2009 MINI Cooper S: engine knocking or ticking

Filed May 19, 2017 · Engine, Fuel system · 73,000 miles · CA

I purchased a brand new mini cooper s in 2009 w/ standard 3 years of factory maintenance and I later added on an extended warranty a few years later. 2014 I entered into a 3 year lease on a bmw. Aside from maintenance, the mini was mostly garaged except for maintenance until th after a month of driving it, I heard a ticking sound that made me think it needed oil added, despite having one about 2 months prior. I added the mini synthetic oil to the car and the ticking sound stopped for a week or two. Then it started rattling and shaking severely when driving low speeds or at an idle. I checked the on board diagnostic systems, which is supposed to check oil levels and the general health of the car. No issues came up but I stopped driving it because I saw the oil light come on, and I know that couldn't be good, especially since oil was added between changes. I had the car towed to an independent mini mechanic, they told me that the timing chain needed to be replaced, there were holes in the turbo line and some various oil leaks. Their estimate was roughly $2500 to make the car drivable again. Spoke to mini corporate, urged me to take it to mini dealer for diagnostics so corporate to see what help they'd offer me on these issues because they knew the timing chain belt was an issue and they knew the car burns through oil 50% faster than their electronic system and owners manual says. They were aware of this in 2008 and it affected several mini coopers to the extent of blowing out their entire engine. A class action lawsuit was filed because mini failed to issue a recall, warn buyers, or notify current ones. They extended the timing chain belt coverage to 7 years or 80k after the suit. My car has 73k but it's 7 years going on 8. The dealer confirmed diagnosis but mini won't offer any help on the 3-4k repairs. If this happened 9 months ago, they would cover it.

Filed Oct 23, 2015 · Engine · 44,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mini cooper s. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle failed to accelerate when the accelerator pedal was depressed and began to jerk. In addition, a loud knocking sound was heard from the hood of the vehicle when driven and oils leaks were discovered when parked. The failure occurred constantly. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 44,000.

Filed Aug 15, 2013 · Engine · 35,100 miles · DE

Started to hear a knocking noise coming from the engine compartment. Issue with the time chain. So bent out of shape that the chain almost broke. I have always kept on top of changing my oil and getting my car serviced everytime it need it so I don't understand why this would even happen. When researching my problem I saw that its extremely common for models since 2007+ to experience this. This needs to be recalled. There's no reason for a owner to have to pay 200-2000 dollars when they have done everything right with servicing and oil changes etc. Im just glad I wasn't on the highway when this happened to me because having your engine belt break in a busy highway doesn't sound safe.

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.