2007 MINI Cooper S: engine failure

Filed Jul 31, 2018 · Engine · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2007 mini cooper s. The contact stated that there was a catastrophic engine failure without warning. The vehicle was unable to be driven and was towed to braman mini of palm beach (2815 okeechobee blvd, west palm beach, fl 33409, (561) 257-4774). The dealer indicated that the manufacturer service campaign was only to address replacing the timing chain and that the replacement of the engine assembly was not included in the manufacturer's guidelines of the service campaign. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was waiting for a response from the manufacturer to determine if they could approve the dealer replacing the timing chain and the engine assembly. The failure mileage was not available.

Filed Feb 6, 2017 · Engine · 177,765 miles · GA

Mini cooper s - numerous issues found having purchased a used 2007 mini cooper s from a small dealer in tallahassee, florida, we did our research up-front with a 'carfax report' which showed no issues, we also did a VIN database search for recalls and found no open recalls and assumed that it was safe to purchase which we did for just over $5,000. Now that we are nearing a year into our 4-year payment plan, on january 17, 2016, my wife was driving north on I-75 in georgia and at approx. Mile marker 211, the engine seized and she required a tow off the interstate. Luckily, there was no accident or injury- but it seems that would have helped our case' upon attempting repairs, we find numerous issues with the engine (2007 r56/n16 4 cylinder turbocharged) including timing chain, water pump, vacuum pump, etc' below are photos of removed parts from the engine ' the vacuum pump seized and bent the metal components ' since this is connected to the 'exhaust camshaft', when it seized it seized the exhaust camshaft ' on the opposite end of this camshaft is a sprocket which connects the timing chain (another known issue with this vehicle) ' the bolt and sprocket dropped into the engine and timing chain area, creating a catastrophic failure which it appears we are going to be 'left holding the bag' for

Filed Feb 1, 2016 · Engine · 90,000 miles · TX

Engine failure occurred when driving on major freeway at posted speed limited of 75 MPH. Pulling off on slip road due to engine stopping. Only after full stop did engine warning lights come on. Checked under hood and found coolant had evacuated the system. Engine would not restart. Towed to mechanic and found that the gear shifter had worn through coolant hose due to engineering defect.

Filed Dec 30, 2014 · Engine · 107,000 miles · WA · fire

In 2013 my mini started to overheat. I had the fluids checked and everything was ok. I drove approx., 10 miles and the car completely overheated, the oil light came on and the car smoked and almost caught on fire. I had it towed to the dealership (mini northwest in fife wa,) they said there were no recalls and I needed a new motor and cooling system. I paid 7500$$ for a new engine installed by the mini dealership in july 2013 at my own expense. On dec, 23rd 2014 I drove my mini approx. 12 miles and parked the car in the driveway. The car was not overheating, no warning lights came on, 15 minutes later the car had flames shooting out from the hood. Fire extinguisher would not put out the fire. The car then moved approx. 5 feet forward up against the house and became completely engulfed. The tires blew up the sunroof blew up and then the back window blew out. The car is a complete loss. Mini claims they have never heard of this before, yet there are several articles of the same thing happening to other cars, including a class action suit and recalls.

Filed Jan 28, 2014 · Engine · 92,000 miles · HI

While driving on 580 car lost all power without warning. Upon further investigation it was determined that the vacuum pump froze up, bolt on timing gear sheared off and fell into oil pan. Oil pump was destroyed as a result. On 11/7/13 received letter from mini corp. Regarding a faulty timing chain tensioner with premature wear, which could cause problems. Upon replacement of tensioner assembly, mechanic found a faulty vacuum pump which froze without warning. Oil distribution was compromised. This abrupt loss of power put my entire family in jeopardy, which could have caused bodily injury or death. Bmw corporation has been aware of the vacuum pump problem since 2012. Vehicle was purchased used in 3/15/11 with 32k miles. Mini corp lead me to believe that financial assistance may be made available for repairs. I have been declined any assistance for a failed vacuum pump assembly which caused catastrophic engine failure. The vehicle has had reports of similar failure. Highway speed, loss of power, putting vehicle and occupants in peril circumstance, bmw is aware of this issue and refuses to acknowledge design or manufacture/mechanical flaws in the engineering of this motor.

Filed Jan 9, 2014 · Engine · 103,000 miles · TX

The timing chain guides and tensioner in the mini cooper are made from plastic. There is a service bulletin created by mini USA to address this issue, but no recall. As I was driving home, making a turn across a busy intersection, my tensioner broke, which caused my vehicle to die in the middle of a turn with oncoming traffic. I had to get out of my vehicle and push it across the intersection while cars were driving by. Although it is common for vehicle engines to die of different issues, this is a well-documented and acknowledged problem for mini coopers, but there has not been enough of a public outcry for a recall. The situation is dangerous, as it can cause engine failure which can result in a collision. The remedy is a replacement of a manufacturer-acknowledged faulty part.

Filed Oct 10, 2013 · Engine · 92,000 miles · VA

I was driving on the interstate, when without any warning or indicators, the engine shut off. I was stuck in a dangerous place, with high-speed traffic for sometime. The dealer who as my car says: "the primary cause of the engine failure was the locking up of the vacuum pump. Consequently this caused the bolt on the exhaust cam shaft sprocket to sheer off causing the vehicle to run out of time. The pistons therefore made contact with both intake and exhaust valves, verified with boroscope inspection, thus bending the valves and causing catastrophic failure to the engine. $6850.00 minus discount to replace engine. This is obviously not an isolated incident. I have had a lot issues with various mini engine parts deteriorating, despite following the recommended regular maintenance schedules ' clutch, fly-wheel, thermostat, intake silencer, spark plugs, timing chain twice, waterpump, radio head unit, drive belt, hi-lo horn, boot latch, boot cable, to name a few. Hopefully mini will do something about these issues.

Filed Aug 29, 2013 · Engine · 77,000 miles · NC

This vehicle has twice had a failure of the timing chain as a result of a faulty tensioner, resulting in catastrophic engine failure. The first incident occurred from a dead stop in a parking lot so there was no immediate safety issue. The second incident, occurring 12/03/2012, manifested as the vehicle was de-accelerating coming off a highway exit with a total loss of power at the bottom of the exit, in a remote area. Mini cooper sent their technicians in 2007 a "service bulletin," short of a recall, when the trend was discovered among its "r56' model engines in 2008. I had warned mini of sounds which later were determined by independent experts to be the timing chain's "death rattle" prior to the first failure, which they attributed to the car's "go-kart like start up." after 6 months of struggling, mini agreed to 80% of the repair costs, with a new timing chain under a one year warranty. Other failures sidelined the vehicle for months in the intervening time, and due to the incredible cost of repair the vehicle had to be garaged until repaired. So although over a year passed between timing chain failures, about only about 39k miles were driven in that time. As of now, mini is only offering 50% culpability, this after starting a vocal twitter campaign. I still owe $10k on a vehicle that requires up to $5k in repairs- a repair which will only replace a defective part with the same defective part.

Filed Aug 14, 2013 · Engine · 56,000 miles · OK

Timing chain failure caused immediate engine failure at highway speed. Damaged timing chain housing cracked causing oil to spray the hot engine. Subsequent oil started a small fire that was extinguished by driver.

Filed May 21, 2013 · Engine · 23,060 miles · NY

With only 23,000 miles, engine exhibited 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/fatalities. The federal safety agency, please make mini do the right thing!!!!

Filed May 9, 2013 · Engine · 12,000 miles · TX

Car has timing chain noise on cold start-up and if left unrepaired, it will result in timing chain failure and engine destruction. This is a widespread problem on 2007 and later mini cooper s. Dealer refuses to repair out of warranty and, even if repaired, the problem will return. There are cases of multiple engine failures to same car. Car also uses 1 quart of oil every 2,000 miles.

Filed May 8, 2013 · Engine, Fuel system · 89,900 miles · AZ

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 federal safety agency such as the ??death rattle?? Belt tensioner failing (luckily no catastrophic engine failure and which has been listed numerous times on the federal safety agency, numerous), valve cover replacement (also listed), etc. The federal safety agency, 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.