Hello all, My car has now started to suffer from the well known and documented cold start issue. It is caused by a design fault on BMW/Peugeot's side and has been debated and denied by BMW for three years. Apparently, there is a "fix", god knows which in order, that will make the timing chain stop clattering when starting up the car from cold. I have made an appointment with the service department at BMW and, for the first time, I didn't get the usual "Oh, how strange, we have never heard of this before"-answer, which I got regarding the faulty power windows and the irritating noices from the interior - both horrifically common errors on the MINI. This time I got an "Umm.. well... does the rattle appear at cold starts?", I confirmed, then they just said "take it in". I know that there has been unofficial communication between BMW and the dealers regarding this issue and I hope this will be resolved quickly and without drivel. I'm engaged in the Swedish MINI club and we know the issue all too well. Many members are really pissed off because of the poor quality in the product and many are never coming back to MINI or BMW because of this obvious and denied issue. I could well end up being one of them. This also makes me curious as to whether this issue has been addressed in the LCI... BMW will never admit to having done so, as BMW think it is not an issue, but I'm hoping for some sort of information anyway.
Thanks for asking! I was at the dealer today to confirm the date as I had forgotten (silly me) and at the same time I asked the service guy what they had in store for the little MINI. Well, seems like they are well aware of the problem as they had already ordered the parts for the chain tensioner replacement when I made the first call. Now they are going to measure the slack in the timing chain to establish whether they need to do the small or the big fix. A year ago, BMW told it's customers the rattle was just characteristic of the engine... :t-crazy2: Today I was informed, as I already knew, that the rattle will lead to a massive engine failure if not attended to. Let's hope for the best!
Sorry for the late response, I have been to Mallorca for a week The car is going in on thursday, so I will know more by then and I will post whatever they do.
We got the car back the same day we left it at BMW. According to the dealer, the chain tensioner had been replaced with a later specification. Still no rattle. I really hope we got a good fix! Even if we didn't, the reception from BMW has improved tremendously. When this serious issue was first documented by the owners, BMW just stuck it's head in the sand and said it was characteristic of the engine
Good news! Well, congrats Robert. Now that you fixed your car, can you find me a solution for those weird noises I get everytime I depress the clutch pedal, or will I have to replace the whole car?
Hehe, you should get an R50 MINI instead. Regarding the S60, I'll check with my brother, he's rather into Volvo (he should be here showing off his new car).
UPDATE: While driving home this evening, my girlfriend got a yellow light, "reduced engine power". We don't know if it is related to the job done to correct the cold start issue but if my memory serves me, others have had this happening to their car in connection with carried out fixes for the issue.
I've got a solution. Sell the Cooper and buy an S60. This car just fixes itself. I was getting 4 different noises last week, and since yesterday everything works perfect Seriously speaking, have you ever had a "reduced engine power" yellow light before?
Car is booked for friday. I'm really thinking of never, ever, buying anything from the BMW group again.
We will pick it up monday - if it's ready by then. The dealer had no idea what could be the problem this time.
