2nd Gen R56 Cooper S Too Many problems at only 28000! Mini 2010 S Convertible

I'd be trading before warranty runs out. And or try to get MINI USA involved.

 

Welcome, thanks for joining Motoring Alliance, the FUN and Friendly MINI Community.

Brakes life is a function of driving style. If you are in traffic a lot you use the brakes a lot and they get used. Combine this with the soft pads MINI uses to enhance the braking performance and you can run into low life situations.

The short is odd.

The bad turbo is not so odd. Did they mention a cause? MINIs need more than the oil change interval that the factory recommended for a 2010. They reduced the 15,000 mile interval to 10 or 12,000 on newer models, I forget the exact number. These cars use oil too, the levels need to be checked often.

It is quite possible that with some more aggressive maintenance than the factory recommends all will be fine for quite some time.

 

Are you the first owner?

If so, I would love to see the mileage intervals you have changed your oil at.

If they are greater than 5K miles, your turbo is of no surprise to me. These arent hondas that dont require you to ever do things. These are FI cars that run hotter and harder than a honda. You should always check your fluids and change them regularly.

With that said 110K miles stock engine and stock turbo without a flaw just goes to show how maintenance can prolong the life of a car.

 

Good luck with MINI USA they don't respond well unless you call several times. Then the guy that calls can't tell you jack so they say we will call you back, right! Don't hold your breath for that call!

 

I'm another voice for maintenance.
Turbo going out that soon COULD be a fluke turbo that had a bad tolerance on moving parts or some sort of QC concern.... But cooling/lubrication is key in keeping a turbocharger alive and healthy, and if you went 15K miles(and most likely didn't check the oil as you may not have known that oil consumption between oil changes IS part of these motors), then I can easily see that causing the turbo failure.

A short happening is what it is. The warranty there is to cover any mechanical defects that arise within the warranty period. You had one(maybe two) defects in 26000+ miles of ownership and all was covered under warranty. On top of that, most dealerships always have loaner cars available so not being able to get where you need to wouldn't even play in, what's the fuss?

Brakes.... I love when people complain about having to replace brakes and the like. It's a wearable item that is GREATLY affected by driving style and condition. You can't really guarantee a life on such an item. 26000 miles on a set of pads sounds more than reasonable to me, what the heck cars have you owned/driven that keep all 4 corners at good usable life for much longer than that??

All in all, I don't see the car itself being at fault a whole lot for the problems explained here. With driving conditions, driving habits and maintenance history not discussed at all, let alone in helpful detail, I can't come to a good conclusion but my gut feeling tells me Turbo=maintenance concerns, Brakes=normal wear and tear, short=a problem that happened to arise as all cars get from time to time, that warranty covered...

 

Brakes.... I love when people complain about having to replace brakes and the like. It's a wearable item that is GREATLY affected by driving style and condition. You can't really guarantee a life on such an item. 26000 miles on a set of pads sounds more than reasonable to me, what the heck cars have you owned/driven that keep all 4 corners at good usable life for much longer than that??


ummmm-actually and in defense of the op, MOST cars brakes last longer than a MINI. As a shop owner and 40 years in the repair business, the MINI brakes HARDER than most cars but the pad life is short. My wifes acura went 80k on the oe pads in heavy Los Angeles traffic, my chevy van, while hard on front pad still wears the original rear shoes at 198k, and it is typical for toyotas and hondas to go 50k plus. none of these vehicles will stop and turn llike a MINI and yes driving style affects brake wear, but any other car the op had before the MINI likely got better pad wear. As for the Turbo, that mileage is low for a first failure, agressive oil maintenance in the 4k to 4500 range will make the new one live much longer.

 

Odd. My 2010 never "used oil". Ever. I was paranoid about it because I kept hearing it. Burning/using oil isn't normal or okay.

Blown turbo? Yipes. That's not usual either.

I had more frequent than usual oil changes. Not sure if it helped or not. I figured it couldn't hurt and given how hard I drove it.

I thrashed the OE front brakes at 28k and my rears at 32k. Oddly my Dad's MINI needed them replaced around the same interval and he only city drives.

When I swapped to EBC Reds they worked better and lived MUCH longer than the OE pads.

Just my experience with my 2010. YMMV.

 

yes, especially with our PCV design, and the turbo motor, some oil consumption IS normal, especially if you were to go by the 15K mile interval MINI suggests. This also is not only a MINI-specific thing. Maybe you haven't been around many modern performance cars or turbocharged engines? When I told a friend I lost 1/4 of a quart in 3K miles he was actually impressed it wasn't about double that. I know it might sound odd, but in quite a few engines, it IS normal and OK, whether you like it or not.

 

I'm glad I saw your intro thread. Else I would have been a bit upset about your "internet demeanor." While I'm far from an expert on MINIs I've dealt with enough R56s with N14 engines to get to know them. Pluses and minuses. With the N14 PCV layout oil blow-by will happen. Some oil will be "used". However, a half quart (or more) in 3k miles is not okay. My opinion, history with other vehicles notwithstanding, won't change on that.

There is no regular recommended interval for changes on the (at least 2008+) R56s. They are dictated by an algorithm which takes mileage/engine temp/engine revs into account to try to determine oil life (as set by MINI of course). Some go as far as 16-17k miles. Others, like mine, shorten to 11k miles. I had mine changed between 5-7k. With no noticeable oil usage at each interval. That was my experience, whether you like it or not.

Regarding the OP there was an issue with some 09s and 10s where the banjo-bolt fails and causes an oil leak and insufficient oil cooling to the turbo. Unchecked, this can easily lead to the turbo overheating and seizing. Good luck getting your MINI sorted out.

 

Regarding that banjo bolt "O" Ring fitting on the turbo....
There was an add-on heat shield that MINI introduced to protect the "O" ring from getting too hot from the turbo's radiant heat, which basically cooks the flexible seal and causes oil leakage... I suspect they are now seeing oil cokeing issues in the small diameter hard line connected to this flexible fitting... They have now re-designed this part by adding additional shielding to protect this hard line... I suspect they are seeing turbo bearing failure associated with cokeing inside this hard line preventing oil flow...

I'm picking my new shield up from the dealer on Wednesday and I'll post comparison pictures of both shields.

Edit: Found a picture of the latest revision with increased heat shielding to further protect the hard pipe...
P/N 11657634747

 

I'm with you. 33K miles since buying used 2006 from dealer with new brake pads at 16K. Now at 49K miles, after 33K miles, brake pads are barely worn, and I live in town. I think they will last as long as any car. It's all in the driving.

Of course, I don't have turbo problems, and so far, no leakage detected in the SC or anywhere else. --Wonderful car! Will probably outlast me. Dynoed at 197 at wheels with stock engine with some bolt-on mods.