So, has anyone actually received a notification on this 'Service Campaign' from MINI USA?

Edit: No sooner did I type the message above but I got a call from my MINI dealer wanting to schedule recall service for a turbo heat shield. I asked about the timing chain issue but the scheduling operator was not aware of this.

 

What rock is your scheduling operator living under?

 

Bump

Once again, does anyone have a letter, reference # or any documentation for this 'Service Campaign', 'recall' or whatever you want to call it?

I have to drop off my car first thing Monday morning for other service and don't want to let them play stupid on the subject.

 

The letter can be found in this thread:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ng-chains.html

 

Page 10 post # 233 and also take a look at page 11 post # 259. Just add to your reply if you don't mind.

 

Early 07 MCS 40k miles. Got letter, took in today, performed the heat shield campaign too. this is what it says:

check timing chain
M11 04 13. check timing chain tensioner per campaign. performed sim 11 04 13 as per bulletin. inspected tensioner. found tensioner to be updated. no corrections made.

I talked to the service writer who was well aware of the issues but basically not willing to do any more.

Calling Mini tomorrow as I paid out of pocket right after warranty ended for dealer to replace the tensioner (about 2 years ago).

 

But did they bother to measure the chain slack? I put in the updated tensioner too, a while back. The tech measured my chain and found it to be out of spec, so they replaced the chain and guides.

 

I read the bulletin sent to dealers with my SA, and it says in the first step that if the updated tensioner is installed, proceed no further. The only way the chain is getting checked is if the tensioner is the original one fitted from the factory.

 

That's stupid, they need to check the chain slack period! Even with the updated part things can still go wrong.

 

I've been saying that all along that MINI dropped the ball by not checking the chain slack on all cars, regardless of what "style" tensioner was in the car or not.

 

Hi everyone,


New member to the site. Great info here! I've owned some great cars and try to research as much as possible before I buy. I've been wanting a mini cooper since I saw one in an off road race in France some 10 years ago. It rolled in a turn and 5 guys from the spectators jumped in and righted it and it took off and ended up winning the race.


I am looking at a 2007 2dr coupe S, British racing green, 1.6L, 52,000 miles. Nudged it to 100 mph easily on the test drive and fell in love. I plan on calling the local BMW dealership tomorrow and ask about the chain/tensioner/heat shield campaigns.(Thanks for all the posts in reference to these matters.)


It's offered for sale at a Ford dealership for $11,900 and has new tires and new battery. They've had it for 2 months. The carfax has very little information about service, just that it was performed and there's no mention of replacement of the chain, tensioner, etc.


I know my Jag had an electronic record of everything ever done to it. Will a BMW dealership be able to tell me about the mini? Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated before this fool rushes in!

 

Call the MINI dealer with the VIN #. They should be able to tell you what services have been done. Not all dealers will do this. If they say no call another dealer. The cars key stores the service info & can be read by the MINI dealer. It might be worth driving that MINI over to the dealer for a prepurchase inspection.

 

Thanks! Called Orlando Mini with the vin# and they said the recalls (chain/tensioner) had not been performed on this vehicle and would perform the replacement free of charge. Still haggling over the purchase price of the car....Anyone know a reasonable price to pay for this Mini? 2007 2dr S excellent body condition, new tires & battery, 52,000 miles)

 

Just got mine back from the dealer. Service order states: Removed older style tensioner and measured backlash at 70.9mm. Replaced the complete timing chain cassette including the crank & cam bolts and the valve cover gasket.
It runs so quiet now that it sounds like a different engine. Dealer kept the car over the weekend, but gave me a '14 Countryman S as a loaner. I was glad to get my little car back. The loaner felt way too big.

 

Sweeet! Is your S a daily driver?

 

Unless the weather is bad. Then I use the Suburban. Much prefer the Mini.

 

I have an 09 MCS and maybe a year after I bought it the rattle thing happened once but when I shut it down and restarted, it went away. This has happened a few times over the years so I wasn't worried about it much until yesterday. With the cold, the rattle started and continued for a 12 hour drive home stopping at higher speeds although I could hear a faint rattle occasionally. Needless today that was a long drive hoping that I would arrive home and the racket continued today. I called Crown MINI in Richmond, VA and told them the problem and that it hadn't stopped. The SA asked for my VIN and then told me "yep there is an open campaign for that problem so set up an appointment and we will fix it no problem and oh BTW we will also go ahead and do the heat shield for the turbo since there is an open campaign for that also on your MINI even though you don't have an issue with it". If all goes as I think it will, this will be one more event in my nearly 5 years of MINI ownership that they have handled with no problem and a cheery disposition with no questions asked. Folks always complain when things go wrong and fill boards with their anger, but I have had a really good experience with MINI. Oh one more thing...I have used 3 different dealerships during my time and it has been consistent. I don't know that I will buy another MINI because I don't care for the new design (sacrilege I know), but I sure have been happy with the one I have had.

 

You wouldn't be so pleased as you are now if this had happened to you just a few months ago, because MINI USA would have told you sorry, you got to pay for it yourself ($1800)! That's where the anger comes from, even when your engine eats your timing chain and MINI USA charges you for a new engine even though it's still under warranty.

It only took multiple lawsuits in multiple states for Mini to finally accept responsibility, but I'm glad it all worked out for you mickdayank. Although next time if know there's something wrong with your Mini I would strongly advise you to have it towed at the first sign that something's seriously wrong with you Mini! To say you were lucky is an understatement, lol!

I was leaking coolant from my thermostat housing, a few drips per minute and even though the dealer is less than four miles away I still had it towed. Why because it was free to tow my Mini up to 100 miles free of charge, instead of rolling the dice and I don't gamble even in Las Vegas, well maybe roulette black or red. I could have spilled engine coolant all over the road toasting my engine.

Be glad you weren't three quarts low on oil because someone didn't tighten your oil filter housing all the way, it's happened recently. This guy's valve cover became molten plastic falling into the engine because of oil gushing out oil filter housing. The spark plugs were buried under neigh molten plastic, no way to get the plugs out so the head was indeed finished.

 

Didnt ask for advice or guidance. Didnt have a choice to go to dealer being 900 miles from home and had to be back to work the next day and yes I was lucky. When the coolant leaked, i changed the water pump myself. I check my car each time the oil is changed to ensure the job was done right and oil isnt leaking. The point of my post which I wont do again to avoid the hassle from opinions i didnt ask for was to tell a good story about MINI. I dont care about the details or someone elses experiences...mine has been great. When i want or need advice, i come to NAM and ask for it but I dont recall doing that this time thank you.

 

If you don't care about someone elses experiences then why should anyone care about yours?

No need to get defensive I was just offering some friendly advice. If you can't take some friendly advice from a social forum why are you here? It wasn't my intention to hassle you.

 

I just posted a LONG thread in the 2nd generation forum about my 08 MC hardtop.

It is currently in the shop "on hold". I brought it in for numerous engine lights (including the reduced engine power light) after starting it up in extreme cold weather. Car wouldn't drive faster than 30mph, etc. Thought there was moisture that froze in the system somewhere. Turns out, they are saying I need a new timing chain and tensioner. Unfortunately I received this news too late yesterday to call MINI and now have to wait until Monday so I told my dealer to hold off on the repair. I have never received a letter from MINI regarding this issue. Do I have any sort of leg to stand on here?

 

IIRC this campaign/recall effects '07-'10 S only. You may be able to work out a "good will" fix with Mini USA and/or your dealer. From the description of your dealer in the other thread, there doesn't seem to be a lot of "good will" there though. I wish you luck.

 

Ah, thank you for clarification. Unsure, I called both dealers- one dealer told me he thought it the S models only and my dealer told me he thought it was '09 and later which obviously is not correct.

I will still call Mini on Monday to see if they can do anything as well as speaking directly with my SA on Monday to see what they can do. So upsetting we all have to even deal with this.

 

This has happened to me almost every year when the temperature drops below -0 F. Usually the engine will run roughly for a minute or two then smooth out. The scanner shows 'throttle plate temporarily stuck' or something like that. I clear the code and head on without issues.

Best wishes on the timing chain replacement.

 

Although the number of non-S related timing chain issues appear to be at a lesser rate, they none-the-less have occured within those models as well and I would have thought Mini Cooper would have honored this with the non-S as well.
I would certainly maintain that the timing chain issue did in fact exsist in both models, and while the non-S models are less inclined to failure, a timing chain failure in either model should be treated the same.
Certainly NOT good news for those non-S owners out there who might also have timing chain issues develope(as they very well might).
Please keep us apraised asto how Mini Cooper choses to treat those non-S owners out there who eventually develope this timing chain failure.