Timing chain needs replacing

Spendless_Dosh

Hi All,

I wondered if anyone our there can offer some advice.

My O/H has a 5 year old mini which has been diagnosed with a fault on the timing chain and it needs to be replaced costing approx £600. The car has only covered 28k miles and in my experience (company car driver, 40k miles p.a.) this is very early for a modern car.

I've done a bit of research and it appears lots of people have been in the same situation, but as yet this has not become a recall issue. Our BMW dealer is advising that there is nothing they can do about the costs as the car is outside the warranty period, but reading various forums it would appear that this is a discretionary situation and if they want to they can do the repair either FOC or contribute toward the costs.

Anyone out there had similar experiences?

Trebor16

If the car has a full BMW service history then it may be worthwhile asking the dealer to approach BMW GB to see if they will carry out a repair on a goodwill basis.

Hintza

And if it doesn't you will be on to plumbs

s_b

and if it hasnt got a full service history thats why the chain stretched
i didnt even know they had a chain mind

captainawsome

The chain issue on mini's is massively exaggerated by running low on oil, if its a copper s (they normally are) they use quite alot of oil naturally and it should be checked weekly. If not a normal cooper or one should still be checked as low oil level will cause the timing chain to grind in no time, sometimes adding oil will get rid of the noise but if it's been happening for a while, a replacement will be needed. I don't think I've seen one needing a chain that hasn't been run low on oil at some point. If your oil level has religiously been ok and hand on heart you know that, you may hav just been unlucky with a defective tensioner or guide. Hope you get it sorted ok

Spendless_Dosh

Thanks for the responses. Yes, it's a cooper s. Oil checked regularly and serviced by main dealer as recommended.

Been doing some reading on various forums and it seems lots of people are having problems with the timing chain. Many have been replaced under warranty, but looks like we've been unlucky and due to the low mileage (5 years old and only 28k) we're only now experiencing this.

E-mailed Mini UK and have had a standard response - out of warranty, not our problem, etc.

Would be nice to hear from anyone who managed to get a positive result. At this mileage I wasn't expecting any issues, particularly one which has potential to destroy the engine.

minibbb

I own a Cooper S which has had numerous timing chain issues, it had a new engine before because of it!! BMW released yet another new timing chain tensioner a couple of months ago but mine is still on one from a couple of years ago and fingers crossed is ok so far....

More concerning is the carbon build up issue which requires a decoke (£1200 plus). Mine has done 28K and is hesitant/jerky whilst driving so I fear this needs doing. Someone on minitorque got BMW to do theirs for free this week so goodwill repairs DO happen. I'd pursue it if I was you, I'd imagine the sales of goods act may cover this?

rev_henry

If you have no success with a goodwill gesture, an independent BMW/mini specialist will be cheaper, and may have a better part to prevent it happening again.

Joe_Horner

Spendless_Dosh wrote: »

Thanks for the responses. Yes, it's a cooper s. Oil checked regularly and serviced by main dealer as recommended.

Been doing some reading on various forums and it seems lots of people are having problems with the timing chain. Many have been replaced under warranty, but looks like we've been unlucky and due to the low mileage (5 years old and only 28k) we're only now experiencing this.

E-mailed Mini UK and have had a standard response - out of warranty, not our problem, etc.

Would be nice to hear from anyone who managed to get a positive result. At this mileage I wasn't expecting any issues, particularly one which has potential to destroy the engine.

This is the sort of case where looking into SOGA might actually be appropriate and worthwhile. Part of the reason SOGA is so vague about timescales is because of situations like this where there's an established design / manufacturing problem (evidenced by a large number of warranty claims and several revisions to the parts involved) which may not show up in something that's used less than "normal" in a fixed timespan. It's still the same defect after 5 years as it was on the one that failed in 6 months of high mileage.

May be worth pointing out to Mini UK that there seems to be a clearly identifiable problem with the product and you'd hate to have to resort to Watchdog & Co to establish whether or not you have SOGA rights.

GolfBravo

I agree. Definitely worth looking into SOGA.

Firstly, please check the owners handbook/service schedule. Is there any mention of the timing belt needing replacement at any major service? If there isn't it means the timing chain is expected to last the vehicle's lifetime - and 28K miles is hardly anything these days.

According to a recent Autobild (Auto Express German sister publication) article there are very similar problems with VW's 1.4 TSI engine (Golf, Touran and Tiguan) - timing chain failure at around 40K kms (25K miles). Apparently their timing chains are rubbish: made of some cheap and nasty materials by a third party supplier causing grief with timing chains, tensioners and few other bits. The very fact that there is no replacement interval in the handbook indicates, at least in Germany, that the timing chains are expected to last a lifetime. VW are currently spending a fortune fixing these engines under 100K kms free of charge.

wealdroam

Joe_Horner wrote: »

May be worth pointing out to Mini UK that there seems to be a clearly identifiable problem with the product and you'd hate to have to resort to Watchdog & Co to establish whether or not you have SOGA rights.

It is worth noting that any rights under the Sale of Goods Act are with/against whoever sold the thing to the current owner.

In other words, talking to Mini UK about a SOGA remedy is not likely to get anywhere, unless the car was purchased directly from Mini UK.

The OP needs to address SOGA issues to the selling dealer.