2009 MINI Cooper S: engine failure

Filed Sep 20, 2016 · Transmission · 86,000 miles · MA

On 8-28-16 the timing chain failed on the engine of my 2009 mini cooper s, which lead to catastrophic engine failure, requiring the engine to be replaced. At the time of failure I was driving at full speed on the highway. There was sudden power loss and I had to avert traffic to safely pull over. During power loss there was lots of smoke pouring out of the car. Timing chain failures are a known issue with mini, and the subject of a recent lawsuit against mini. See info regarding a settlement due to timing chain failure: http://www.timingchaintensionersettlement.com/ the lawsuit settlement extends the engine warranty to 7yrs/100,000mi. My mini is at 86k mi, and a few days over 7 years. Mini USA refuses to assist me in solving this known issue.

Filed Mar 8, 2015 · Engine · 32,000 miles · PA

I stopped at a red light on a busy city street. The mini cooper s engine stopped running and would not start. That day was heavy snow and the roads were very difficult to drive on. I could not move the car. After sometime waiting on a tow truck the four way flashers quit working. Fortunately no one ran into the car. I disrupted traffic for about an hour until the police were able to push the car off the road. The car was towed to the mini dealer and it was determined the timing chain broke. The car only has 32,000 miles on it. Researching, I see that many mini owners have experienced the timing chain failing. My 17 year old daughter usually drives this car. I am glad I was driving it when this happened and fortunate the car was not moving when the engine failed.

Filed Mar 1, 2014 · Engine · 48,000 miles · CA

Driving on 405 fwy in southern california turning out of freeway off ramp in the pouring rain. The car dead stopped. Very dangerous, cars coming off freeway behind me was a 911 situation. After someone pushed me off to the side of the road had car towed. No engine light warning to indicate problem of tensioner (timing chain breakage). Entire engine was replaced/rebuilt because of extensive damage to engine. Bmw apparently is aware of the timing chain defect and has not issued service bulletin or recall. I'm hearing there is a class action suit because of the many complaints. The fact that I could have very easily been killed or seriously injured is why I am issuing a complaint (not to mention my bill for $6200.00 I have on my credit card) and the three weeks it took to fix. Naturally I was 6 months out of my warranty.

Filed Sep 25, 2013 · Engine · 57,010 miles · NJ

Upon startup of the engine, there is a loud noise coming from the engine. A very unhealthy sound. Sound is unusual for any gas engine, let alone one with only 57,000 miles. *js searched the internet for other mini coopers experiencing this problem. Many complaints all over the internet for exactly this problem. Many owners reporting early engine failure, as early as 12,000 miles reported by a mini dealer in maine. Most owners are seeing the problem with 40-50,000+ miles. The local mini dealer says the repair is not covered by warranty, and repairs are approx. $2,000. Timing chains usually do not need replacement even after 100,000 of use, some cars never replace timing chains until 200,000 miles. This car seems to eat timing chains around 40-50,000 miles.

Filed Mar 18, 2013 · Engine · 77,000 miles · TN

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.

Filed Feb 18, 2013 · Engine · 63,963 miles · MA

12/14/12: I drove home from work. I had no problems driving, but heard a bit of a cold start knock. 12/15/12: 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. 12/16/12: 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? 12/17/12: 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. 12/21/12: 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. 12/30/12: 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).

Filed Aug 10, 2012 · Engine · 43,709 miles · FL

Purchased used vehicle in june 2012. On todays date, upon cold start vehicle began making knocking noises as if lifters were involved. As car warmed up noise became less apparent, but prompted me to take to local mechanic. Mechanic advised that timing chain needs adjusting/replacing and needs to go to dealer (an hour travel). Upon perusing web info on vehicle and year, this issue appears to be a prevalent mafunction in this vehicle causing major engine failure.

Filed Feb 7, 2011 · Engine · 52,124 miles · VA

My vehicle had been parked for a couple of days in our garage. When I pulled it out on the 2nd I noticed a large pool of oil on the floor. I immediately drove it to the local dealership and was informed that the timing chain tensioner system had failed and that if not immediately remedied this would cause catastrophic engine failure. Over my communications with the dealer, mini of sterling in sterling, va, I was told that this was a frequent occurrence, at least one a week, and is a recognized problem with a known work-around. They informed me that they had seen catastrophic engine failure and that with my commute of 45 miles on major highways that such a failure at speed would result in a major crash.