Timing Tensioner Problems of Mini Cooper S - part 2

Timing chain mechanism (tensioner seemed to be main culprit) failing and system needed replacement. Total cost $2500. Car had 33,000 easy miles on it. Mechanic said timing system was on the verge of failing traumatically and destroying the engine. Reported it to Mini, who admitted they have been having a lot of trouble with those but there had been no recall so they couldn't help me. Replacement parts were different serial numbers than the originals indicating, per my mechanic, they had redesigned the parts.

See all problems of the 2008 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

With only 23,000 miles, engine exibited a loud rattling noise at idle, and running up to about 2800 rpm, when noise would disappear. Took it immediately to dealer, who diagnosed it as a failure of the timing chain tensioner piston; that failure caused the chain to skip and throw the cam timing out of alignment, according to the dealer. . . Cost of $188. 00 to replace timing chain tensioner, and $471 to diagnose cam timing skip and restore cam timing. . . Total cost $659. Dealer refused to submit claim to Mini north America for goodwill coverage, despite outstanding condition, low mileage, regular dealer maintenance, and proper oil levels and change intervals. This issue with the timing chain tensioner failure and resulting damage is well known and well documented and should be the subject of a recall and repair of entire timing chain system at Mini's cost-- severe cases can result in catastrophic engine failure at highway speed and potential crashes/fatalitites. Nhtsa, please make Mini do the right thing!!!!.

See all problems of the 2007 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

I have been experiencing a major flaw with oil supply/return lines to the turbo. A condition exists where if left unattended and uncared for creates the high risk of fire and subsequent loss of engine/vehicle. This event can happen at any time the car is being driven and/or later parked. The risk is created when oil accumulates, either through time or over a leisure drive, and collects near/on the exhaust manifold & turbo components, both of which operate at extremely high temperatures. It is becoming a daily task to look under the car hood and investigate for accumulation of oil near these parts due to the fact that the car smells of burning petroleum. Need I be more apparent of burning oil that will burn and destroy a car due to a faulty product? this has been occurring for the majority life of the car but he issue has never been professionally addressed due to disregard of the Mini/BMW dealerships to accept this design flaw. If researched further, there are many standard examples of this design flaw and numerous descriptions, images, examples, forums, and complaints of this flaw occurring in many cars of various styles, mileage, and trims occurring within the same year model of 2007. I have also experience many of the major flaws already listed and complained about on the nhsta such as the ¿death rattle¿ belt tensioner failing (luckily no catastrophic engine failure and which has been listed numerous times on nhsta, numerous), valve cover replacement (also listed), etc. Nhsta, address this problem as it is an avid and dangerous safety issue. The common person does not check under the hood daily and its only time before someone parks their Mini in a garage and the home goes down in flames. I personally don¿t park the Mini in the garage for fear of fire. Do not repair the Mini with the same faulty oil line design. Recall design.

Without warning or cause, the timing chain & tensioner failed, which ruined my engine. Just the timing chain costs $2000-$3000 to fix, but since my engine is gone as well that number is more like $6000-$7000. This is a 2007, and sinking half of the value of the car back into it does not make sense. This is a huge issue that needs to be dealt with. It is obviously a manufacturer issue as others have also reported this issue at various mileage stages. Please do something about this.

Timing chain tensioner, a well known problem with these cars. . . I worked my a** off for a year saving up for one of these cars and what do you know the tensioner goes. . . Mini does not care about you or the car they sell, its all about taking whats in your wallet and putting it in theres, dont buy one of these cars and not expect to pay for it twice literally in fixing it. .

While driving the car (gas) started running rough and sounded like it was a diesel. After some research I found that the tensioners in the engine are worn out. I had the upper replaced, but the others also need replacing. Based on my own research, it appears the problem is related to the manufacturer's recommended oil change. The company recommends changing oil every 15000 miles with syntetic oil. The fix is supposedly to change the oil at half that, 7500. I've been told this could result in the timing chain coming off and the engine being trashed.

Mini released a service bulletin (campaign: sim 11 02 12) regarding faulty timing chain tensioner. At appx. 40k miles, my Cooper S was taken in for service and it was reported there was a "rattle" in the front of the engine. The dealership replaced the tensioner under warranty. Now the same issue has occurred. I am being told the entire timing chain assembly needs replacement at an approximate cost of $3k. Mini has offered to pay 1/2 the cost. There is no explanation why the repair is not covered under 2 year replacement tensioner warranty; since this original issue was only partly addressed while in 50k car warranty. My Mini now has 77k. Once warranty request is submitted from dealer to Mini corporate, decision is final. There is no appeal. Failure to perform service will result in engine failure in near future.

See all problems of the 2009 Mini Cooper S 🔎.

I took my Mini s in to the shop for brake maintenance, to be told that the tensioner had failed and the timing chain kit had to be replaced. Unnecessary to mention, this is a very expensive repair. After doing much research, I have found that the tensioner in the Mini has been an issue for quite some time, some sites have quoted since 2007. Had I not taken my car in for a completely unrelated issue, my timing chain could have broken, resulting in a thrown rod and a blown engine, which can be incredibly dangerous. This tensioner is a defective piece which causes significant damage to the timing chain and area components when it fails. Due to the nature of this issue and the number of complaints seen on the web, a manufacturer's recall should be made.

Engine rattle on cold start indicated a loose or stretched timing chain. Required a premature replacement of timing chain, guides and tensioner.

The timing chain tensioner backed out of the engine block allowing engine oil to be pumped out of the engine. The tensioner works on engine oil pressure and it backed out far enough to allow the engine oil that normally pressurized the piston to be pumped out of the engine. I was lucky enough to see the streak of oil as I backed out of the driveway, but if I had not I am sure that more damage and potential fire would have occurred. This is surprising as this same part was replaced under a recall for being faulty. I believe that this is still a design flaw and something that should be addressed by Mini.

Have had a severe rattling noise from engine for some time now, research says that it is a faulty timing chain tensioner problem. Also have a leaking oil supply line to the turbo. Both problems are major issues for which there has been no recalls from Mini. These are both extremely expensive repairs which I can not afford. . . . . . . There should be recalls on these problems! please help. . . . .

Vehicle was taken to dealership in Feb 2012 for a rattling noise. Service center at braman miami said that they could not duplicate the noise, so it was assumed they found nothing wrong with the vehicle. Prior to this, the vehicle had been in the shop 2-3 times due engine malfunction light, rough idle at cold start and loss of turbo power due to leakage in turbo oil feed lines. This was repaired in early 2012/late 2011. In December of 2012, while driving the rattling noise of the complaint in Feb 2012 intensified and oil light illuminated while driving. Car was pulled over to safe location. Once car was stopped, the engine malfunction light also illuminated. Driver checked oil level, which appeared low but within the marks on the dipstick. Oil splatter was observed on the hood and on engine. Rubber gasket feeding to engine was observed to be displaced where oil appeared to have leaked out. Vehicle was towed to braman miami. Service department reported that failure was caused by timing chain/tensioner issue. Service dept is charging 17k usd for repairs as it is not found to be under the scope of warranty of previous repairs to the turbo oil feed lines. Mini has been contacted to see if any relief can be provided as this seems to be a common issue with these vehicles.

12/14/I drove home from work. I had no problems driving, but heard a bit of a cold start knock. 12/15/car didn't start in the morning. I immediately got the car towed to herb chambers in boston, where I had exclusively taken it to every maintenance check-up and issue I had since I purchased it new at the same location, even after my warranty had expired. 12/16/herb chambers performed a diagnosis for $135, and said that the timing chain was broken, which would cost $2,500 to fix. However, they also said that other engine parts may be broken, but they wouldn't know until they started working on the timing chain. As you can see, I was not happy at all with this inconclusive diagnosis. Do I pay $2,500 for them to then tell me it actually needs a new engine for close to $10,000, or do I tow it elsewhere? 12/17/towed car to german performance service for a more complete diagnosis, which showed that the timing chain and tensioner were broken, as well as most valves and other engine parts. We conclude that it is cheaper to replace the entire engine ($3,213 + $1,980 of labor = $5,193) than to fix everything individually, which would be more labor intensive. 12/21/I contacted Mini USA to inform them about my situation and how unpleased I was with herb chamber's extremely vague diagnosis, as well as Mini's major timing chain flaw. Mini USA completely ignored my request for the sole reason that I took my car to a 3rd party mechanic. They said that if I had stayed at the dealer (even though they gave me an incomplete diagnosis), that they may have helped me out. 12/30/I contacted herb chambers boston with the same concerns. They understood my points, but said that unfortunately they cannot force the manufacturer to do anything they do not want to do. As a small gesture, they did give me back what they charged me for their initial diagnosis ($135).

The timing chain tensioner fails causing the engine to suffer catastrophic failure. The customer is expected to pay out of pocket for a repair even though Mini has admitted a poor design and are replacing tensioners via a campaign. The customer will not get reimbursement.

Began to hear loud knocking noise from engine of my 4 year old Mini @ 66000 miles. Have had my Mini serviced according to the schedule at the same dealership for 4 years. After hearing the noise did research online to notice that Minis have a timing belt /tensioner issue. Noticed on the same night that my oil light came on and the interesting thing is that I just had my oil changed in August of 2012 and this was November 2012. Took car to dealer and the servicer said they had heard of some Mini's timing chains failing at 14k miles. After diagnosis he notes that it is the timing chain and that the oil filter gasket was leaking which caused the timing chain to fail. This is not correct as my vehicle has never leaked oil, and I had just gotten my oil changed 3 months earlier and no mention was made by my service technician. This seems to be a common issue in Minis and they are not providing any kind of relief.

Driving vehicle heard some engine noise and observed red oil indicator came on. Pulled over and checked oil level, appeared to be low. . I immediately put in two quarts of oil only to see it all seep out and through both front wheel wells. Appeared to be an issue with the timing chain tensioner.

I own a 2007 Mini Cooper S, that I purchased brand new in June of 2007. I immediately fell in love with the car and knew that this would be the last car I would ever own. It is a $31,000 car that I have blood, sweat, and tears made expensive ($560/month) payments on for the last five years. About two years into owning this car, I noticed when it was cold out that my Mini would get what is now known as "the death rattle". When I called ralph schomp Mini (where I had purchased it), they told me that the noise was nothing that I had to worry about and that it just had to do with cold weather. A year after that my Mini would struggle to get moving, I thought it was a battery problem, again the mechanics at ralph schomp Mini told me not to worry about it, again just cold weather. A couple weeks ago, I noticed that my car was acting up severely. The check engine light came on. Then a couple days later it went off and it seemingly stopped having issues. About a week after that, it started acting up again and the check engine light came back on. I attempted to take it to another auto place to have it diagnosed, but it was non-conclusive, and the symptoms only got worse. I had my Mini towed back to ralph schomp Mini, and their diagnosis resulted in saying that the timing chain tensioner malfunctioned and had come loose which did significant damage to the engine and that I would need to replace the engine. An engine supposedly built to last at least to 250,000 miles only made it until 52,000 miles and will cost me as much as $8,000 to repair. My warranty expired literally six months ago, and I am only about three months away from having her paid off. In looking up this issue online, many other 2007 Mini owners have also had this issue. I am incredibly disappointed in the entire situation, and would encourage a recall to be issued on 2007 Mini Cooper S.

Bought car from dealership after a lot of research on issues with these cars an complaints. Brought varro Mini dealership and asked about timing chain and tensioner and was told mine was fine even though they never opened up cover to inspect chain or tensioner. Have been back three different times with multiple issues with timing chain/tensioner horrible rattle. Mini says there is no known defects with timing chain/ tensioners ever brought up. I then was told by my brother that he I taking his Mini in for a service action on the timing chain/tensioner, turbo heat shield, thermostat housing. We have exact same car, same build date, and rolled out from same factory but Mini states ours isn't covered under the service action even though we have the exact same car and everything. And my brother is also out of warranty but theirs is getting fixed free. Please help. I am aware of the freeman-skeen class action lawsuit and have file a complaint with bbb so I guess I'll have to find legal help since they don't pay attention to NHTSA complaints.

Was driving back from vacation, and upon getting off the highway we had noticed a loud rattling was coming from the engine. Brought the car to a mechanic who said the timing chain tensioner had failed, resulting in the timing chain to be loose and destroy the rails it rode on. Upon looking into this issue further, discovered there is a TSB out about this issue, and many owners have had this same problem, but it is not a recall yet.

Mini USA was well aware of the massive timing chain problem (affecting 500,000 Mini coopers),but refused to fix it because it was out of warranty. I've complained of the cantankerous rattle during a cold start which was clearly related to the failing timing chain due to a defective and poorly designed timing chain tensioner. (apparently Mini has come out with a new one due to this problem). The dealership quoted me $1800 to replace the whole chain assembly. I ultimately took it an independent Mini mechanic and had it replaced for less ($1144). Now I am hearing that Mini dealerships are replacing this defective part beyond the warranty period. I believe that there is now a campaign to replace the tensioner and chain. They should have replaced it when the problems were obvious and should now compensate those who've paid out of their own pockets for this poorly designed part.

The timing tensioner on my Mini Cooper S backed out, resulting in a massive oil loss while at highway speeds. This is apparently a known issue by Mini, but no known recall has been issued at this point.

Engine timing chain tensioner malfunctioning causing decreased accelerating power and a loud rubbing/knocking noise when driving, that will cause engine damage if not promptly fixed. It is a well know Mini cooper problem (2007 models to current year) and the Mini dealership I took mine to has had many complaints about the issue. Mini has came out with replacement parts and a service guide on how to repair the issue at a hefty cost (if the engine hasn't already been damaged); however, Mini/bwm has not issued a recall or replacement at no cost to consumers to back up their product. Estimates for repair in my area were $1300-$1600 if repairable because again, it will cause engine failure if not fixed quickly. My car has 41,000 and have had my Mini serviced at the designated time intervals at only Mini services areas. Such a major repair that could have eventually caused my engine to stop working should not happen at 41,000 miles. Mini/bwm should back up there product with repairs and needs to find an ultimate fix because it is an issue even in the current models.

Knocking noise when starting and running. I thought it was from the wrong fuel added to it, or low oil when I purchased it. I corrected those two issues, but it still makes the knocking noise. I am very afraid it will seize. I believe the timing chain and tensioner system needs to be replaced.

Engine is rattling horribly. In doing some research it sounds like what most are calling the "rattle of death". The timing chain is making entirely too much noise. And car is running poorly. I can not and will not drive this car till it is repaired! this is a potential catastrophic engine failure. Mini cooper knows about this major engineering problem and will not issue a recall. Repair estimates are as much as $2500. 00 for timing chain and timing chain tensioner.

Timing chain and tensioner failure mentioned by others also occurred in my car. Failure in my case was progressive: started with rough starts, noisy idle (from chain impacting cover!) progressed to non-existent acceleration above 4000 rpms (a safety issue on the highway) . Brought the car to mechanic and while he was investigating the obvious air leak, car failed to start. Dealer eventually discovered bent valves from impact with piston preventing proper seal, but only after replacing snapped tensioner guides and timing chain dropped into oil pan for $2,525. Had this occurred while driving it poses a significant safety issue. Then they tell me they can replace all valves for $4,500. Total cost, over $7,000. Effectively, this is a total engine failure and it would be cheaper to drop in a complete new engine. Mini and their dealers are well aware of this problem and as it can - and has - resulted in failures for other motorists at highway speeds it poses significant safety risk and should be addressed with a recall.

Mini cooper drivers around the u. S. And world have been reporting a strange knocking/rubbing noise coming from the engine compartment for the year 2007+ Mini cooper. From the misc dealer repair details it appears to be a issue with the timing chain and tensioner system. It also appears the without being fixed the car will eventually have a timing chain failure and possible motor destruction. On a good note BMW/Mini know what the problem is however is failing to come up with or acknowledge a permanent solution. How many customers issues will it take before BMW/Mini will issue a full recall?.

The cold start rattle was/is being caused by the timing chain tensioner (which is in turn powered by an oil-pressurized piston). More specifically the sound is caused when the tensioner piston doesn't extend all the way (or at all) which then allows the timing chain to come in contact with the guides on the engine cover.

Took my car into the Mini dealer today due to the fact that it was idling low, sounded like a diesel when it turned on and made a knocking noise. Mini let me know that it was in fact my timing chain and tensioner system that was making this sound and needed to be replaced. If it had not been replaced, I could have experienced complete engine failure. My Mini is not the only one that has had this problem, therefore I feel like Mini should cover the cost of fixing my timing chain and tensioner since it is going to cost me approximately $2,500 to fix it. I guess I should be thankfully that I was able to get my Mini to the dealer before it suffered a complete engine failure.

My Mini Cooper S has less than 60000 miles on it with proper maintenance and has had failure of the friction wheel (aka timing chain or tensioner system). The first signs of the issue are a very loud, rattling noise during acceleration and as the problem gets worse, it continues to rattle during idling. The Mini corporation is very aware of this problem and while the dealership itself worked with me to lower the cost because they say it happens frequently even with proper maintenance on the car and while the vehicle is still under warranty, the corporation wouldn't acknowledge or help with the cost to fix it. Also, if the problem isn't fixed immediately, it will lead to a blown engine. Furthermore, I have read that several Mini owners have replaced the friction wheel only to have the same problem reappear not long afterwards. This is an issue of faulty manufacturing and Mini needs to stand up and absorb the cost to fix it and/or recall the Minis affected to ensure it no longer happens.

Vehicle makes a loud noise from the engine compartment at cold start, dealer informed me it's the timing chain and tensioner, total cost about $1950. 00. Dealer informed me it's a common problem but there is no recall from Mini USA.

Strange knocking/rubbing noise coming from the engine compartment for the year 2007+ Mini cooper. From the Mini dealer repair details it appears to be a issue with the timing chain and tensioner system. It also appears that without being fixed the car will eventually have a timing chain failure and possible motor destruction. This could occur while driving and I could lose control of the vehicle causing a crash. Mini will not fix this problem that they know about without the vehicle still being under warranty. I call for a recall.

On cold starts, it has become a documented issue that 07-11 "s" models have an issue with a horrible rattle upon starting. This can become a catastrophic failure for many people who have experienced this issue. This is due to a tensioning mechanism which allows too much travel in the timing chain. This can allow the chain to jump or break which can cause a complete engine failure. The fix involves relplacement of the timing chain and a redesigned tensioner. BMW acknowledges this issue, but will not help out Mini owners even at a reduced rate. With just a short search on the internet, it is easy to find thousands of owners who have experienced this issue and are asking for help to resolve the issue, with no luck.

Timing chain and timing chain tensioner broken and damaged the engine at mile 48544 - 48552.

We purchased this car in late sept. /early oct. 2012 with 29k miles on the car. My wife drives this car, and while traveling on the interstate, as she was entering the off ramp in forest lake, mn her car started to jerk/run like crap (late January 2013). She was able to drive the car home, I tried to figure out the issue, but everything I checked test good, so I brought it to a local import tech, and he diagnosed the failure to be the timing chain tensioner, allowing the timing to jump. He says he started up the motor to test further, it idled for less than a minute before the motor died and now will not start. I now, after owning the car for 3-4 months, have a major engine failure. I do not care to think what would have happened if this happened while my wife was traveling down the interstate at high speeds. . . . Thankx.

In January 2012 with 37,000 miles on it my Mini started having very noisy starts. The noise would go away after it warmed up. Took the vehicle to Mini dealer and they said that it was the timing chain and tensioner. They agreed to replace the timing chain, tensioner guides etc for half price as a good will gesture. Now I find out that this is a common problem.