I have an '08 MINI Cooper (non-s) with 71K and I've developed a leak around the water pump. A call to the dealer revealed that this is a "common problem" with leaks/failures occurring between 55K-75K. Might be predictable for a water pump made of plastic... But I'm no engineer.

If you've had a water pump issue, how many miles were on your MINI and how costly was the repair?

 

35k, '07s. Expect about 4hrs labor + 185 for pump + 25 for coolant.

 

Albie, Molly's Water Pump went out while she was still under Warranty so don't know the cost of that repair, I'll check to see what the Mileage was.

Interesting, I just checked my "mobile link" to my Dealership, it does show R&R Waterpump on 3/13/12 Mileage: 43,626 and Cost: $352.83; remember it was under Warranty so I'm surprised to see a dollar figure listed.

 

Could be the value BMW reimbursed the dealer? 350 is cheap for this service....

 

I'm on my third water pump.

First one went around 25,000km, second one around 45,000km. The car is now at a little over 100,000km and the third one is still going strong but ever since it was installed when I turn off the engine it's been giving me a little whine noise like "weeeeeeeeeeeeeeuuuhhh" but I don't get any squeaking at idle and the car doesn't overheat. I gave up worrying about it to be honest.

The first two were both changed under warranty so I don't know how expensive the repair was except they did tell me it was very labour intensive.

Third time's a charm as they say.

 

I bet that's right. I'm lucky - that's exactly what I'll be paying to have this replaced. My MINI friends always seem to come through for me. Just waiting for the pump at this point.

It is labor intensive - the shop where I take my other vehicles didn't want to touch it. And another shop talked about $1,100... I don't even think it would be that much at MINI, but he couldn't stop listing the stuff that has to come off to get at this plastic thing.

Don't get me wrong MINI friends - I love my MINI and won't let this one issue change my opinion of how great a car it is. The truth is $350 goes a long way modding.

 

LOL!!!

Labor intensive you say? What if I told you a water pump job could be done in roughly 2 hours. Lets just say the shop that you say you take your vehicle to that wasn't willing to touch it obviously wasn't willing to make what most average technicians would consider "easy money".

Oh, and if you've recently had your water pump replaced its more then likely a newer updated part which is now no longer plastic, but aluminum.

 

I have an 08 mcs and it began leaking (noticeably) around 70k miles. I think it had actually begun leaking quite a while before that on a more intermittent basis. I replaced it myself using a DIY here on the forum. Took a couple of hours and wasn't a terrible job. The pump I used was a Graf and was about $70. Add the price of some coolant and beers to drink during the job and you are still under $100 for the whole thing! Do it yourself!

 

Welp...I just got my mini the other day and was given the inspection that everything checked out...but the water pump needs to be replaced at 64k. I was quoted 600+ at the dealership plus an additional 800 for the walnut/carbon blasting and fuel injector cleaning. I'm having them do the carbon blasting and I'll take care of the water pump. They said everything else checks out fine though.

Hopefully those are the only hiccups in my Mini ownership. I love the car, but I'm starting to get a sour taste in my mouth.

 

I do believe that it can be done in two hours. That first shop was my body shop - while they do these repairs, he's a much better body guy than a mechanic. I only had it there since he did a great job beating up the insurance company over my recent accident and the adjuster had already been there. I had no intention of having him do this job...

I'm going to be around for the repair since we're doing it up at my Dad's garage - he has a lift. But I wouldn't trust myself to do it alone. And while my Dad has torn down and rebuilt engines for a handful of Mustangs over the years, he'd have no patience for how tight it is in MINI engine bay.

 

Mine started slowly leaking somewhere around 115,000 miles. Still leaking while I try to find a new pump to replace it. Plan is to DIY it, so I'm hopeful I can get out for a little over $100. Probably put a new serpentine belt in as well.

 

I could live with 115K and it going. The MINI tech that's doing this job for me mentioned also doing the serpentine belt. Is now the time?

 

I'm not sure what the expected lifetime is for the belt. In my case, I think some coolant has been getting on it based on the burning rubber smell I get every now and then, so I'm assuming its integrity has been compromised. And since I'll be working on it anyway...

 

I do hope it's fixed in time for the Cheese Rally! Have not seen you since Cleanup at Seatrax house!
Oh this is MINIMOM by the way :D

 

On my 2009 factory JCW, I started to get a slight whine when I turned it off. Brought it over to dealership, and it was water pump. Just over 4 years old, out of warranty and only 18K miles on it. I bought the parts for $200 and paid my MINI mechanic $150 to put it on. Bummed it went out at 18K miles - but, what you going to do?

 

Yes. If it has never been replaced, it makes sense to replace it at the same time. It costs less than $15 as I recall. It's just a matter of pulling the old one off and slipping the new one on while you are doing the pump replacement.

 

03 Mini about 124,000 miles and $1200 at the stealership.

 

I got 07 mini cooper (non-s) with 77k. I'm having idle problem since 6 months ago, I went to several mini specialist shop to find out what the problem is, however nowhere found out.. so I took it to the dealership (my final decision) for diagnosis. I spent $140 for diagnosis and they said my car has problem but it's hard to find out the problem in one hour!! wth? I just took it back and went home and checked the serivce statements. it said water pump need to be replaced. my question is that have you suffer idle problem as well because of water pump?
p.s no check engine light on..
this is what the service statement says
Possible ignition coils interrogated fault memory and found no faults in dme, checked spark plugs and found NGK spark plugs for N14, checked iginition coils, visually ok. performed compression test and found cyl 1 at 190, 2 at 190, 3 at 185, 4 at190, compression ok. test drove vehicle with isid connected and checked diagnostic query, found at times all cylinders misfire at different times. need more diag time to swap ignition coils and test drive again.
Water pump leaking.

 

That shouldn't be a problem, MINIMOM. He should have his nice, ALUMINUM water pump this Sunday and be plenty ready for Cheesiness!

Hmmm... I don't think your idle issue would be related to the water pump. I'm also not sure what a compression test would have to do with an ignition/idling issue. This is probably not related to your issue, but I'll throw it out there since it is ignition related. I have a code that has flashed up twice in the last few thousand miles - a "timing retard" code that both times disappeared the next time I started the car. I'm not having any issues with stalling, hesitation, nothing - the engine sounds fantastic actually. When I brought it into the dealership the code was 2845 DME VANOS. The tech explained it as solenoid that temporarily faulted but when tested was fine and not replaced. That issue remains, but I'm not seeing it in my everyday driving at all.

Just keep an eye on your coolant - you won't get a code for that. Ever. This is not limited to MINI, but I find it odd that you if your coolant drops below the minimum level in the reservoir, it won't throw a code, but if you have a bulb out, you get one. Can someone tell me why this makes sense?

 

I know I'm such a geek... But my water pump's getting done now.

 

Albie...MINI Geekiness is not all bad!! It's not being geeky about your MINI that people would go !!

BTW...it was confirmed yesterday that Molly has a Crankshaft Seal leaking, I'll be doing the Drive Belt at the same time too.

Is it really just a slap on and "go" or does the Hex Bolt on the Dampner need to be replaced as well?

 

Just noticed mine started to leak yesterday. 08 Cooper S with 49,100 miles.

 

I had 2 go before the car even had 50,000km on it. That's about 1 every 25,000km. The 3rd one seems silent although it's been "sighing" on engine shutdown for the last 50,000km so I gave up worrying about it.

 

Mine leaked at 36K. COvered under warranty.

 

How about 12.4K

I think I win