It seems to be one of those issues where you see a lot of variability in how the dealerships handle it. Some are very tough and want to hear/produce the sound themselves. Others are very proactive in fixing it almost based on the customer asking for it just out of worry. jmo, but it seems the latter group recognizes the incredible goodwill they can build for their dealership and the brand by their approach.
My dealer seems to be the pro-active type - I told them I was hearing the noise and they changed it immediately, no muss no fuss. If I had a car in warranty in the 2007-2009 range I would definitely get a new one installed. If out of warranty I'd buy one ($25? for the part) and install it myself, it's a screw in part.....
So is this a 100% defect occurrence, or is it possible that some R56S won't have an issue? It sounds like the tensioner is the item that gets replaced and I thought it had to do with the timing chain length from the supplier being the issue. And Dave, what is the $25 part? I must have fallen asleep on this problem. I knew of the problem, but up to this point I figured mine didn't have the issue????
The tensioner is the part that fails, and when it does the chain can come loose and wreak havoc inside the engine. The tensioner is the $25 part, and it just screws into the head, I'd replace it only because it's such a cheap part and fairly easy to do - just for peace of mind. It's not a 100% failure part, but for no more than the new and improved version costs, why take a chance? Edit: $44.10 on RealOem - #4
Dave.... I liked your first price, can I get it before the new price goes up? LOL Still, cheap as compared to the havoc it can cause. So is it as simple as un screwing the old part and screwing in the new part? Or do you need to pull the valve cover and mess with the innards?
as long as the engine is not turned over you should be fine. Really even if it is I highly doubt it will lose the timing. The tensioner plug like the R53 is located on the back of the block. and in the R56 case below the intake manifold. Personally I would never own one but the instant torque is slightly appealing to me.
It's almost that simple....you do have to press pretty hard on it as you screw it in to compress the spring far enough so the threads will start, but once they do it's just a matter of running it in and torquing it up tight. Job done.
Our dealer "Asks"(nudge, nudge, wink, wink) if you have heard a strange noise when starting cold. You say "YES" (more nudging and winking) that you have, and they replace the tensioner. Mark
My sister owned the car at the time and said death rattle to failure was a very short time period. She noticed it, called the dealer, and it failed before she could get it in to be fixed. The timing chain actually jumped a tooth - darn lucky it didn't lunch the motor entirely. All replaced under warranty at around 43K miles (I'm at 57K now). And FWIW, the clutch had failed at around 40K as well. Don
:cornut:Well let's see here..........Failures/Breaks/Aw Sh#ts. My car: 08 R56 MCS/JCW 6spd manual. This is the best driving/quickest handling/rapidly accelerating/fun car that I've ever owned. ALL the things that have gone wrong were rapidly fixed by the dealer with a smile(and one maint spv retired/disappeared). I still don't have 50kmi yet. 1. reflashed my JCW computer with a MCS program completely disabling the car for 2wks until MINI USA talked to MINI UK who talked to BMW Germany and back down the line with a new JCW computer code(not the car's fault). 2. timing chain tension oiler replaced. 3. head gasket, oil, oil filter,coolant replaced. 4. thermostat, coolant replaced. 5. engine computer replaced. 6. left rear tail light rewired due to factory assembly screw up. All this in addition to normal scheduled maint. The last time in, the dealer(nice people/to remain anon.) asked me whether I wanted to contact MINI USA. Well of course not! That would only bring trouble, to my way of thinking. Besides, the dealer always fixed every thing with a smile and I love that car such that I wouldn't trade her any way. She has over $3k worth of dealer authorized and installed bling(mostly after market). I think that the SAs and TECHs all call in sick when they hear that MINI Margi is coming in though.Good Lord willing, I'll keep that car until I'm not allowed to drive any more. I don't get rid of my children just because they're sickly. Jason