MINI has issued campaign/recall to replace timing chains!
#253
#254
Whatever terminology you wish to use, I was told specifically recall, my Mini is scheduled for repair tomorrow morning. I purchased this car 1 month ago (2nd owner) and the original warranty is expired. They are replacing all timing components and the turbo heat shield for no cost. The car has 30,500 miles on it and has no timing chain rattle.
And if no noise is evident and deflection of the chain is within tolerances or if the updated tensioner was installed prior to your purchase, the Action will not be performed.
#255
I'm sitting at Orlando MINI right now. My SA called the service campaign an actual recall (though I haven't seen that term used for this yet). He also said that unless there's a "leak," components do not get replaced. I asked about the original tensioner being a common problem, he said the campaign is just for diagnostics and that nothing get replaced unless there's a leak.
I'm not sure if we were on two different pages in that part of the conversation (since you'd check slack on a tensioner, not leaks?), but you can bet your behind I'll be upset if what he said is true. When I scheduled the appointment, the service manager told me issues or not, as long as the original part number was still on the vehicle, they get replaced. Maybe I misunderstood and I am way off.
I mean, I get it .. if nothing is broken, then they technically have nothing to fix. I just hate going to dealerships for nothing .. and I'm being mildly grumpy about my Cooper having to be in there for several issues.
I'm not sure if we were on two different pages in that part of the conversation (since you'd check slack on a tensioner, not leaks?), but you can bet your behind I'll be upset if what he said is true. When I scheduled the appointment, the service manager told me issues or not, as long as the original part number was still on the vehicle, they get replaced. Maybe I misunderstood and I am way off.
I mean, I get it .. if nothing is broken, then they technically have nothing to fix. I just hate going to dealerships for nothing .. and I'm being mildly grumpy about my Cooper having to be in there for several issues.
Last edited by babysarah; 11-05-2013 at 08:43 AM. Reason: Wanted to mention ..
#256
I'm sitting at Orlando MINI right now. My SA called the service campaign an actual recall (though I haven't seen that term used for this yet). He also said that unless there's a "leak," components do not get replaced. I asked about the original tensioner being a common problem, he said the campaign is just for diagnostics and that nothing get replaced unless there's a leak.
I'm not sure if we were on two different pages in that part of the conversation (since you'd check slack on a tensioner, not leaks?), but you can bet your behind I'll be upset if what he said is true. When I scheduled the appointment, the service manager told me issues or not, as long as the original part number was still on the vehicle, they get replaced. Maybe I misunderstood and I am way off.
I mean, I get it .. if nothing is broken, then they technically have nothing to fix. I just hate going to dealerships for nothing .. and I'm being mildly grumpy about my Cooper having to be in there for several issues.
I'm not sure if we were on two different pages in that part of the conversation (since you'd check slack on a tensioner, not leaks?), but you can bet your behind I'll be upset if what he said is true. When I scheduled the appointment, the service manager told me issues or not, as long as the original part number was still on the vehicle, they get replaced. Maybe I misunderstood and I am way off.
I mean, I get it .. if nothing is broken, then they technically have nothing to fix. I just hate going to dealerships for nothing .. and I'm being mildly grumpy about my Cooper having to be in there for several issues.
The term 'leak' is a little unusual since they should be checking the tensioner in units of mm. If you don't like what you hear, ask to speak to the service manager to get clarification.
#257
The question I have that hasn't been answered yet, to my knowledge, is what will MINI do for us if we bring our cars in, they check and see that the updated tensioner is in place (like my car), but some time down the road the updated tensioner fails? Is MINI still going to replace the entire cartridge assembly like they are now? Or are we SOL for those of us that got the updated tensioner before this campaign came out?
#258
The question I have that hasn't been answered yet, to my knowledge, is what will MINI do for us if we bring our cars in, they check and see that the updated tensioner is in place (like my car), but some time down the road the updated tensioner fails? Is MINI still going to replace the entire cartridge assembly like they are now? Or are we SOL for those of us that got the updated tensioner before this campaign came out?
#259
Just had my Clubman serviced at Braman BMW/Mini. Engine is noticeably smoother. They found pieces of the guide rail at the bottom of my oil pan so oil and filter were part of recall. They even supplied me with a loaner for the 4 days my Clubman was in the shop. I am attaching a copy of my receipt for each part number with their findings. Good luck
#261
#262
#263
Alright update on my situation, and review(again) of my local dealer so far, since everyone seems to have some seriously crappy and shady dealerships around them:
-Called yesterday to schedule the appointment. They said I could drop it off that night after work to be looked at today.
-They had a loaner car waiting (base model Paceman. YUCK) since they had already had my insurance and drivers licence info from the last time I came in.
-Got a call at about 2PM today stating it's all done and ready to be picked up.
The verdict: "You have the updated part number, no service needed". The service adviser couldn't tell me what specific part they check, but I'm a bit annoyed that it's "updated part or not" rather than checking deflection.
Other items: New heat shield installed on the oil feed line to the turbo as expected.
Contact with MINI about the hood scoop resulted in them telling me "there is no association between the warped hood scoop and any kind of recalls, nothing we can do for you on that".
So over all I'm mixed. I'm annoyed that they don't check the timing chain, they just check the part number of some mystery part (SA told me it was the cam or something to do with the cam??? I suspect they just check for the updated tensioner.). My issue with this verdict is that I installed the new tensioner myself. I didn't measure the chain or anything, I didn't change any of the timing components BUT the tensioner. So if the chain or any other components were on their way out when the tensioner was replaced, I'm screwed I guess?
I'm also annoyed that a very obvious design flaw causes the hood scoop to warp, but MINI neither gives me the under hood shield that the later cars has, nor do they replace my warped scoop. Bad design, common problem, zero give a fukc on their end.
My dealer over all is great though. Never any hassle on getting me a loaner or bringing my car in to do a free diagnostic on the car. Heck, they did a full on inspection last time which resulted in me buying a new output seal that I wasn't aware of needing. So some good came from it!
-Called yesterday to schedule the appointment. They said I could drop it off that night after work to be looked at today.
-They had a loaner car waiting (base model Paceman. YUCK) since they had already had my insurance and drivers licence info from the last time I came in.
-Got a call at about 2PM today stating it's all done and ready to be picked up.
The verdict: "You have the updated part number, no service needed". The service adviser couldn't tell me what specific part they check, but I'm a bit annoyed that it's "updated part or not" rather than checking deflection.
Other items: New heat shield installed on the oil feed line to the turbo as expected.
Contact with MINI about the hood scoop resulted in them telling me "there is no association between the warped hood scoop and any kind of recalls, nothing we can do for you on that".
So over all I'm mixed. I'm annoyed that they don't check the timing chain, they just check the part number of some mystery part (SA told me it was the cam or something to do with the cam??? I suspect they just check for the updated tensioner.). My issue with this verdict is that I installed the new tensioner myself. I didn't measure the chain or anything, I didn't change any of the timing components BUT the tensioner. So if the chain or any other components were on their way out when the tensioner was replaced, I'm screwed I guess?
I'm also annoyed that a very obvious design flaw causes the hood scoop to warp, but MINI neither gives me the under hood shield that the later cars has, nor do they replace my warped scoop. Bad design, common problem, zero give a fukc on their end.
My dealer over all is great though. Never any hassle on getting me a loaner or bringing my car in to do a free diagnostic on the car. Heck, they did a full on inspection last time which resulted in me buying a new output seal that I wasn't aware of needing. So some good came from it!
#264
Alright update on my situation, and review(again) of my local dealer so far, since everyone seems to have some seriously crappy and shady dealerships around them: -Called yesterday to schedule the appointment. They said I could drop it off that night after work to be looked at today. -They had a loaner car waiting (base model Paceman. YUCK) since they had already had my insurance and drivers licence info from the last time I came in. -Got a call at about 2PM today stating it's all done and ready to be picked up. The verdict: "You have the updated part number, no service needed". The service adviser couldn't tell me what specific part they check, but I'm a bit annoyed that it's "updated part or not" rather than checking deflection. Other items: New heat shield installed on the oil feed line to the turbo as expected. Contact with MINI about the hood scoop resulted in them telling me "there is no association between the warped hood scoop and any kind of recalls, nothing we can do for you on that". So over all I'm mixed. I'm annoyed that they don't check the timing chain, they just check the part number of some mystery part (SA told me it was the cam or something to do with the cam??? I suspect they just check for the updated tensioner.). My issue with this verdict is that I installed the new tensioner myself. I didn't measure the chain or anything, I didn't change any of the timing components BUT the tensioner. So if the chain or any other components were on their way out when the tensioner was replaced, I'm screwed I guess? I'm also annoyed that a very obvious design flaw causes the hood scoop to warp, but MINI neither gives me the under hood shield that the later cars has, nor do they replace my warped scoop. Bad design, common problem, zero give a fukc on their end. My dealer over all is great though. Never any hassle on getting me a loaner or bringing my car in to do a free diagnostic on the car. Heck, they did a full on inspection last time which resulted in me buying a new output seal that I wasn't aware of needing. So some good came from it!
#265
#266
Just had my Clubman serviced at Braman BMW/Mini. Engine is noticeably smoother. They found pieces of the guide rail at the bottom of my oil pan so oil and filter were part of recall. They even supplied me with a loaner for the 4 days my Clubman was in the shop. I am attaching a copy of my receipt for each part number with their findings. Good luck
Some of you are lucky that you got to use a MINI loaner. I was stuck with a Chevy Cruze!
#267
To shed some light on this issue that Injected and I are having, I emailed my SA about what was done when my car was in for the timing chain campaign.
I asked: "When the timing chain tensioner was checked, was the valve cover pulled to check the measurement of the chain, or was the tensioner the only thing that was looked at, to see if it was dimpled."
His reply was: "The recall is for an inspection of the tensioner, to verify which version is there. If we’ve got some rattling, or timing faults the tech might fish and take the covers off inspect for broken guides, but the recall doesn’t pay for that. SO, most techs won’t do it without already having a strong expectation of what they’re going to find."
So take that for what you will. Quite frankly, I'm mixed between disappointment and relief because, while it's nice to know I have the dimpled tensioner, it would have been more reassuring to have an actual measurement of chain slack, because as Injected mentioned, there's no saying the chain was starting to go out of spec when the new tensioner was installed. Kind of a half-hearted response from MINI on this issue, IMO
I asked: "When the timing chain tensioner was checked, was the valve cover pulled to check the measurement of the chain, or was the tensioner the only thing that was looked at, to see if it was dimpled."
His reply was: "The recall is for an inspection of the tensioner, to verify which version is there. If we’ve got some rattling, or timing faults the tech might fish and take the covers off inspect for broken guides, but the recall doesn’t pay for that. SO, most techs won’t do it without already having a strong expectation of what they’re going to find."
So take that for what you will. Quite frankly, I'm mixed between disappointment and relief because, while it's nice to know I have the dimpled tensioner, it would have been more reassuring to have an actual measurement of chain slack, because as Injected mentioned, there's no saying the chain was starting to go out of spec when the new tensioner was installed. Kind of a half-hearted response from MINI on this issue, IMO
#268
All my service advisor did was scan my key FOB and then stated they would replace the timing components. My car was not touched until the next day. I assume the FOB told him that I did not have the updated tensioner. Only after the car was repaired did I find out the chain was at 70mm. This was the first time that I have ever been to this dealer, as I had just purchased the car (not purchased there). If the repairs are truly up to the dealers discretion, I was really lucky to have such a great dealer so close to home!
#269
I am taking mine into St Louis MINI tomorrow with my letter.
I replaced the tenser myself with the newer model the day after I bought it with ~40,000 miles on the clock. I did not measure the timing chain.
I will make sure they check the chain and let them know that I do here rattling when I cold start the engine.
I will update with my results.
I replaced the tenser myself with the newer model the day after I bought it with ~40,000 miles on the clock. I did not measure the timing chain.
I will make sure they check the chain and let them know that I do here rattling when I cold start the engine.
I will update with my results.
#270
Update: mine is in the shop as of right now. They said it is a one day thing. they are doing the tensioner and adding the turbo heat shield. they gave me a 2013 clubman s automatic for my loaner car. got to say it's not a bad car. I would prefer a manual but the auto actually shift pretty good and it goes just as fast as my hardtop.
#271
Update: mine is in the shop as of right now. They said it is a one day thing. they are doing the tensioner and adding the turbo heat shield. they gave me a 2013 clubman s automatic for my loaner car. got to say it's not a bad car. I would prefer a manual but the auto actually shift pretty good and it goes just as fast as my hardtop.
As for my concern, after emailing the SA, he checked with the technician who apparetly DID measure the chain(he says they measure via the tensioner hole?), and mine was at 63mm, and the tolerance cut off is 68mm. He said that they've been just doing them if they're even 2-3MM on the good side to be safe, but mine was so far in the green they would not be able to do so.
#272
That's BS. I got a BASE Countryman and Paceman. You at least got a turbo lol.
As for my concern, after emailing the SA, he checked with the technician who apparetly DID measure the chain(he says they measure via the tensioner hole?), and mine was at 63mm, and the tolerance cut off is 68mm. He said that they've been just doing them if they're even 2-3MM on the good side to be safe, but mine was so far in the green they would not be able to do so.
As for my concern, after emailing the SA, he checked with the technician who apparetly DID measure the chain(he says they measure via the tensioner hole?), and mine was at 63mm, and the tolerance cut off is 68mm. He said that they've been just doing them if they're even 2-3MM on the good side to be safe, but mine was so far in the green they would not be able to do so.
#273