2007 MINI COOPER S Complaints

I WAS THE ONE THAT REPORTED THE "DEATH RATTLE" ON MY WIFE'S MINI COOPER A FEW WEEKS AGO. I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THE ENGINE WAS NOT DAMAGED AND MINI FIXED IT FOR $1800, WHICH WAS RIGHT IN LINE WITH THEIR ESTIMATE. THEY REPLACED THE TIMING CHAIN (IT WAS STRETCHED 70MM... 70!!), THE TENSION PULLEY, THE GUIDE, CHANGED THE OIL, REPLACED THE AUX WATER PUMP (WAS A RECALL SO IT COST $0), RETIMED THE ENGINE, WASHED THE CAR, AND CLEANED THE ENGINE BAY. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE CAR RUNS LIKE NEW. THE GREAT NEWS IS THAT THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD ME HE CALLED MINI ON MY BEHALF AND THEY GAVE US A $500 DISCOUNT ON THE REPAIR SINCE THE CAR WAS "ONLY A COUPLE OF YEARS OUT OF WARRANTY". PERHAPS THAT MEANS MINI IS FINALLY WAKING UP TO THIS PROBLEM? I'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND HOW BETWEEN THE TIMING CHAIN STRETCHED 70MM, AND THE BROKEN PIECE OF GUIDE RATTLING AROUND FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG, DIDN'T DESTROY THE ENGINE... BUT I'M NOT COMPLAINING. ANYWAY, JUST WANTED TO LET OTHER MINI OWNERS KNOW THAT THERE'S HOPE AFTER ALL. AND $1300 IS BETTER THAN $1800 ANY DAY OF THE WEEK. CAR RUNS GREAT AND NEITHER MY WIFE AND I REALIZED HOW MUCH POWER THE CAR HAD LOST. WE'RE STILL GETTING RID OF IT THOUGH... ENOUGH IS ENOUGH... EVERY TIME SOMETHING GOES WRONG WITH THIS CAR, IT'S DRAMA. AND THIS WAS THE LAST STRAW. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE. *TR

CAR HAS TIMING CHAIN NOISE ON COLD START-UP AND IF LEFT UNREPAIRED, IT WILL RESULT IN TIMING CHAIN FAILURE AND ENGINE DESTRUCTION. THIS IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM ON 2007 AND LATER MINI COOPER S. DEALER REFUSES TO REPAIR OUT OF WARRANTY AND, EVEN IF REPAIRED, THE PROBLEM WILL RETURN. THERE ARE CASES OF MULTIPLE ENGINE FAILURES TO SAME CAR. CAR ALSO USES 1 QUART OF OIL EVERY 2,000 MILES. *TR

I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING A MAJOR FLAW WITH OIL SUPPLY/RETURN LINES TO THE TURBO. A CONDITION EXISTS WHERE IF LEFT UNATTENDED AND UNCARED FOR CREATES THE HIGH RISK OF FIRE AND SUBSEQUENT LOSS OF ENGINE/VEHICLE. THIS EVENT CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME THE CAR IS BEING DRIVEN AND/OR LATER PARKED. THE RISK IS CREATED WHEN OIL ACCUMULATES, EITHER THROUGH TIME OR OVER A LEISURE DRIVE, AND COLLECTS NEAR/ON THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD & TURBO COMPONENTS, BOTH OF WHICH OPERATE AT EXTREMELY HIGH TEMPERATURES. IT IS BECOMING A DAILY TASK TO LOOK UNDER THE CAR HOOD AND INVESTIGATE FOR ACCUMULATION OF OIL NEAR THESE PARTS DUE TO THE FACT THAT THE CAR SMELLS OF BURNING PETROLEUM. NEED I BE MORE APPARENT OF BURNING OIL THAT WILL BURN AND DESTROY A CAR DUE TO A FAULTY PRODUCT? THIS HAS BEEN OCCURRING FOR THE MAJORITY LIFE OF THE CAR BUT HE ISSUE HAS NEVER BEEN PROFESSIONALLY ADDRESSED DUE TO DISREGARD OF THE MINI/BMW DEALERSHIPS TO ACCEPT THIS DESIGN FLAW. IF RESEARCHED FURTHER, THERE ARE MANY STANDARD EXAMPLES OF THIS DESIGN FLAW AND NUMEROUS DESCRIPTIONS, IMAGES, EXAMPLES, FORUMS, AND COMPLAINTS OF THIS FLAW OCCURRING IN MANY CARS OF VARIOUS STYLES, MILEAGE, AND TRIMS OCCURRING WITHIN THE SAME YEAR MODEL OF 2007. I HAVE ALSO EXPERIENCE MANY OF THE MAJOR FLAWS ALREADY LISTED AND COMPLAINED ABOUT ON THE NHTSA SUCH AS THE ??DEATH RATTLE?? BELT TENSIONER FAILING (LUCKILY NO CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE AND WHICH HAS BEEN LISTED NUMEROUS TIMES ON NHTSA, NUMEROUS), VALVE COVER REPLACEMENT (ALSO LISTED), ETC. NHTSA, ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM AS IT IS AN AVID AND DANGEROUS SAFETY ISSUE. THE COMMON PERSON DOES NOT CHECK UNDER THE HOOD DAILY AND ITS ONLY TIME BEFORE SOMEONE PARKS THEIR MINI IN A GARAGE AND THE HOME GOES DOWN IN FLAMES. I PERSONALLY DON??T PARK THE MINI IN THE GARAGE FOR FEAR OF FIRE. DO NOT REPAIR THE MINI WITH THE SAME FAULTY OIL LINE DESIGN. RECALL DESIGN. *TR

JUST WANTED TO REPORT ANOTHER CASE OF THE "DEATH RATTLE". MY WIFE HAS A 2007 MINI COOPER S WE BOUGHT NEW IN SEPT. 2007. SHE COMPLAINED OF A LOUD RATTLE WHEN SHE STARTED THE CAR FOR ABOUT 5-10 MINUTES UNTIL WARM. THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A LOOSE EXHAUST COMPONENT UNTIL IT STARTED HAVING IDLE ISSUES. WE TOOK IT TO A LOCAL SHOP AND THEY "REBOOTED" THE COMPUTER AND THE IDLE PROBLEMS WENT AWAY BUT THE RATTLE PERSISTED. OUR CLOSEST MINI DEALER IS AN HOUR AWAY SO WE DON'T TAKE IT TO THEM UNLESS WE HAVE TO. EARLY LAST WEEK THE OIL LIGHT CAME ON. CHECKED THE OIL AND OIL LEVEL WAS FINE... ALTHOUGH THE DIPSTICK DID NOT WANT TO GO BACK IN THE ENGINE. OIL LIGHT WOULD COME AND GO OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS. SHE TOOK IT TO THE LOCAL SHOP AGAIN TO HAVE THE RATTLE CHECKED AND THE OIL CHANGED SINCE IT WAS ALMOST DUE. THEY FOUND THE GUIDE FOR THE TIMING CHAIN WAS BROKEN AND LAYING IN THE BOTTOM OF THE COVER. THEY CALLED OUR CLOSEST MINI DEALER, SAID IT WAS A "COMMON PROBLEM" WITH TURBO MINIS, AND WE SHOULDN'T DRIVE IT. HAD IT TOWED TO MINI AND THAT'S WHERE IT SITS. THEY HAVEN'T WORKED ON IT YET AND THEY WILL CALL ME WHEN THEY DO, BUT AN EARLY ESTIMATE IS ~$1800 TO REPAIR, AS LONG AS THE ENGINE ISN'T DAMAGED (WHICH IT ISN'T AS THE CAR STARTS AND RUNS FINE). I ASKED MINI ABOUT IT BEING COVERED UNDER SOME SORT OF WARRANTY AFTER READING ALL THE HORROR STORIES SINCE IT'S A KNOWN PROBLEM BUT THEY SAID SINCE THE OIL LEVEL WAS LOW, AND LOW OIL LEVELS EXACERBATE THE PROBLEM, THERE'S NOTHING THEY CAN DO. HAD NO IDEA THE OIL LEVEL WAS LOW UNTIL THE LIGHT CAME ON. PRETTY SAD THAT THIS "COMMON PROBLEM" STILL HASN'T BEEN FIXED AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. WIFE IS NOW A FULL-TIME STUDENT AND HER SCHOOL IS OVER AN HOUR AWAY. SHE MAKES THAT DRIVE TWICE A DAY, THREE TIMES A WEEK. HOW THAT BROKEN PIECE DIDN'T GET TANGLED IN THE TIMING CHAIN AND DESTROY THE ENGINE I'LL NEVER KNOW. *TR

MY 2007 MINI COOPER S THERMOSTAT HOUSING HAS STARTED LEAKING TO THE POINT THAT IT WOULD CAUSE THE ENGINE TO OVERHEAT AT PROLONGED STOPS IN TRAFFIC IF FLUID IS NOT PUT IN THE OVERFLOW TANK. I HAVE BEEN READING VARIOUS THREADS REGARDING THIS ISSUE AND SEE THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL REPORTS OF THIS FAILURE, HOWEVER MINI DOES NOT SEEM TOO WORRIED ABOUT THIS PART. *TR

TURBO OIL SUPPLY LINE FROM ENGINE TO TURBO LEAKING EXCESSIVE OIL REQUIRING REPLACEMENT. POOR ENGINEERING DESIGN OF COMPRESSION FITTING LED TO PREMATURE FAILURE. CONTINUED OPERATION OF VEHICLE WITH THIS CONDITION WOULD RESULT IN CATASTROPHIC ENGINE AND OR ENGINE TURBO FAILURE. MINI OF MARIN WAS NOTIFIED OF THE ONGOING ISSUES AND WERE TOLD THEY HADN'T HEARD OF THE ISSUE. CAR SMOKES UP IF DRIVEN SLOW. MUST BE ADDRESSED IN RECALL. *TR

I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE AS IS FROM A SMALL LOCAL LOT JANUARY OF 2013, EVERYTHING CHECKED OUT AS PERFECT. I LOVE THE CAR. WAS DRIVING HOME FROM WORK AND LUCKILY I WAS ABOUT 10 MILES FROM HOME AND AT THE SPEED OF 35 MPH WHEN IT FELT LIKE IT WAS STUCK IN A GEAR (CAR IS AUTOMATIC) THEN I NOTICED MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I REMAINED AT THE SPEED OF 35MPH OR LOWER BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE ANY CHANCES. THEN MY BRAKE LIGHT CAME ON WHICH MADE ME THINK I HAD BRAKE ISSUES. I PARKED IT LIFTED THE HOOD AND IT WAS EXTREMELY HOT AND YOU COULD HEAR THE FANS RUNNING EXTRA HARD. WE TOOK IT TO A LOCAL GUY TO LOOK AT IT AS HE TOLD US HE JUST HAD A MINI IN WITH SAME ISSUE WEEKS BEFORE AND AAA CAME TO TOW IT TO HENDRICK MINI IN CHARLOTTE. THEY THOUGHT IT WAS VALUE STEMS AND ETC FIND OUT A FEW HOURS LATER NOT THE CASE I NEED A WHOLE NEW TRANSMISSION. THE CAR IS A '07 WITH ONLY 54K MILES ON IT IN PERFECT CONDITION. MAKES NO SENSE. MINI/BMW US HAS HEARD OF MY COMPLAINT AND HAS TOLD ME THERE IS NOTHING THEY WILL DO TO MAKE IT RIGHT. IF YOU ASK ME FROM EVERYTHING I'VE READ ONLINE THIS NEEDS TO BE A RECALL AS EVERYONE HAS HAD THE SAME ISSUE. THIS IS VERY UNSAFE AND I CAN'T AFFORD $9K TO PAY FOR A NEW TRANSMISSION. I LOVED MY MINI COOPER BUT AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW I'M CAR LESS AND LEFT MAKING PAYMENTS ON A CAR I CANNOT EVEN DRIVE AND IT IS SITTING IN THE SHOP ON HOLD FOR THE TIME BEING. MINI/BMW NEEDS TO REALIZE ALL OF THE CUSTOMERS THEY ARE LOSING OVER THIS. *TR

WITHOUT WARNING OR CAUSE, THE TIMING CHAIN & TENSIONER FAILED, WHICH RUINED MY ENGINE. JUST THE TIMING CHAIN COSTS $2000-$3000 TO FIX, BUT SINCE MY ENGINE IS GONE AS WELL THAT NUMBER IS MORE LIKE $6000-$7000. THIS IS A 2007, AND SINKING HALF OF THE VALUE OF THE CAR BACK INTO IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. THIS IS A HUGE ISSUE THAT NEEDS TO BE DEALT WITH. IT IS OBVIOUSLY A MANUFACTURER ISSUE AS OTHERS HAVE ALSO REPORTED THIS ISSUE AT VARIOUS MILEAGE STAGES. PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS. *TR

I WAS DRIVING ON A WINDY ROAD WHEN WITH NO WARNING MY POWER STEERING WENT OUT AND FORCED ME INTO ON COMING TRAFFIC. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO REGAIN CONTROL AND MOVE TO THE SHOULDER. WHEN I TURNED OFF THE CAR AND RESTARTED IT, THE POWER STEERING WAS WORKING, BUT STOPPED AGAIN AT MY HOME. THE IGNITION KEY WAS EXTREMELY HOT TO THE TOUCH WHEN I REMOVED IT. *TR

I TOOK MY MINI S IN TO THE SHOP FOR BRAKE MAINTENANCE, TO BE TOLD THAT THE TENSIONER HAD FAILED AND THE TIMING CHAIN KIT HAD TO BE REPLACED. UNNECESSARY TO MENTION, THIS IS A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR. AFTER DOING MUCH RESEARCH, I HAVE FOUND THAT THE TENSIONER IN THE MINI HAS BEEN AN ISSUE FOR QUITE SOME TIME, SOME SITES HAVE QUOTED SINCE 2007. HAD I NOT TAKEN MY CAR IN FOR A COMPLETELY UNRELATED ISSUE, MY TIMING CHAIN COULD HAVE BROKEN, RESULTING IN A THROWN ROD AND A BLOWN ENGINE, WHICH CAN BE INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS. THIS TENSIONER IS A DEFECTIVE PIECE WHICH CAUSES SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO THE TIMING CHAIN AND AREA COMPONENTS WHEN IT FAILS. DUE TO THE NATURE OF THIS ISSUE AND THE NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS SEEN ON THE WEB, A MANUFACTURER'S RECALL SHOULD BE MADE. *TR