2nd Gen R56 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: Timing Chain Issues

Just spent $1800 getting a timing chain issue fixed, customer service at MINI USA is useless and the only way to talk to somebody higher up is to snail mail corporate in Jersey.

 

Where are you located and who is your dealer?

 

2008 MINI Cooper S with 70K miles - I am second owner purchased in 03/2011. Just had this issue fixed on 09/14/2012 but still had extended warranty as CPO. Makes me angry that there is no oil sensor and MINI knows this is an issue. Doesn't make sense...:confused5:

 

Dipsticks are great. I use mine. :smilewinkgrin:

 

I've noticed that many of the loudest complainers also only have 1 post or maybe 2, so I wonder how and why they got to this forum, and whether they really own a car or not?

You read about this stuff all the time, people going into forums to stir up stuff when they don't even own one of the cars in question.

And to Mr. 2 Posts who thinks I'm being cavalier in my attitude - we're each entitled to our opinion. I think I've expressed several times in this thread alone that I feel for those who are getting caught out of warranty by this, however in my experience, a class action suit does little to nothing for the complainants, and anyone who thinks they'll get a free engine or lifetime care of this specific problem thru a lawsuit like this is dreaming.

Several people have indicated that the best way to get help for something like this is to calmly talk to the service manager and ask for help - not demand. But I have to say, if my engine was making noise at 51K and it didn't let go till 85K, it seems like that would be hard to put on the manufacturer.

If that's being cavalier.............OK.

I think my point was more the mfr does not owe anyone lifetime warranty care, and financially they aren't going to provide it carte blanche for cars outside the warranty period, "known issue" or not.

BTW, I'd like someone to explain to me what they think a "known issue" is? If you're saying that a statistically tiny number of cars experiencing a problem means a manufacturer should fix all of them forever for free, I'm afraid I don't see it happening.

 

I totally agree. Especially when you see posts such as this one.

Hi There...I'm an original owner of a 2008 Mini Cooper Clubman. I took in the car because the engine light was on. It was diagnosed with a bad turbo...even though I changed the oil every 5-7K with the designated synthetic oil. This was a hard pill to swallow at $3400.00 but it was the best option considering I owe 17K on the car and it's only worth 17K with a good turbo. So...I said okay on the repair. The shop called me on the day it was supposed to be done and said they had bad news. When they went to get the car started, the timing belt busted when it turned over and the engine is toast. So...any ideas out there? I've read about peeps with issues in the turbo AND the timing belt.

Note that this person has only made this post and one other plus is complaining about something which happened while the car was supposedly in the dealers possession. To say nothing of the fact that how could the timing belt break on a car which does not have a timing belt? This tells me that this is a phony user who is just trying to stir up trouble.

Car dealers service departments are not out to screw the customer. They normally want to do just about anything to make you happy that way you will come back and buy another car and continue to have them service it instead of taking it somewhere else. They don't want to loose the service revenue so it is in their best interest to keep you happy. Now if you don't follow the normal rules and then try to blame them for the problems you created I don't blame them for telling you to take a hike.

 

Had mine along with the timing chain replaced this week. Car did not go in for it, but they found the problem during other repairs. Read about the fun here. lol

 

What is your mileage?

 

23,353 when going in for service

 

Interesting.... Was it making the classic "Diesel / Cold Start Noise", that alerted the tech, or are they being ""Pro-active""??

 

I was also wondering if they were being proactive about it. When I brought it in, I heard nothing out of the ordinary on a cold start. I am wondering if when he was fixing the exhaust mainfold leak, he just decided to keep going.

 

Welp.... then you have a good dealer there....

 

Hi, I am new to this forum, but registered because I'm having an issue with my timing. My car stalls out as I slow down at stops. I believe it is a timing chain issue. I am a single mom and trying to figure out the least expensive fix. I had a tensioner put on and it stopped the noise and stalling for all of three days. no dummy lights were on. now its showing a hoist light and a brake light? Has anyone else had a problem like this? And if so? How did you go about getting it fixed?

 

Sounds like your brake fluid and brake pads may need to be replaced.... Unrelated to your stalling issues...