Found out today that I am having this issue with my 08 Mini I am at 66,000 miles. Do we think the dealership will do anything about it or am I on my own ?

 

I dropped my new (to me) '08 MCS at the dealer along with the BMW TSB and the SA says to me that he's surprised my car hasn't already had the chain tensioner job done as "most of them" have. He told me they'd take care of me. We'll see.

Update: Wow! A truthful dealership! This hasn't happened much in my experience (but I'm new to the MINI/BMW world), but the SA called me and said they started it this morning and no noise. Then they started it again this afternoon and heard it. My gut feeling is that they never heard it, but want a happy customer, and BMW's paying so let's just swap out the parts and be done with it. They then went through the TSB and my chain was stretched beyond the limit and they will be changing chain, sprockets, guides, and tensioner as per the TSB. Looks like I'm gonna go from a nervous new MINI owner to a happy one in a day or so. Thanks so much to you folks on the NAM boards for digging all this stuff up about this problem. Had it not been for you all, I would have stumbled into the dealership ignorant of this known problem, and would have been ripe for being hoodwinked by the old, "Don't worry, they all do this" story. I think the secret here is to stroll into the dealership with the TSB in your hand and stick it under the SA's nose so he knows you know about the problem.

 

+1 2010 MCCSa

 

The dealership will do something. You just have to be persistent. Very very persistent. I had to send my other half (my husband) out to see the manager.....long story short after a couple days and calls to Mini Corporate the price went from 2200.00 to we'll do it for 1800.00 then we'll cover everything but the oil change and reprogramming fee...comes to 262.00. I'm will to do that seeing I did not purchase the extended warranty...just the extended service maintenance. My only fear is there my be some damage to the engine that they won't tell me about. It was 3qts low when I brought it in and I suspect the parts that fell in the oil pan caused a leak. They are in progress now of fixing and are "supposed" to let me know if any more damage is present. We'll see. Oh also I printed out this thread for my husband to take to the dealer for leverage. It worked.

 

I had my scoop replaced for free after 1yr it warped.

 

Do you know who they talked to at Mini? According to BMW customer relations, it's pretty much the dealer's call. (since according to BMW - dealer has to pay for it.) I'm still getting nowhere trying to determine who exactly to contact in addition to the useless Customer Care folks.

For the record, the death rattle in my case happened just moments before the system failure.

 

Not sure who they talked to. My invoice said Goodwill Customer repair. My car was still under the 4 years, just 5K miles over, so maybe that is why they did the repair. Anyways, I'm super happy. I'm debating selling my MCS to get a base model or a Clubman, but as of now, I'm happy.

 

+1 2009 Mini Clubman S

The Dealer in Ohio just delivered my Mini Clubman S back to me after engine replacement. Now I have a 2 year warranty on the engine with unlimited mileage during that time period. I guess I can be thankful for that however I am still not sure I can trust the car overall. Wife after me to trade it but I don't want to currently. I have some time to decide I think. Otherwise I love the vehicle (knowing it's limitations and acting accordingly).

 

Why would you want to trade it in now? If I had received a brand new engine and a 2 year unlimited warranty I would be overjoyed an confident...I wouldn't think about trading it in until I had put at least 18 months on that motor...

 

+1 2009 MCSa. Had the tensioner replaced. Every once in a while I can still hear the chain for a couple of seconds after a cold start, but it's definitely better than it was before. I'm pretty sure it's going to need to be replaced again somewhere down the road.

 

If you are still hearing it at all I would take it in and have it checked out before you are out of warranty.

 

Take it back to the dealer and don't take no for an answer. By changing the tensioner, they have admitted that there was a problem. Tell them to change all mechanics invloved as per the TSB as if the chain were stretched beyond the 68mm limit. I believe that if only the tensioner is changed, the SOP is to put the same part number in as was taken out, but if they change the chain, etc., you will get the new design tensioner that (as per the SA who worked on mine) has a heavier spring and larger oil capacity.

 

AutoDoc1955,

Do you know the part number of the tensioner that has the heavier spring and larger oil capacity? I believe I have seen members post different P/N's for their tensioner only replacements.

 

Here are ALL the part numbers replaced when I had the service done. What follows is EXACTLY as listed on my invoice (Just done a couple weeks ago and mentioned in another thread) -
Part Numbers replaced:
11-31-7-597-895 Chain Tensioner 113050
11-31-7-534-251 Gasket Ring 118526
11-31-7-516-088 Timing Chain 113030
11-31-7-568-241 Guide Rail 113056
11-31-7-534-833 Chain Tensioner 113055
11-31-7-534-771 Bearing Bolt 113099
11-31-7-534-769 Bearing Bolt 113099
11-31-7-550-461 Gasket Ring 118526
11-31-7-546-697 SLide Rail 113057
11-21-7-588-996 Sprocket 11209921
11-21-7-585-184 Hex Bolt 11209510
11-36-7-536-087 Torx Bolt 113095
11-36-7-545-863 Torx Bolt 113095
11-12-7-572-851 Set of Profile Gaskets 118513

 

Original Tensioner: 11 31 7 607 551
New one: 11 31 7 597 895

Numbers from SIM 110207 (the MINI "yeah, we know about it" document)
Be careful here as the SIM doc says that if the chain is stretched that they are to change the chain and pretty much everything that it touches which tells me that there's something different about the new chain. Like it's maybe made of thicker steel and maybe its dimensions are a little different than the original. If you put in a redesigned tensioner pushing on an OEM chain there MIGHT be trouble.
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+1 2009 JCW.

I had an appointment to take her in to the dealership on Monday for some other minor repairs. My SO offered to take her for me because the dealership is close to office and 20 miles from where I was planning on being on Monday.

He heard a scary sound when starting her up and told the SA about it.

The SAs immediate response was to tell him that they would check and see if the chain tensioner thing needed to be replaced (but in slightly more technical language!) they called us a couple of hours later to say that they measured something and would be replacing the timing chain and associated parts.

In addition to fixing the timing chain problem and the sunroof and barn door rattles that she went in for, MINI of Sterling provided their usual over the top service and went over the entire car, topped off all of her fluids, replaced the wiper blades, "scraped weild splatter on on the contact surface and body and installed gaskets between body and rear strut mounts PRE Bulletin M330110 419900" replaced the front brake pads, vacuumed out all of the dog hair and did a much better job cleaning the brake dust off of the wheels that I ever do

 

+1 timing chain tensioner at 15.000.
timing chain and tensioner and guides at 30.000.

 

+3 2007 MCS
April 2010 I bought this 2007 MCS after my 2004 was totaled. Within the first month I heard the now famous cold start death rattle. Knauz MINI replaced the tensioner under warranty. Last December it started to make noise shortly after start that went away when it warmed up. I almost thought it was a manifold rattle of some sort, and took it in. They replaced the tensioner and whole timing chain with "revised" parts. fast forward 6 months, the noise is starting again, I've got call in to see what's next. I hope they have "revised" revised parts because my warranty is up in August. Kudo's to Knauz because they've been great through all this, but in the last 14 months of ownership my car's been at the dealer for 2!

 

Even if your warranty is up, the timing chain issue will still be covered for at least 2 years...just FYI

 

That's good to know. This forum has been a real life saver. I've had just about all the known problems on this latest MINI. I've had the HPFP replaced, the sagging hood scoop, etc. I also had a bad engine temp sensor that took them almost a month to sort out.
My 04 MCS only had one issue, a broken motor mount. I sure do miss that car.

 

+1 07mcs

 

+1 '07 MCS 81,000 miles, in shop right now for tensioner. Noise started day before. I think they might have replaced the tensioner in past when I complained about excessive oil consuption. Thought they said it was something to do with valve cover though, have to check paperwork.

 

Gaah don't gamble! IF YOU HAVEN'T HAD YOUR CHAIN TENSIONER/TIMING CHAIN REPLACED OR FIXED ALREADY, DO IT ASAP. Even if the dealership continues to ignore your persistent complaints and refuse to do it, just pay for a new timing chain + labor just do it... you'll save $$$$$$ in the end.
OR BETTER YET, GET RID OF THE CAR-- (best advice).

You do not want to drop $7k for a replacement motor/engine repair. Everybody has mechanic friends, but nobody has mechanic friends that can find a new mini motor and work on it too, so you're forced to go to dealership.
I never imagined paying out the butt for this car but now I'm ready to just get rid of it and drive something I always hated to see myself in, a civic or something like that.
I am ready to sell but i feel really sorry for the poor guy/girl who buys it.. I don't want them to go through such misfortune, i'd just feel too guilty. I just wanna tell all the customers at my local dealership "PLEASE BEWARE of what you are getting yourself into!"

 

I did not see your response earlier or I would have replied earlier. Why would I trade it in? Because I don't know if I can trust the vehicle for reliability. On occasion I run long 3 to 6 hr trips in my vehicle, in rural areas where I am 3 to 4 hours from a Mini Dealer. No one wants to be broken down on the interstate or a lonely dark country road. This seems to be a problem unique to Mini's and I am not sure how long we can deal with it.

 

Curiously, I would trust my own Mini (w/replacement engine) over a trade-in. It never gave me any problems before the catastrophe.