When I start my car while parked in my garage from cold there is a extremely loud rattle knock noise in the engine. I wait for it to warm up then I drive it there is still a loud engine noise that it make it sound like if it is a diesel engine. And afterwards the engine stalls and it looses RPM when I am driving on the highway or street making it hazardous and dangerous because the engine chokes and wants to die out on the road while I am driving it.
2007 MINI Cooper engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 41, newest first, as owners wrote them.
When I start my car while parked in my garage from cold there is a extremely loud rattle knock noise in the engine. Even if I wait for it to warm up while I am driving there is still a loud engine noise that it make it should like if it is a diesel engine. And afterwards the engine stalls driving on the highway and it looses its RPM while driving making it hazardous and dangerous because it appears to die out on the road while I am driving it.
2007 mini cooper sold to me with a bad timing chain, timing tensioner, cams and engine.
My 2007 mini cooper has 117k miles and was working well until the last month when it started burning oil and blowing black smoke. Then the check engine light started coming on briefly so got my mechanic to check it out today. The error code indicates the timing chain needs replacing. Costly repair at $2,000 and 2 weeks out of commission. In googling online this is a reported issue with my model mini for thousands of folks yet bmw /mini hasn't issued a recall notice.
2007 mini cooper hardtop purchased may 7, 2015 suffered major engine failure due to manufacturer defective timing chain & timing tensioner issues, resulting in loud ticking inside of the engine on the passenger side..estimates totaling up to $2400.00 in repairs.....vehicle at this point is inoperable.
I was getting on interstate still on the on ramp when my mini died and started smoking with no warning. Had to have it towed. Insurance stated it was an electrical wire fire so it isn't covered under insurance. Can mini pay to have it fixed? The manufacturer should be held liable. I already had to get a new water pump last year that wasn't covered either. These aren't cheap vehicles yet they expect us to pay for the mistake that we did not cause! Paid $18k for this car and have put over $3k for repairs with less the 80k miles. Come on mini cooper this is terrible business! In my profession if I were to sell a defective part for an oil rig, I would have to replace it even years later. This goes for any profession!
I just purchased a 2007 mini cooper s and found out the timing chain needs to be replaced for the second time. I understand this is a very common fault with this car and a class action lawsuit is ongoing. I also am trying to find out if my car has actually had all recalled items repaired. Please let me know how to ascertain this information.
As I was driving home for easter, all of the sudden a light came on. I pulled to the side of the road and the electricity went out in my car. I was stranded in the middle of nowhere. The timing chain in my car broke and caused catastrophic engine failure.
I bought a car from new country mini in hartford on january 2, 2015. At first the car worked great, however the friction point of the clutch was pretty far towards the end range. Because it's a hydraulic clutch, I thought this was adjustable. However I started noticing the next day that there was a grinding noise coming out of first and in reverse. I emailed the person at new country mini from whom I bought it from explaining what I was hearing/feeling and was concerned about the clutch going. He replied that it probably just needed to be oiled and it would be fine. He did not ask any other qualifying questions, or offer to look at it. As of january 5, the clutch has become exponentially worse. The car now shutters while engaging the clutch, and continues to shutter after the clutch has been engaged. Additionally there is a burning smell coming from the car. Also, this is not my first car I've had that was a manual transmission. I learned how to drive one when I was 16, so I don't believe this is driver error; especially how quick the clutch diminished. I am inclined to think that new country mini new about the problem prior to selling it, but didn't do anything about it. Moreover, there is a clunk that happens when accelerating from 2nd gear to 3rd gear. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
2007 mini cooper. Was informed the car was unsafe to drive because of a cracked valve cover which was leaking.
Catastrophic failure and stall on the highway without warning. No engine light or warning lights. Vehicle stopped and stalled at highway speeds. Vehicle had to be towed. Not drivable. Very dangerous, nearly got hit by semi trucks on highway and other vehicles. Very unsafe. Problem: needed new clutch and flywheel @ cost of $3000 plus towing. This is the 3rd time that this car has had catastrophic engine failure while driving on highway in the past 6 months. The other times were caused by some electrical issues pertaining to the engine. Dealer denied it was timing chain. The mini cooper 2007 needs to be recalled before someone is killed or seriously injured.
After buying this vehicle, drove about 30 or so miles....while slowing down noticed the car had shut off. No warnings, no lights, no noises....car would not crank. Left me stranded in middle of four lane highway. Towed the vehicle to mini where I was told a vacuum pump went out. Due to this not covered under warranty (extended) now im told have to pay 8000 for an engine. This issue should be resolved, there was no warning and from reading the online notices it seems to be a big issue. Mini would do nothing about this. It created a dangerous situation for me, as it gave no warning when all this occurred.
My vehicle developed a rattling noise in the engine , which worsened and caused the timing chain to brake and thousands of dollars in damage , which if at high way speed , could have caused a serious accident . Mini is denying account ability.
The very well known "timing chain failure". The event started with rattling noise in the engine bay on the passenger's side, then the big messy oil leaked and the engine was drying up and choked (made a very dangerous driving situation).luckily, I wasn't on the highway!! Bmw denied reimbursement for the repair cost of this fault design/engineering.
Turbo oil cooling lines leaking engine oil on to hot turbocharger. This is a fire hazard. Many mini cooper s models are having this failure.
The mini made a beeping noise / warning noise while driving. Stopped the car. It was very sluggish to start so I took it to my mechanic (not the mini dealer in my town which has a horrible service department.) the diagnosis was a failing timing chain and everything associated with it. Replaced timing chain, chain tensioner, adjuster unit cam, guide rail, slide rail, crankshaft seal, gasket ring, valve cover gasket, drive belt, ignition coil, spark plugs ... Everything. This failure could gave been catastrophic without my immediate action to stop the car and take it to a mechanic. It was a $3,000 + fix.
Have found that my mini is having the exact same issues as those covered by the bmw service recall are having, although mine is not covered as confirmed by mini customer relations. This should be extended to included all minis that are having this issue and not only those that opted for the upgraded model s.
The car had a hard time getting up to 65mph . There was a lack of acceleration from a dead stop to cruising speed. The car had a water pump and radiator installed 4 months prior to my trouble. Mini told me that my timing belt tensioner had broke .I needed to have a new timing belt installed because it had stretched .it was no longer able to keep the timing correct .I asked why when they changed to water pump they didn't see the broken tensioner. They had no answer .
Tl* the contact owns 2007 mini cooper. The contact was driving 70 MPH when the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was merged off road and towed to an independent mechanic where it was determined that the timing chain was fractured and caused the engine to fail. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.
My 2007 mini cooper s experienced the death rattle. I had to have the timing/tensioner chain replaced. This is a known defect and mini cooper should be required to recall their cars and fix them.
So, I have one of many thousands of bad thermostat housings part #11537534521( cooling system) . None of the parts houses have them in stock. Mini said that there are 17,000+ of them on backorder. 17,000! This appears to affect minis from 2007 through 2010. So, mine sits in the driveway for an indeterminable amount of time. Nobody actually knows when (if) they will be available. The part has been on backorder for a long time.there are guesses from september 12th to october 10th. Mostly just shots in the dark, so they can at least tell you something! These parts have been failing prematurely for 6 years, and now look at the mess. Mini is not exactly pro-active. Certainly our first and last mini. I have contacted mini and bmw to ask what their solution will be for all the affected customers. All they do is take my name and number and tell me that they will call back . They never do . I am hopeless with out a car that can not be fixed due to the manufacturer ( mini) no having replacing parts available. This is unacceptable . Please hold mini and bmw accountable for that.
I've been a loyal mini cooper customer for years now but recently my car suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. I got it towed, and they said my timing chain tensioner came off and literally sliced some part of the engine. There has been talks about a "recall," but they have not made it official because it will cost them millions to do so. Mini cooper did confirm that there were defected timing chains and I know some dealerships changed the timing chain for free because of this known defect. Mini cooper did not inform me anything and now I have to either pay 5000 dollars to get a used engine or sell my car. I work full-time and now I don't have a car to drive to work.
I've been a loyal mini cooper for years now but recently my car suddenly stopped in the middle of the road. I got it towed, and they said my timing chain tensioner came off and literally sliced some part of the engine. There has been talks about the "recall," but they have not made it official because it will cost them millions to do so. Mini cooper did confirm that there were defected timing chains and I know some dealerships changed the timing chain for free because of this known defect. Mini cooper did not inform me anything and now I have to either pay 5000 dollars to get a used engine or sell my car. I work full-time and now I don't have a car.
While driving in traffic, the engine seized and stopped abruptly due to the failure of the oil suction pump. The pump failed internally and due to the design that tied it directly to the overhead cam, it caused the camshaft to seize, stretched and broke the bolt connecting the timing gear and chain to the camshaft, which the fell into the lower engine area and caused further engine damage. Fortunately, this particular incident occurred in a relatively slow traffic situation and the car was shifted to neutral and pushed off to the side. Damage to the engine was substantial and consistent with multiple other reports of similar failures. This is a major design flaw (in my opinion as an engineer) in that the shear point being on the camshaft instead of the pump causes instantaneous engine failure without warning and could lead to a serious crash or injury. In addition to this failure, there was damage to the oil system that may have triggered this pump failure. Mini had allegedly performed some 'valve cleaning' approximately 6,000 miles prior to this incident, however there was no evidence of any such 'cleaning' when the engine was opened. I have extensive photos of this engine as it was disassembled, showing the pump, bolt and other parts and will be happy to share those.
Traveling with no warning, thermometer light came on, turned yellow to red almost immediately, pulled over and called dealership, advised there was recall on water pump for overheating, had car towed immediately; dealership replaced recalled water pump (exterior), but paid $600.00 for thermostat; left dealership and engine light came on within 30 minutes,had to have it towed again; now car ran hot again, no antifreeze in car, refilled and light went off, 1.5 days later same occurrence but engine smoking,very badly, towed again to dealership, now states it is water pump #2 (interior) , and timing change which was already supposedly performed on car, now stating I must pay for water pump, tensioner on timing change, valve sensor, and valve cover gaskets another $1000.00, all of which pertain to the same occurrences over and over and over and over again. I called mini cooper call center and they only refer you back to dealership, stating they have no technical knowledge and are unable to assist me, they have no knowledge of the recall items. Wow I thought this problem only belonged to a saab I previously owned and eliminated for same reasons.. !
Timing chain failure. This is a known issue commonly referred to by mini owners as "the death rattle". The dealer claims the issue is caused as a result of being 1.5 quarts low on oil. But dozens of other owners are reporting the same problem without being low on oil. I suspect the low oil level is a cover allowing the manufacturer to not take responsibility for the problem. No oil indicator light is triggered at that level. Mini is taking action on this issue but has stopped short of issuing a recall. As such, thousands of mini owners risk serious damage to their engine at speed as a result of potential timing chain failure. Furthermore, most owners have had to pay for the repair (between $1,200 - $1,700) to prevent the timing chain failure. This is a defect. It requires corrective action by the manufacturer.
Tl* the contact owns 2007 mini cooper. The contact was driving 30 MPH when the vehicle started to overheat. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer where the dealer advised the contact that the vehicle needed anti-freeze. The dealer added anti-freeze to the vehicle but the failure recurred shortly thereafter. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer numerous times before it was found that the thermostat was the cause of the failure. The thermostat was replaced. The failure mileage was 33,000.
I had this car serviced about 4 times during the 4 yr warranty period. Just after the warranty period, the car was checked for brake job and I was informed that the water pump leaks. I think the coolant provable was leaking prior to expiration of warranty but I was not informed. I bought 3 cars in 2007 (honda and lexus) and none of them has this issue. 1. Engine coolant leaks. Replace water pump. 2. Engine hood latch won't open. Failed remote latch. The mini cooper estimate will cost me $800 to replace the water pump. I also overheard from one of the mini owner last sat, 26nov2011 during my visit to the dealer that he also has the same issue leaky water pump.
Strange engine knocking/rubbing noise come from the engine compartment. It appeared to be the timing chain failure. The car was bought to the dealer twice first time they replaced the timing chain tensioner and this time they replace the timing chain.
Mini cooper, 2007, 81000 miles. With minimal advance warning (a rattle that began when car was started that morning) timing chain broke, leading to catastrophic engine failure. Car was stopped and blocking traffic on busy two lane bridge during morning commute until it was towed away. No previous issues, warnings emerged from this vehicle. Was maintained regularly and because of noise on start, I was intending to take it in immediately. In fact, I was on the way to the garage when the failure occurred.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2007 MINI Cooper?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history