2009 MINI COOPER S Complaints

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON....EXCESSIVE CARBON BUILD UP. HAPPENED AGAIN AT 68K MILES .... *TR

I PURCHASED THIS CAR WITH 24K MILES ON IT. IT NOW HAS A LITTLE OVER 28K MILES. IT HAS BEEN STARTING AND RUNNING JUST FINE, UNTIL THE WEATHER TURNED COLDER. NOW IF THE CAR SITS OUTSIDE FOR A FEW HOURS WITH THE TEMP BELOW ABOUT 45 DEGREES, THE ENGINE RATTLES AND SOUNDS HORRIBLE WHEN I FIRST START IT. THIS IS A VERY LOUD RATTLE COMING FROM THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE ENGINE. THE NOISE IS SO BAD THAT I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR UNTIL IT WARMS UP AND THE SOUND GOES AWAY. AFTER A LITTLE RESEARCH ONLINE, I AM SHOCKED TO SEE HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE THIS PROBLEM AND THAT IT IS THE TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER AND GUIDE SYSTEM. I WISH I HAD RESEARCHED THESE CARS BEFORE MAKING A PURCHASE BECAUSE NOW I OWN AN EXPENSIVE PROBLEM. *TR

MINI COOPER SENT A RECALL FOR A FAULTY TIMING CHAIN IN MY 2009 MINI COOPER. THIS IS THE 2ND TIMING CHAIN REPAIR IN 2 YEARS. WHEN I HAD IT IN FOR THE REPAIR I INFORMED THE TECH I SMELLED OIL BURNING AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS RUNNING DURING A HIGHWAY DRIVE. THEY LOOKED AT THE CAR AND INFORMED ME THE TURBO LINES WERE LEAKING WHICH POSE A RISK IF I LEFT IT UNREPAIRED. THE TURBO LINE REPAIR IS A $1000 REPAIR ON A CAR WITH LESS THAN 35000 MILES. THE TECH INFORMED ME THAT THEY WERE GOING TO PUT A HEAT SHIELD ON THE VEHICLE ALSO AS PART OF A RECALL. PERHAPS THIS SHIELD SHOULD HAVE BEEN INSTALLED PRIOR AND THE LINE WOULD STILL BE INTACT. *TR

NHTSA ID NUMBER: 10043724 THERE HAS BEEN A SERVICE BULLETIN BUT NOT A RECALL ON THE TURBO HEAT SHIELD. WITH THE LACK OF THE HEAT SHIELD THERE COULD BE ENGINE FAILURE BY A LACK OF OIL SUPPLY. I PAID OUT OF POCKET FOR THE ALL THE REPAIRS CAUSED BY THE LACK OF THE HEAT SHIELD TOTALING $636.37, BUT MINI WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THESE COSTS AS THIS IS A SERVICE BULLETIN NOT A RECALL (THOUGH MY DEALER HAD LEFT A MESSAGE STATING THAT IT WAS AN OPEN RECALL). THIS SHOULD BE AN OPEN RECALL AS THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED. *TR

TIMING CHAIN BROKE..I WAS DRIVING ON THE ROAD ON MY WAY HOME COMING TO A STOP SIGN SLOWING MY SPEED LUCKILY TO MAKE A LEFT TURN WHEN I HEARD AN AWFUL NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. I TRIED MAKING MY LEFT TURN WHEN THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN AND IT STARTED SPUTTERING VERY SLOWLY MOVING. I MADE IT HOME SPUTTERING..LUCKILY WAS CLOSE TO HOME OTHERWISE I WOULD HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED. AFTER SOME LONG AND FRUSTRATING TROUBLESHOOTING FROM A NICE NEIGHBOR, HE FOUND OUT THAT THE TIMING CHAIN HAD BROKEN CAUSING SEVERAL OTHER PROBLEMS. HE ALSO FOUND OUT THAT IT HAD VERY LITTLE OR NO OIL. WHICH I HAD NO INDICATION FROM THE CAR COMPUTER THAT IT WAS EVEN LOW. THIS MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE TIMING CHAIN PROBLEM BUT AGAIN I HAD NO CAR INDICATION. IT WILL COST ME AT LEAST $7000.00 FOR COST AND LABOR TO FIX SINCE IT IS NOT UNDER WARRANTY OR NOT EVEN SURE IF IT'S COVERED...THIS IS MY 3RD MINI..FIRST ONE WAS A LEASED ONE AND I UPGRADED TO A MINI S WHEN THE LEASE WAS OVER AND LEASED ANOTHER ONE. I BOUGHT THIS ONE WHEN THE SECOND LEASE WAS OVER..EVER SINCE I BOUGHT THIS ONE..I HAVE HAD SO MANY PROBLEMS WITH THE ENGINE. EVERYTHING IS DOCUMENTED ON HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE TAKEN IT IN...SO VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS ONE!!!! *TR

I WAS DRIVING AND THEN THE ENGINE MADE A WEIRD RATTLE AND THEN QUIT. THANKFULLY I WASN'T TRAVELING FASTER THAN 45MPH AT THE TIME OF OCCURRENCE. ENGINE IS COMPLETELY RUINED. *TR

TOTAL LOSS OF POWER AS I WAS CROSSING A MAJOR HIGHWAY, CAR TOWED TO LOCAL BMW CERTIFIED MECHANIC, SHOWS TIMING CHAIN MISFIRE, NEEDS TOTAL REPLACEMENT WITH MULTIPLE COMPONENTS NEEDING REPLACED DUE TO TIMING CHAIN PROBLEM. 3300$ WORTH OF DAMAGE TO ENGINE. APPARENT PROBLEM WITH TIMING CHAIN ON THOUSANDS OF MINI COOPER AND THEY HAVE NOT CALLED A RECALL ON THE PIECE. THIS WAS ALMOST A MAJOR ACCIDENT FOR ME AND IS CAUSING ME THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO REPLACE AND MAJOR INCONVENIENCE. *TR

THERMOSTAT HOUSING DESIGN FLAW. SPOKE WITH PART DEPT MANAGER ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT HOUSING LEAKING COOLANT AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE A DESIGN FLAW IN THAT THE HEATING ELEMENT IN THE HOUSING CAUSES THE PART TO SPLIT OPEN WHERE THE 2 PIECES WERE SEAMED TOGETHER. THIS HAS BEEN REPORTED TIME AND TIME AGAIN AND CURRENTLY THAT PARTICULAR PART IS ON BACK-ORDER AND THUS NOT ABLE TO DRIVE THE CAR AS IT LEAKS ALL THE COOLANT OUT BEFORE LEAVING THE DRIVEWAY. *TR

UPON STARTUP OF THE ENGINE, THERE IS A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. A VERY UNHEALTHY SOUND. SOUND IS UNUSUAL FOR ANY GAS ENGINE, LET ALONE ONE WITH ONLY 57,000 MILES. *JS SEARCHED THE INTERNET FOR OTHER MINI COOPERS EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM. MANY COMPLAINTS ALL OVER THE INTERNET FOR EXACTLY THIS PROBLEM. MANY OWNERS REPORTING EARLY ENGINE FAILURE, AS EARLY AS 12,000 MILES REPORTED BY A MINI DEALER IN MAINE. MOST OWNERS ARE SEEING THE PROBLEM WITH 40-50,000+ MILES. THE LOCAL MINI DEALER SAYS THE REPAIR IS NOT COVERED BY WARRANTY, AND REPAIRS ARE APPROX. $2,000. TIMING CHAINS USUALLY DO NOT NEED REPLACEMENT EVEN AFTER 100,000 OF USE, SOME CARS NEVER REPLACE TIMING CHAINS UNTIL 200,000 MILES. THIS CAR SEEMS TO EAT TIMING CHAINS AROUND 40-50,000 MILES.

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. CHECKED IT AND ITS THE THERMOSTAT. I HAD REPLACED THE THERMOSTAT 1 YEAR AGO AND NOW AGAIN. WENT TO THE DEALERSHIP HERE IN SAN ANTONIO, TX AND THEY TOLD ME THEIR ON BACK ORDER. APPARENTLY 17,000 ON BACKORDER! ITS ALMOST BEEN A MONTH AND A HALF AND MY CAR IS STILL IN MY GARAGE WITH NO DEFINITE ANSWER FROM MINI. THERE HAS TO BE A BIGGER ISSUE THAT IS BEING COVERED UP BY MINI. *TR