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.

 

They measure the slack in the chain at the tensioner, they should have not had to take the chain without you giving the "OK".. Contact MINI USA and see whether they will help since this is a VERY well known issue. Make no mention of you selling he car..



Where are you located? here in Calif most shops will do the job for $1100-$1300 with oil change

 

I am actually looking at another Mini but was selling mine private party so I didn't have to try to deal with a trade.

If the dealership is no help, what is the safety risk I run driving this vehicle in its current condition to other places in order to get it fixed?

 

Not sure why the dealership would not be more helpful, but that is really a service issue.

The CEL could have been read by Autozone/Advance Auto/etc for free. Would not tell you the specific problem, but would have given you an idea of what to start looking at. But if you take it to the dealership to get the code read and other diagnostics done, then yeah, you are going to pay a hefty sum for it.

The timing chain can be measured without taking it out. But it would require taking some parts off to get to where the tensioner goes in as that is where the measurement is taken.

I'm not sure what would have to be taken off to inspect the coolant pump. The recommendation for a new valve cover could be made based on finding a crack or evidence of a leak from an external inspection.

Bottom line, just because you saw some parts out, doesn't mean the dealership took the engine apart. They probably just removed what was necessary to perform their diagnostics. At this point, you could inform MINI to put everything back together and walk away just paying the diagnostic fee.

 

Your timing chain issue is certainly disconcerting. You are out of warranty by 9k miles and, as everyone knows, this is a problem that Mini should take care of for you.

I would talk to the dealer, maybe the Service Manager, and see if they will cover some of the costs for you.

Two questions, Did you buy the car from this dealer?
Second, they told you to call Mini Roadside Assistance and have it towed even though you are out of warranty. Are they going to bill you for the towing?

I hope you get some assistance from Mini getting these issues resolved. Good Luck!

 

Update:

I woke up this morning and contacted Mini USA and told them of my problem. They said they would look into it and that it wouldn't be decided upon for 5-7 business days and that I needed to fax all of the service records I had for the car to the woman handling my case. She then told me to contact the dealer and see if they could arrange for a loaner to be provided to me.

I recontacted the dealer and told them that I had talked to Mini USA and that I was asking that they cover the costs since it was a known issue. The Service Manager was extremely helpful and told me that I did the right thing. He told me he'd call me back about the loaner within the hour. About 10 minutes later he told me to come down to the dealership and pick up a loaner and that he'd only be able to give it to me until Monday.

I arrived at the dealership and was met by my Service Advisor who told me he was attempting to escalate the matter to their factory rep. He then handed me off to another guy who gave me 5 loaners to choose from, we decided on a Countryman and left.

About an hour later I got a call from the Service Advisor. He informed me that Mini would be picking up the cost in full for the replacement and that they'd be able to have me back in my car by Wednesday of next week. Furthermore, he told me to hold onto my loaner until they had my car to give back to me.

Extremely pleased with the outcome of this and the quick action by Mini to have it resolved and out of their shop at little to no cost to me.

I did not purchase the car from Niello nor did I have any prior work done here. I just moved to Davis to attend UC Davis and this is the closest dealer within 75 miles to me. The service advisor who told me to tow it back to them said I was covered for 4 years and Unlimited miles. I never provided payment to the driver, he merely gave me a tow slip.

 

That is very good news and good on the part of MINI to cover this for you.

 

Yes, that is great news! Glad to hear they are going to take of you.

Your response seems to indicate that they are going to take care of the timing chain issue for you, which is great. Are they fixing the water pump and valve cover also?

 

That's great news for you, but somehow it is also frustrating.

We all know the long history of this problem and the inconsistent responses that have come from MINI USA.

Not sure the background on this car, but can you clarify for us if you had any history of service or complaints about the timing chain before? Ever take it in for the death rattle or cold start chatter that others speak of.

I am just curious.

 

I picked up all of my service records for the car and outside of the standard oil changes at the above noted intervals, I've had the following work done on the car.

Build: 01 May 09
Purchased: 20 June 09

01 SEP 09 / 3,475 = Arches have body cavity wax on them = Replaced arches.
29 SEP 09 / 4,473 = Arches have body cavity wax on them = Replaced arches.
01 DEC 09 / 7,117 = Arches have body cavity wax on them + ROM flux without driver input = Replaced arches + Replaced high pressure fuel pump
21 AUG 10 / 21,095 = Popping present in clutch = Clutch cleaned and relubed
12 FEB 11 / 26,479 = Standard service, front breaks show ware = Front breaks replaced

These are all the services that were done on the car outside of oil services. I've paid zero for mechanical issues with this vehicle.

They will cover the cost of the timing chain, valve cover, and recalled water pump. I'm still on the hook for the coolant pump but will go elsewhere to have it fixed.

Hope that helps give you a good idea of my car's history.

 

Very good news! Mini knows they have a timing chain problem on these cars. You did the right thing by calling Mini USA and they did the right thing by covering the cost.

 

You state having paid "zero" for past repairs. MINI is doing $2,000 + worth of repairs well past the agreed upon warranty and supplying you with alternate transportation. You are going to go "somewhere else" for repairs they are not paying for? Why?

 

Mini is providing over $2,000 worth of repairs to my car due to a flawed part design that has failed in multiple customers vehicles and an alternate form of transportation due to this flawed design failing on a car that has otherwise been taken care of. Furthermore, though this failure occurred after the expiration of my warranty, it is on a part that an owner can reasonably expect not to fail within a much larger window of ownership.

Just because they are picking up a $2,400 tab doesn't make me more inclined to pay for a repair that is quoted $300 more than what a decent private repair shop can provide.

 

My MCS is on it's 2nd timing chain in 3 months and only 5K miles. I'm almost out of warranty at 47K. I was told that the parts and labor are covered for 2 years.

 

I wonder if your first timing chain change was with the same flawed old part numbers. The new part numbers come with a better tensioner and chain that shouldn't result in failure again. I would make sure they're using updated parts.

 

By the terms of the warranty offered and accepted at the time of purchase, MINI has zero obligation to fix your vehicle. As well, by the terms of the warranty, they never had an obligation to alternate transportation even during the warranty. Whether or not the part should have lasted longer is strictly a theory.

I just like to spend my money with those who help me. On the other hand, it is your money.

 

I think its well understood that Mini has no obligation to fix this problem that is present among pre-2011 models, hence the noted frustration by other owners who were not given the same service exception. However, by immediately offering to pay for the repair in full given my vehicle's service history I feel Mini gives truth to the notion that this is a prevalent issue in their vehicles. Additionally, the providing of alternative transportation is in line with the service model Mini wishes to place upon its customers. The hesitation for giving me a loaner is that they obviously steer away from giving out cars long-term.

Lastly, I think it's not a 'theory' that timing-chains should last longer. Timing chains are put in cars instead of timing-belts due to the longer-life offered by the setup. Even with that, my mileage and use would put the engine at the low-end of the estimates for timing-belts, let alone timing-chains.

Niello and Mini USA didn't take care of me in terms of a 'hook up,' they did however, to their credit, step up and take responsibility for this known problem in their vehicles.

 

Just another quick update.

Got a call about my car yesterday afternoon just informing me that I was good to go.

I told the advisor that I would get a few prices on coolant pumps asap and have it swapped out within a week. SA said,

"UA777222, when I called you to tell you that we got it taken care of, I meant that we got it all taken care of. You're good to go. Not a single penny out of your pocket. Just bring my loaner back when you get a chance and your car is good as new."

This is great news and good work by Mini USA and Niello Mini.

 

It's one thing to accept terms of a warranty and another to have known issues crop up after the warranty ends. Known issues should be taken care by the Mini/BMW immediately. To say we'll take care of the problem only when a customer complains is plain BS. Glad to see that Mini/BMW appears to be stepping up and taking care of customers who are out of warranty with known issues... Sometimes...

 

Hi there,
I would really appreciate any information from you. Who did you contact at the BMW? We contacted them but they were utterly unhelpful, making us wait for two weeks and finally not getting back, the result they are not able to help with manufacturer defect.
Thanks,
Karina

 

Hi there,
I would really appreciate any information from you. Who did you contact at the BMW? We contacted them but they were utterly unhelpful, making us wait for two weeks and finally not getting back, the result is they are not able to help us with the manufacturer defect.
Thanks,
Karina