The bolt for the Timing Chain Tensioner backed out on my 2009 Factory JCW Clubman.

Wife said she heard some rattling noise the night before and then in the morning drove the kids a few miles to day care. Halfway there the car went into limp mode, a bunch of engine lights came on.

Flatbedded and to be fixed under warranty by Westchester MINI.

No oil in the car when it got to MINI. Went home and saw a nice fresh amount of oil on my paver bricks too.

Still haven't got the car back but they did a compression test and said everything appeared ok so now just waiting for them to put it back together and start 'er up.

Evidently there is a recall on this. Anybody hear of it? Service manager Ray said I might be receiving a letter.

Also mentioned that there is a replacement part for the bolt.

I noticed some rattling in the car previously and thought it sounded funny..... I'm sure if I had mentioned something before I might have gotten the "Oh that's a normal sound....."

 

I believe there was a service bulletin MINI put out for the timing chain, not quite sure about a recall though.

 

I had mine do the same thing a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, I noticed a small oil spot one night after pulling out of my garage. The next day, it was a bit larger. I immediately called my SA and told him that I needed to bring it in for them to look at. They took it in and did the work the next day. I asked him what would have happened if I hadn't caught it caught it in time? He told me that it wouldn't have been pretty. Basically it would have been without oil rather quickly.

They did all work "per bulletin". This included replacing the tensioner... again.

 

No recall, known issue.
The newest tensioner bolt is longer and won't back out from my understanding. Had mine (everything) replaced back in Dec and so far, it's been perfect.
Oh, my bolt never backed out, I just got the death rattle.

 

I'm sorry for hijacking this thread, but I just had a similar problem.

I have a 2009 Mini Cooper S hardtop. 57,000 miles with oil changed between 7500 and 5000 miles. I am actually preparing to sell this car so the following situation does no good for me.

I was driving home yesterday and got the yellow engine malfunction light. I took it to Niello Mini directly from where I was. I arrived and told him what was going on. He said that it was probably the mini gas cap and that I should give it "three-drive cycles or up to four days" until it goes off. I still pressed that I wanted the car to be looked at but the SA told me that there wasn't time and that I could leave the car but wouldn't have a ride back to Davis or a loaner provided. I didn't lose it but was clearly frustrated that he did not seem concerned by this.

In leaving, he told me that if I really wanted to have it seen, I should drive it home and then have Mini Roadside tow it back...to the dealership I was standing in...with the car to be towed. I agreed and left. As I turned out of the dealership, I called roadside and they had a tow dispatched to my house. Within 15min of my returning home, the car was on a flatbed back to the dealership.

I got a call this morning at 7am saying that they could do a diagnostics for $160 to see what the problem was. I agreed to the $160 diagnostics and got a call at 5:30pm with the following:

Timing Chain was at 70mm instead of the limit of 68mm. The required repair would be a new timing-chain and a new valve cover. $2,318.96. As well, when they were looking around, they saw a cracked plastic cover on my coolant pump. Required repair would be a new coolant pump. $773.11.

I did not agree to any of these repairs and told the SA I'd call him back first thing in the morning with a decision. Having talked to a guy who has worked on my car before, he told me that the only way to have measured my timing-chain would be to have taken the chain out of the car and thus taking my engine apart. As I had not given the ok to remove the belt for replacement, he recommended that I go down to the dealership and take a look at my car.

At 6:45pm, I asked to get some stuff for my dog and the insurance out of my car in the event I need to get a rental. The service department was closed at the time but the sales associate was helpful in taking me back to the service center.

Sure enough, my car was up on a rack with the hood open. On the table next to the rack was various parts of my engine. They dropped the rack so I could get my stuff out and the engine had sure enough been taken apart.

Sorry for explaining the long sequence of events, but I hope it'll help in addressing my next questions:

Is this timing-chain fault something that I should be on the hook for?

Did Mini have authorization to take my car apart and remove parts? If so, does this now mean that I'm required to have repairs done with this specific dealer now that the questioned part has been removed?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

I just experienced this issue with my 2010 R56 this past Saturday. Saw a little oil on the ground so I bought a quart to fill it up. I ran some errands and when I got home I noticed an oil trail following me home. Never saw any lights on the dash. Called roadside assistance and scheduled a Sunday pickup. Got a call this morning saying I was also due for brake service and they also found a visor had broken. Just got a call back stating that it was in fact the tensioner bolt and it was ready to go. Got to give props to Mini of North Scottsdale for such excellent & speedy service!