Bought a 2009 mini s for my daughter in august of 2015 with 36k miles on it. Since then I've spent over $5000 in repairs and the car is currently parked and not being driven because now the timing chain needs to be replaced. My car is 5 months past the "warranty" period for this service bulletin campaign, and this repair will likely cost another $3000or more I've paid for to repair the oil leak in the turbo line as well as the water pump failing, and replaced the valve cover due to oil leaking, all well known issues with this car. The timing chain and tensioner issues are well known by bmw/mini as well and there is no recourse for owners of these cars at this point. My car only has 48,000 miles on it! There is no reason for all of these parts to be failing the way they are. I will have spent more than double what I paid for this car before its drivable again. Very unhappy with mini!!!!!
2009 MINI Cooper engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 50, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Turbo oil line leaks and drips on turbo manifold causing burning oil smell and smoke. The engine caught a small fire, lucky I was parked on side of a highway road up in the mountains. (no fire stations or very little traffic) I smelt something burning under to hood when it happened and caught the flames in time to extinguish the fire. 2 seattle area mini dealers state that this is a problem with all the turbo engines in this class. They want you to pay for this repair it's a $1300 fix. I believe that mini/bmw needs to take responsibility and repair/recall the turbo oil line because it poses a safety issue the car could catch fire and potentially injure someone cause an accident, or worse death.
My 2009 mini cooper hardtop with 6 speed manual transmission consumes one quart of engine oil per 1000 miles. This is truly unacceptable. It is an ongoing problem and expense that is very annoying. Not to mention the safety side of it and the possibility of burning out the engine. Bmw/mini needs to take responsibility and rebuild and repair the engine to correct this very important problem.
Occupancy air bag light stays on replacement 2 times now on again hit a bump it could at times go off. Replaced the water pump and oil pump not even at 60,000 miles
My mini has under 50,000 miles and is a 2009, and two months after purchasing it, one week after a new oil change a rattling started in the timing chain region under the hood. There are several ongoing and recent lawsuits involving the faulty timing components, however bmw has refused to do a recall. I have no other option where I live than to take it to a mini dealership, which is taking advantage of this situation, quoting a ridiculous amount of $2000-$4000 for a complete diagnostics/repair. I can't believe how common the problem is and the fact that a company that is known for being reputable, bmw, is being so unprofessional in admitting the fault. Also, I had to tow my mini to prevent the chain from spontaneously braking on my way to the dealership as well, just another fee, to prevent incurring an even pricier damage to the turbo engine, just unbelievable.
I noted that at idle the engine of my 2009 mini cooper was not running smooth and instead beginning to pulsate/vibrate. Within in 3 days I had my mini at the service center. On the way to the appointment the engine cut off at idle at a stop light but was able to restart. No sensor light. I was informed that there was a timing chain failure. As a result there was extensive damage to the engine. The damage also caused an oil leak so that the engine was running without oil, though I'd recently received an oil change. Additionally, the vacuum pump was also leaking. At no time did any sensor lights come on as a warning, including a check engine, low oil, or low coolant . I was informed that repairs would be upwards of $3500.00, over half of the value of the vehicle. Despite the class action lawsuit settlement that I inquired about, mini failed to acknowledge knowledge of the problem. It was my understanding that the settlement of the lawsuit resulted in extending the warranty on these vehicles for the timing chain issue to 7 years/100,000mi. My mini only had 64,000miles and was within the 7 year mark. Additionally, I learned that mini had previously issued a recall for the vacuum pump. However, I was repeatedly told that for both of these issues "[my] vehicle was not one of the affected vehicles."
Timing chain , passenger airbag sensor when in motion.
At 89,044 miles my 2009 mini cooper, purchased from vista mini suffered a catastrophic coolant loss due to a cracked thermostat housing, and as a direct result the vehicle severely overheated irreparably damaging the engine. I was driving along the turnpike at highway speeds when the warning indicator light for the engine temperature came on, and before I could safely pull the vehicle over the vehicle rapidly slowed to a veritable crawl (allowing me just enough time to get it off the road). The vehicle was ultimately towed to a mini dealer for inspection, but they determined that it would need to have the entire engine replaced. Which would be a rather costly repair, requiring an outlay of funds far greater than the vehicle's value. Thereby substantially decreasing the likelihood of completing the required repairs. I purchased the vehicle believing it to be a quality product, and one capable of being driven for many years to come. However, the experience I suffered severely shook my confidence in the product, so I began to do my own research on the cause of the failure. It turns out that not only mini engines, but also those manufactured by bmw, share a similar defect, in that they both are prone to the thermostat housings cracking and causing rapid coolant loss. Couple that with the well documented criticism of the location of the coolant sensor in the engine, and you have created the perfect nucleus for generating a cataclysmic meltdown of the engine that lies secretly hibernating within the product line. Therefore, I do not feel that it is fair for me to have to bear the burdensome cost of repair for a problem that is endemic to the product line as a whole.
The timing chain tensioner on my mini was changed as part of silent service bulletin which aught to be a recall. By the time it was replaced it was too late, now a year later my timing chain is out of spec and rattling away in my car with a replacement set to cost about $2000 for parts that mini claimed would last the life of the vehicle. Mini refuses to replace any parts until they've failed so I'm stuck either paying out of pocket and never seeing a dime back, or risking life and limb on the road until these parts fail so that mini can own up to their mistake...
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mini cooper. While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning and came to a complete stop. The engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart on the first attempt. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the timing chain needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 80,000.
When I was driving highway, a red warning light of "low engine pressure" came on, and the engine started to make noises. Luckily, I was able to come down from the highway, and soon after that, the engine stalled completely. It was a very scary moment. The car was towed to a repair shop, and they reported, "significant oil splash on right side of engine. Added 3 quarts of oil to try and start engine to determine if engine damage had occurred from loss of oil. Vehicle would not start. Vehicle sounded as if chain had jumped timing or engine damage had occurred. Researched vehicle and found technical service bulletin (tsb) relating to seal on timing chain tensioner failing and causing tensioner to leak and loosen. May have loosened, causing jumped timing and possible engine damage. Job requires extensive labor and special tools we do not have. Recommend seeking dealer for futther assistance. The car was towed again to a mini dealership. Their diagnosis was: found oil leaking out at the timing chain tensioner, oil level low. Crank but not start remove valve cover and found timing was off, re-adjust timing, retorqued timing chain tensioner, performed compression test, 8 cranks for each cylinders cyl 1: 60 psi cyl 2: 55 psi cyl 3: 35 psi cyl 4: 30 psi performed cylinder leak down tests, all were below 50%. Used scope and inspect inside combustion chambers and cylinder walls. Found damaged and cracked wall caused loosing compression. Need new engine required also: water pump leaking and contaminaited the pully, friction wheel and drive belt thermostat is leaking
I took my mini cooper to passport mini in montgomery county maryland for the hpfp failing where they changed it and then told me that the turbo oil feed line is leaking and that the timing chain had stretched and was going to fail. After I told them that I know that they have had problems and complained some they said that they would cover 30% of the chain replacement and a complete detail of my car and that they were being "generous". I explained to them that I wanted my defective chain fixed not a car wash. After reading this website I am hoping to get the oil feed line replaced too. It to is very well documented. If it goes up in flames while my wife and daughter are in the car which one of the executives at mini or bmw will write me to apologize for this? This totally unacceptable behavior for a company. Lawyers wont help mini wont help bmw wont help. No one wants to do the right thing for the consumer anymore! All of us deserve to be treated fairly. This is why we have government, for times like this when the big companies run us over and laugh at us!
I was driving on the road, and suddenly I saw the car start to stop in the middle of the road,and I saw the smoke coming out of engine .the diagnostic was the engine totally is collapsing,and need new engine.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mini cooper. While making a right turn at approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. After several attempts, the vehicle was able to be restarted and resumed normal operation. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure recurred on several occasions. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown. The VIN was unavailable.
Leak in turbo oil line due to cracks in plastic o-ring. After hundreds of heat cycles, the o-ring cooks its self and starts to leak oil onto the turbo. It seems to me that the product recall and installation of the oil line heat shield by ntsb should have also included recall and replacement of the turbo oil line. The oil line heat shield has not solved the problem of the baked o-ring in the turbo oil line and therefore the turbo oil line should be covered under manufacturer recall/defect!
The engine was rattling heavily when the car ignition was on around 5 pm at the workplace parking lot . In the meantime, the check engine light was flashing. The car failed to deliver the power to the transmission. A few days late, my car was towed to a local dealership and diagnosed with leak oil from one of timing belt tensioners and a broken tensioner. The dealership had to replace the broken one with a new timing belt kit together with tensioners as a goodwill from the mini cooper USA (85% warranty deductible). Even though, I felt the quality of this important engine parts was unacceptable with such a low mileage on the car. The timing belt of this model was a metal chain located inside the engine box and supposed to last life-long without worry. I was lucky that this incident happened just in the parking lot. I could not imagine potential consequences if this incident happens while driving on the highway. I sincerely believe the manufacture bmw/mini should be fully responsible for such a defect product and a proper action by the manufacture should be considered to avoid such an incident happening to other customers who own this model.
In september of 2014, the check engine light of my 2009 mini cooper came on. I took the car in for service at the mini cooper dealership in fife, washington and was told the timing chain needed to be replaced. When I purchased the vehicle new I was told the timing chain would remain maintenance-free throughout the full running life of the engine. Obviously this was not the case. All maintenance has been performed at the mini cooper dealership in fife since I purchased it new in october 2008.
My vehicle experienced sudden loss of power without warning while on the interstate at full speed and was unable to be restarted. Luckily traffic was very light and I was able to guide my vehicle safely to the shoulder but the vehicle would not start. The temperature outside was around 15 degrees fahrenheit. It took over 2 hours for a two truck to arrive and my wife and I were lucky enough to have an emergency kit in the vehicle and were able to use the included space blanket to survive the freezing temperatures. Based on what happened I am certain that my vehicles timing chain had broken resulting in the loss of power and inability to start. This particular vehicle model has a known issue with this. My vehicle has had this issue before and was serviced by the dealer since it was recognized before any dangerous situations arose but this time I was not so lucky. The manufacturer is aware of this design flaw but refuses to accept any responsibility or properly fix it. My wife and I would have called emergency services but were told by the tow service that we would be helped sooner than what actually happened. I feel that this known manufacturers defect put me and my wife's lives at risk.
My timing chain was replaced and has an issue with the tension exactly one year later.
Bought mini cooper in 09/13. Since then the water pump needed to be replaced. Timing chain needs to be replaced. Only driven the car 9 months. I have spent considerable amount of money on this car and haven't driven it a year yet. It only has 8600 miles on it.
Noticed decreased acceleration performance and visibly noticed leaking oil from the top of the turbo system next to the heat shield after returning home after a drive on the freeway. Mini dealer identified the problem as a turbo oil feed line leak. Noticed on the federal safety agency forums that this is a common issue with mini owners and could become a fire hazard under the hood if not detected and quickly repaired.
The thermostat failed, the temperature elevated, the freeze plug fell out/broke out of place causing the head gasket to blow out. The coolant leaked into the oil and caused it to become "milky" therefore blowing out my engine. I was driving on the freeway at the time of the incident and the car failed to accelerate. Luckily people were kind enough to let me pass from the far left lane to the nearest exit and I did not crash.
I purchased a 2009 mini cooper with 16,000 miles in december 2011 through a dealership. In the spring of 2012 the car sat in my driveway overnight. The next morning both windows were completely down. It had rained 5 inches during the night and the pie was an aquarium. I had just had an oil change at a mini dealership so I called the dealership and was told I had to have it towed to them. The dealer refused to take responsibility for the water damage. The computer was replaced and paid for through a claim on my insurance policy. I told my insurance company to not pay the claim because there was a malfunction of the car. After the computer was replaced the windows again lowered on their own accord but this time they only went down half way. The dealer then said they reinitialized the computer. Since then the car has randomly stalled while driving in houston, merging onto the freeways, while driving in stop and go traffic and while driving at slow speeds. I took the car to another mini dealer in houston and they kept the car but claimed it never stalled when they drove it. The car continued to stall randomly. Each time the car stalled I took it to the dealer and after numerous times of being told there were no codes shown by reading the fob I quit taking the car to them. The car continued to randomly stall. In march 2014 the car stalled in 4:00pm traffic while I topped an overpass on a friday. After a wrecker towed the car to a mechanic the diagnosis is a blown head gasket. I have not gotten a second opinion and have not had it fixed yet. This mini cooper truly has serious problems and is a hazard to be on the road. I no longer drive the mini, will never drive another mini and I no longer have to say a prayer before I get in my car. I hope the federal safety agency can provide some assistance with this situation .
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mini cooper. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, parts of the engine sound as if they were loose. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the technician confirmed that the timing chain assembly was defective. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure and current mileage were 60,000. Updated 06/10/14
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mini cooper. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, a loud popping noise was heard from the engine before the vehicle suddenly stalled. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed that the timing belt had malfunctioned. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 65,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 mini cooper. The contact stated that the vehicle stalled while driving approximately 45 MPH with the illumination of the check engine warning light. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnosis. The technician stated that the water pump would need to be replaced. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 68,000. The VIN was not available.
I was driving home from work on 21 november 2013 when the check engine light on my mini came on. I called the dealer to schedule the appointment. By the time I got off the phone with the dealer, the light turned off. Around 5 miles further down the road the light came back on and then the car erupted in flames. I am unsure where else to file a complaint but I thought I would begin here.
The vacuum pump (attached to exhaust cam shaft) on my 2009 mini cooper jcw seized on the highway in moving traffic (luckily in the right hand lane) - vacuum pump seizer LED to exhaust cam shaft failure, which LED to multiple engine part failure / engine puncture (destroyed engine and timing chain): destroyed engine = no power in moving traffic = serious hazard.
Just purchased used 09 mini , 2nd owner, on start up car sounded rough, dieseling sound and was told by dealer that it was common. Then when driving at low speeds or when slowing down, terrible rattle sound. Took it in for an oil change, and the rattle went away, but then came back shortly before next oil change was due. Took it in for oil change again, and sound went away again, but then came back within days. Finally was able to get an appt with the closest authorized dealer, 50 miles away, but couldn't get in for two weeks in order to get a loaner. They had it for two days, replaced the timing chain, nylon parts were in the oil pan from the guides being shredded. Picked up the car on the third day, and fir almost one week it seemed fine. Just short of one week out of the shop and heard the rattle again. But then it was fine, so I thought it was an anomaly. One week to the day since picking it up from the repair, barely made it into the drive from taking my daughter to school. Called the shop and have it scheduled to go back in. Having the car towed to the shop as the repair tech treks me that it is "unsafe to drive."
I am being told by knauz mini repair that the timing belt needs to be fixed. It is a $2000 repair. In looking at the internet, it seems that this is a common problem that can have tragic consequences. In fact, there is one class action suit in nj about it. Mini refuses to take responsibility to a design failure. Something needs to be done.
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