I had the death rattle on my 2007 MCS a few months ago. Thanks to the forums I recognized the sound, bought the new longer tensioner bolt for $40, and installed it in 15 minutes. Problem solved. The issue is the chain stretches a little. Installing the new bolt (the spring in the bolt is a lot stronger) re-applied the needed pressure to keep tension on the chain. Really easy and quick. I have to thank the knowledge available on forums lile this. I wouldn't have known about the rattle unless I was reading forums. I feel sad to those that don't read the forums as they will be told the repair is $2000 when a $40 part will fix it (if caught early I'm sure). Also, I totally believe that if I took my car to the dealer when the sound appeared, I am confident I would be told either "it's normal" or "the repair is $2000". Thanks Forum Members for sharing the knowledge.
I think the more important thing is that you were able to recognize the sound and able to change the tensioner yourself. I think the vast majority of MINI owners as well as any other brand car have no clue about what is going on under the hood of their cars these days. Either it "turns on" or it doesn't....anything else they're at a complete loss. I also think a lot of people are getting stirred up unecessarily by posts such as the OP's, it's the only post he made here and I wonder if it was even real, since he made the comment about the lawyers.... There's no question that a number of cars have had problems, and that MINI is trying to not make a big deal out of it, but just fix them as they come up. My dealer now says they've "done their share" of timing chain replacemements which tells me that as the earlier cars have aged and the owner's not been able to respond as you did when your car started making a noise, a lot of MINI engines are going to be repaired and/or replaced, futhering the black eye. I don't know how MINI could have handled this better, it seems they're damned which ever way they go - admitting the problem in the media means a media storm, bad publicity and lost sales; not admitting it and quietly fixing cars while in warranty means you get threads like this, and lawyers trolling for class action suits, and more bad media as well as a bad reputation for cars built in that era. And yet, we still don't know if the issue affects all MINIs of that era, or only a very small per centage. Look how many people were pissing and moaning about bad clutches a short while back, haven't heard about a bad clutch in a while now. Did they all just get better? Or was the number of threads based more or "me too" syndrome, people who think they have a problem when they really don't? I sure don't know......but I find the forum experience to be an interesting study in human nature, that's for sure.....
Yes I agree that BMW/MINI is between a rock & a hard place. Seems to me they should have done the right thing in the beginning. Like extending the warranty on the engine & paying folks for the cost of the repairs that they had to pay out of pocket. Instead they just ignore the problem & hope the owner's MINI goes out of warranty so they do not have to pay for their screw up. BMW/MINI deserves all the bad press they get. IMHO they have earned it. As you may or may not know this same problem is effecting Citroen's & Peugeot's that use the same engine. Maybe it is jut a bit more widespread than you are seeing on the MINI forums. I wish all folks with those engines good luck. It is a fine power plant if it does not self destruct.
The problem is that MINI's handling has been very spotty, some dealers better than others. My major concern is whether the fix is permanent for me. In 5 years from now if it resurfaces MINI is likely not going to do anything for me. I think that they should 'quietly fix' but direct dealers to do so, and then offer a 10-year warranty on the fix.
Having a good dealer is huge. Some dealers work for their customers & some don't give a carp. I feel fortunate that while our local dealers sales staff is not much to talk about the service crew is quite good.
I have 07 mini s.Timming chain let loose at 85,000 miles destroyed motor.Just replaced motor with reman. motor from dealer.does anyone know if the timming chain issue has been addressed in these reman motors. also what is this N14 N18 ? what motor came in an 07 cooper S?
N14 still utilizes a throttle body along the path of inlet air as the direct control of power while the N18. Only uses a throttle body as a secondary airflow control while the VANOS system controls the power directly. N14 Are all hardtops from 2007-2010. N18 Are all hardtops from 2011+