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!

- San Ramon, CA, USA

2009 MINICooper S - I, like so many other MINIcooper owners, have just fallen victim to the "death rattle" of the [known by BMW] defective/faulty and non-recalled timing chain issue. It's absurd that we continue to expose this far too common defect of a product that was originally deemed as a "non-service" item good for the operating life of the engine. Most owners experience problems within the first 50,000 miles. I purchased this well maintained (at a local MINIdealer) MINIfrom a private party just days after they performed an expensive 'walnut treatment' to clear out excessive carbon build up. Within 100mi of this service, the 'death rattle' starts. I am now being told that it will run just over $2400 (I've uncovered about $400 in total parts) to correct an issue BMW has been hiding behind for years; they've even issued a warning to service advisors to not re-install the defective parts, but deny the part to actually be defective or in need of recall. When will anyone stand up for the little guy, the consumer, and demand this well known, often occurring, extremely expensive and potentially dangerous defect be corrected at the cost of the manufacturer? I now have an $11,500 paper weight.

- Plano, TX, USA

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 MINICooper 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/MINIshould 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.

- Gaithersburg, MD, USA

My timing chain has now started to fail for the 4th time on this car. The timing chain tensioners fail and MINIdoes nothing to correct the issue past the warranty period.

- Dallas, TX, USA

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.

- Saint Peters, MO, USA

My timing chain was replaced and has an issue with the tension exactly one year later.

- Staten Island , NY, USA

Once you search the 'death rattle' on google, you can get lots of info about what is going on and the death rattle is really common on the R56. It is really a common problem and MINIshould take the responsibility of that.

- Blacksburg, VA, USA

Took vehicle in for installation of the heat shield for turbo feed line. This is a recall and newly installed part to protect the turbo feed line due to overheating. Once it was installed I was informed that the turbo line is failing and the dealer wants to charge me $1500 to repair the leaking line. The failure of the line is obviously due to excessive heat around this line... the same reason they are installing a heat shield. This is ridiculous and the item should be recalled and replaced!

- Morgran Hill, CA, USA

Engine all of a sudden starts making a rattling noise. Took it in to dealer, timing chain guides had broken and chain was stretched. Was informed there was a MINIcampaign about this but my vehicle was not included. Expensive repair and potentially dangerous situation if chain had broken. Was informed after work was done that clutch was bad as well. Had driven the vehicle the day before without issue but after only 10 miles from the dealership car would not move from stopped since clutch would not engage. Extremely early for this amount of repairs to be needed, I question the durability of these parts and this brand. Both of these sudden wear failures could have been extremely dangerous if they had occurred on the highway.

- Englewood, CO, USA

Bought MINICooper 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.

- Danville, VA, USA

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. MINIdealer identified the problem as a turbo oil feed line leak. Noticed on NHTSA forums that this is a common issue with MINIowners and could become a fire hazard under the hood if not detected and quickly repaired.

- Costa Mesa, CA, USA

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.

- Los Angeles, CA, USA

I purchased a 2009 MINICooper 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 MINIdealership 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 MINIdealer 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 MINICooper truly has serious problems and is a hazard to be on the road. I no longer drive the MINIwill never drive another MINIand I no longer have to say a prayer before I get in my car. I hope the NHTSA can provide some assistance with this situation.

- Texas City, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2009 MINICooper. 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

- Duluth, MN, USA

The contact owns a 2009 MINICooper. 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.

- Baton Rouge, LA, USA

Driving on 405 fwy in southern California turning out of freeway off ramp in the pouring rain. The car dead stopped. Very dangerous, cars coming off freeway behind me was a 911 situation. After someone pushed me off to the side of the road had car towed. No engine light warning to indicate problem of tensioner (timing chain breakage). Entire engine was replaced/rebuilt because of extensive damage to engine. BMW apparently is aware of the timing chain defect and has not issued service bulletin or recall. I'm hearing there is a class action suit because of the many complaints. The fact that I could have very easily been killed or seriously injured is why I am issuing a complaint (not to mention my bill for $6200 I have on my credit card) and the three weeks it took to fix. Naturally I was 6 months out of my warranty.

- Huntington Beach, CA, USA

Turbo oil feed line leak, oil filter housing gasket which is costing me close to 1200$.

- Irving, TX, USA

The contact owns a 2009 MINICooper S. the contact stated that coolant was leaking from the radiator. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the vehicle was repaired by the previous owner under NHTSA campaign id number: 12V008000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure and current mileage was 44,000.

- Bullhead City, AZ, USA

My car has been leaking oil and the dealership determined it was due to the timing chain tensioner. They are charging $357.98 to have it fixed. My car was purchased brand new and has only 50,000 miles on it. As soon as my 4-year warranty expired, my car has been in the shop multiple times due to engine issues. Services that have been performed at 50,000 miles: 1. thermostat is leaking coolant- $ $671.99 2. water-pump also leaking coolant- $661.20 3. coolant flush- $169.80 I use only premium gas for my car, perform regular oil changes, and maintain my car meticulously. These problems should not be occurring after 4.5 years of driving. I believe that MINIproduces faulty cars that do not last, have absolutely zero reliability, and then charges an exorbitant amount to fix something that should have not been broken in the first place.

- Houston, TX, USA

Known issues: Timing chain and intake valves. Engine light came on at approx 40,000 miles. Dealership diagnosed 2 issues that seem to be known recurring issues for this make/model: Carbonized intake valves requiring cleaning, and replace timing chain. This bill will cost over $2600. Several complaints have appeared for intake value buildup and also for the timing chain issues. Internet searches show this as a common issue and also a known issue by BMW MINIThis should have been a recall as they knowingly sold these defected cars in 2009. With only 40K miles to date, I plan to keep this car for at least 4 more years. May not be possible with bills like this one.

- Avondale, PA, USA