MINI Cooper S knocking problems

Filed Mar 27, 2023 · Engine · MN

Nothing has failed yet, however, the oil stick is completely illegible. On a car that fails to have an electronic dipstick and likes to burn oil, as well as has a very small oil capacity (Around 5 liters or less) this design is going to cause the engine to run out of oil without the driver knowing. It is a seriously bad design, especially combined with BMW recommending a 10,000 mile oil change, the car will burn off all the oil it has and operator will have no idea due to the faulty design of the dipstick. I generally like BMWS engineering and designs, but this one is just atrocious and I have no idea how it got approved. Running a car out of oil usually causes the engine seize unless you shut it off at the right time, which, most people will not do. Imagine if your engine seizes on the highway? No it hasn't been inspected, I can send pictures of it, if you want? Or a video? I have not had this problem yet (knock on wood) but I have read the only warning sign, is the sound of an engine without oil and the oil pressure light comes on (which at that point you have maybe 3s to pull over and shut off the engine before it toasts the engine) I have also read about the engines consuming the entire oil capacity if you follow the BMW recommended schedule. It all just seems like a huge oversight for a company that usually has few issues.

Filed Oct 1, 2020 · Steering, Suspension · 140,000 miles · TX

I was starting my vehicle and it made a bad knocking noise then it was like crunching noise so I stopped turn it off and waited for a while went back to the car still making a strange noise but once I put it in the drive it stopped making noise drove down the road a bit and talking about apparently slips off of the car so it just pulls over inside all the all the wearing lights came on so pulled over apparently this happens quite often but the harmonic balancer separated and with spinning against itself and knocked the pieces off of it and through the serpentine belt so that needs to replace now that should not happen it's one piece is this one piece this needs to be recalled for these whatever cars had these harmonic balancers is dangerous and it could blow your car up thank you

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 Jan 11, 2015 · Engine · 68,995 miles · FL

Around 7:30pm on way home from work engine started ticking and not shifting correctly. Call my mechanic, who is certified bmw, to get car into shop next morning. Took car to shop next day at 730am for him to check out. He called later in the day to tell me timing chain guide broke off into engine. According to his research there was a recall on this for earlier models - m110212 - so called dealership to see if they would consider this under recall. Spoke to service manager and he said the recall was for minis' up to date 5/03/2009 and my production date was 11/2009. Told him it seemed odd I had same issue and last time I had issue with car my replacement part was prior to production date - this was fixed because I was still under warranty. I spoke to mini USA and they said up to dealership to consider. Dealership said I could get it tolled in and they would do diagnosistics but didn't believe it would be part of recall and that I would have to show proof of all car maintanence - made me feel like my fault. My mechanic can certify I do proper maintanence as he said he looked at my engine and it is clean. Mini dealership would not speak with my mechanic to get the professional to professional explanation, they just kept staying my production date was too late for recall. I have opted not to get vehicle towed to dealership (1 1/2 hour away) so they could diagnosis and then tell me not part of recall so charge me for diagnosis and then I pay for tow back. The reason being is last time they had my car in for an issue it took them 3 days to diagnosis, another week to get part and couple if more days to fix - they seemed to be in no hurry to fix my problem nor cared that I lived so far away and had to rent a car.

Filed Sep 23, 2013 · Engine, Fuel system · 55,302 miles · NJ

Ran a diagnostic test and these warnings came up - 2d52 super knocking 2dcd fuel shut off due to super knocking cylinder 3 2968 inlet camshaft sensor 2b64 intake manifold, unmetered air based on all of these sound like my mini cooper has bad fuel and/or serious carbon build, I've just purchased this car from a dealership and I am experiencing delays in acceleration, loss of forward propulsion.

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 Mar 7, 2013 · Engine · 33,000 miles · LA

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.

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 Nov 23, 2012 · Engine · 66,300 miles · TX

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.