Diesel Engine Problems of Mini Cooper S Clubman

My 2010 cooper clubman s recently had its timing chain suddenly and without warning fail. The vehicle has been maintained according to Mini's suggested maintenance schedule since I first purchased it. In fact, I was on on my way to a scheduled servicing of the vehicle when the motor failed. It started with a loud rattling noise from the motor, which made the car intermittently sound like either a diesel engine or a chainsaw slicing through something. Then as I slowed down in traffic, the rpms on the car began to spastically jump. I was fortunate that a business complex parking lot was immediately accessible. As I brought the car to a stop in the lot, the motor cut out and refused to start. I was less than a half mile from the dealership service center! the service rep first told me my timing chain had slipped. Then she calls back three hours later to tell me there's reason to believe that a valve isn't under compression. This morning she informs me that I'm looking at possibly replacing my motor. This car was working fine on Thursday with no sign that there was a problem. This sudden failure of my motor would have been beyond dangerous had it happened not two minutes prior when I was pulling off of a major highway. The dealership has informed me that none of the damage incurred is covered under my extended maintenance plan. I did a little digging and discovered that not only is this problem apparently a common one, but Mini has faced - or is currently facing - several potential class action lawsuits over this failure for many of their models made during the 2008-2010 years.

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Check engine light came on and there was big decline in performance. Also, the engine has been making a rattling sound like a diesel engine for several months now when the engine is cold. The car just exceeded its 50,000k mile warranty, of course. I took the car in for service at an independent dealer. Got a call today saying that my turbo needed to be replaced at the tune of about $2700! also, the timing belt needs to be replaced at a tune of about $1300. I spoke with the technician and he tells me that he sees these problems in BMW/Mini all too frequently on vehicles with low mileage. He says Mini knows there is a problem with the original timing belt so Mini doesn't even make that model of timing belt anymore. He said they also know there is a problem with the oil supply line to the turbo being too close to the exhaust which cooks the oil and clogs the line which eventually leads to oil starvation for the turbo. Mini recommends oil changes at 15,000 mile intervals which could also be an issue but I've read about people who had the oil changed every 5,000 miles and still had problems. Mini has recalled the auxiliary water pump only because it became a safety issue. My car is defective and outside of the warranty so now I'm stuck with a $5500 bill for repairs.

See all problems of the 2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman 🔎.