toyota Corolla and Geo Prism that had no issues up to 170k miles on both of those cars. I've seen many issues with the Nissan GT-R which is $95k and that's kinda sad that even spending that much that super car has issues.

 

Turbocharging doesn't always mean bad reliability. Turbocharged Diesel engines are known to last into the 500K (older mercedes turbo diesels) - 1,000,000 mile mark (large trucks).

 

You are correct that's why I didn't state Turbo Diesel engines. My fathers friend has one and it has 120,000 miles and it's only three years old but a solid machinery by Ford.

 

Your last thread didn't say anything excluding diesels. You just said whenever you super or turbocharge a car you decrease reliability. That's why I brought up the diesel thing. I've had several friends with turbocharged gas motors that have gone into the 200,000 mile range without any major problems, or rebuilds.

 

Sorry I should have been more informative about turbo diesels and TDI engines because those made my Audi, VW and many more in Europe and here are great. If MINI made those type of engines, I would definitely praise it. But we got stuck with the Prince engine...:-(.

 

I'm hoping MINI/BMW will release a Cooper SD trim level here in the coming years. A fast, frugal, and long lasting engine in one of these cars would be the epitome of awesomeness. My only spec the car would need is more power than the current European SD. At least 180HP and 280lb.ft that would be a sick little ride.

 

I have a 2009 Cooper S w/ 72,000 miles. At 71,00 miles, i had to perform the following repairs:

Cooling
replace thermostat housing (was leaking bad)
Engine
replace oil filter housing gaskets (was leaking coolant and oil)
replace turbo oil feed line (use a Detroit turbo one)
replace turbo oil drain line (oem)
replaced clutch & dual-mass flywheel at 45,000 miles
---

Now, I also have a 2006 Mit Lancer Evolution iX with 120,000 hard driven miles. No major repairs at all. Though, stock clutch is just now starting to slip.

 

I'm at 58,000 and, thank the Lord, we bought the 100,000 mile extended warranty. My yellow engine light started coming on and I was losing coolant. Took it to my local mechanic that does my oil changes and had him check the computer. He diagnosed a cracked thermostat housing and a bad timing chain so I took it straight in to my dealership. They told me it is covered & I'll only have to pay the deductible. Took it in on the 18th and it is still there! It appears that when they are working under the extended warranty, they have to wait for an inspector to come and approve every step. They replaced the thermostat housing and initially were going to only replace the tensioner but the inspector ordered the timing chain to be inspected. Turned out there were missing pieces so he had them drop the oil pan to retrieve the missing pieces. Thank goodness for the inspector but it is taking forever. There was also a misfire in cylinder #3 & I'm worried that may be carbon build-up AGAIN. Been reading that thread too & that's a whole other story. I LOVE my MINI and would like to drive them forever but it is getting harder to convince my husband to even keep this one. This is the third major issue and it's still one month from four years old.

 

You have N14, not an N18.