Five problems related to engine oil leaking have been reported for the 2009 Mini Cooper. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I took my Mini Cooper to passport Mini in montgomery county maryland for the hpfp failing where they changed it and then told me that the turbo oil feed line is leaking and that the timing chain had stretched and was going to fail. After I told them that I know that they have had problems and complained some they said that they would cover 30% of the chain replacement and a complete detail of my car and that they were being "generous". I explained to them that I wanted my defective chain fixed not a car wash. After reading this website I am hoping to get the oil feed line replaced too. It to is very well documented. If it goes up in flames while my wife and daughter are in the car which one of the executives at Mini or BMW will write me to apologize for this? this totally unexceptable behavior for a company. Lawyers wont help Mini wont help BMW wont help. No one wants to do the right thing for the consumer anymore! all of us deserve to be treated fairly. This is why we have government, for times like this when the big companies run us over and laugh at us!.
Leak in turbo oil line due to cracks in plastic o-ring. After hundreds of heat cycles, the o-ring cooks its self and starts to leak oil onto the turbo. It seems to me that the product recall and installation of the oil line heat shield by ntsb should have also included recall and replacement of the turbo oil line. The oil line heat shield has not solved the problem of the baked o-ring in the turbo oil line and therefore the turbo oil line should be covered under manufacturer recall/defect!.
Noticed decreased acceleration performance and visibly noticed leaking oil from the top of the turbo system next to the heat shield after returning home after a drive on the freeway. Mini dealer identified the problem as a turbo oil feed line leak. Noticed on NHTSA forums that this is a common issue with Mini owners and could become a fire hazard under the hood if not detected and quickly repaired.
I had my oil changed and automatic shifter replaced under warranty rite around 49500 on odometer. I have a 100k maintenance care plan that covers all engine oil changes, brakes and rotors. But right around 53000 I kept getting the service in 1700 miles light when ever I start the car and goes away. The miles started reducing sooner than the actual miles driven. I went to Mini showroom to check what was going on and they said I need a oil change according to key fob (they changed my engine oil just 3k miles back) . I got the call that afternoon saying my timing chain tensor was bad and leaking oil. It's a car less than 4 years old with 50k miles, this shouldn't happen. They said it can grenade the car if I driving without fixing. The parts was $33 but labor was $400. Wth Mini. People are not buying warranty for this. In the morning I was proud of having a Mini that covered engine oil change under my 100k warranty. But evening $450 ripped off my bank account. Can't take this anymore. Happy I did not grenade my engine. But not happy taking the $450 charge. Some people here get the same problem even after fixing this issue in 20k miles and Mini doesn't seem to keep up their word on there 2 year warranty on their repairs. I think I'm going to change my car in a year. I like the drive but can't take this repair bills.
During my commute to work on 9/27/12, my car completely died while I was driving in the middle lane of the freeway. The car was towed to a garage, where it was found to be leaking an excessive amount of oil. During inspection, it was assessed that the timing chain "jumped" and caused a catastrophic engine failure. At the time of this incident the car had 54k miles on it and there were absolutely no warning signs prior to the failure (I. E. Leaking oil, engine rattle, etc. . . ). Furthermore, since I purchased the car in February 2012, I have performed regular maintenance on this car (new brakes, tires, alignment, regular synthetic oil changes) to ensure it stays in good driving condition. Apparently, this has been a frequently reported issue with Mini Cooper and the problem could have easily resulted in a fatal car accident while I was driving on the freeway! the estimated repair cost (with labor) for this failure is approx 10k!!! Mini should be held responsible for this faulty craftsmanship. A 3 yr car with 54k miles should absolutely not need to have a new engine replaced!!!.