The timing chain guides and tensioner in the MINIcooper are made from plastic. There is a service bulletin created by MINIusa to address this issue, but no recall. As I was driving home, making a turn across a busy intersection, my tensioner broke, which caused my vehicle to die in the middle of a turn with oncoming traffic. I had to get out of my vehicle and push it across the intersection while cars were driving by. Although it is common for vehicle engines to die of different issues, this is a well-documented and acknowledged problem for MINIcoopers, but there has not been enough of a public outcry for a recall. The situation is dangerous, as it can cause engine failure which can result in a collision. The remedy is a replacement of a manufacturer-acknowledged faulty part.

- Houston, TX, USA

Turbo oil cooling lines leaking engine oil on to hot turbocharger. This is a fire hazard. Many MINICooper S models are having this failure.

- Wylie, TX, USA

Driving MINICooper S when all of a sudden I lost power to the car and was able to get it off the hwy. Timing chain broke and damaged the engine. The car has 91,000 miles on it.

- Knoxville, TN, USA

Timing chain failure. Happened on freeway. Complete loss of power, had to be towed.

- Healdsburg, CA, USA

Have found that my MINIis having the exact same issues as those covered by the BMW service recall are having, although mine is not covered as confirmed by MINIcustomer relations. This should be extended to included all minis that are having this issue and not only those that opted for the upgraded model S.

- Dallas, TX, USA

Received a letter from MINIon 11/16/13 notifying me of possibility of faulty chain tensioner, which needed to be "checked for wear and replaced if necessary, " and that I should contact an authorized MINIdealer to arrange an appointment. No indication that the vehicle should not be driven. Two days later (11/18/13), just as I was about to schedule an appointment, the vehicle began to shake, then the red engine light came on, so I shut down the vehicle and had it towed first to the import shop that normally services the MINIthen, after consultation with that mechanic about MINIs recall letter, had it towed to a MINIdealership, where it now sits waiting for diagnosis and news about what any damage might cost to repair, whether I will be responsible for it, and whether I will be reimbursed for two tow charges and a car rental.

- Plum, PA, USA

The contact owns 2007 MINICooper. The contact was driving 70 mph when the vehicle stalled. The vehicle was merged off road and towed to an independent mechanic where it was determined that the timing chain was fractured and caused the engine to fail. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in any recalls. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

- West Palm Beach , FL, USA

The contact owns a 2007 MINICooper S. the contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled and over-heated, causing smoke to emit from under the engine compartment. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the technician was unable to diagnose the failure. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 11,562 and the current mileage was 53,000.

- West Hollywood, CA, USA

My 2007 MINICooper S experienced the death rattle. I had to have the timing/tensioner chain replaced. This is a known defect and MINICooper should be required to recall their cars and fix them.

- Glendora, CA, USA

I was driving on the interstate, when without any warning or indicators, the engine shut off. I was stuck in a dangerous place, with high-speed traffic for sometime. The dealer who as my car says: "the primary cause of the engine failure was the locking up of the vacuum pump. Consequently this caused the bolt on the exhaust cam shaft sprocket to sheer off causing the vehicle to run out of time. The pistons therefore made contact with both intake and exhaust valves, verified with boroscope inspection, thus bending the valves and causing catastrophic failure to the engine. $6850 minus discount to replace engine. This is obviously not an isolated incident. I have had a lot issues with various MINIengine parts deteriorating, despite following the recommended regular maintenance schedules ' clutch, fly-wheel, thermostat, intake silencer, spark plugs, timing chain twice, waterpump, radio head unit, drive belt, hi-lo horn, boot latch, boot cable, to name a few. Hopefully MINIwill do something about these issues.

- Reston, VA, USA

Ran a diagnostic test and these warnings came up - 2D52 super knocking 2dcd fuel shut off due to super knocking cylinder 3 2968 inlet camshaft sensor 2B64 intake manifold, unmetered air based on all of these sound like my MINIcooper has bad fuel and/or serious carbon build, I've just purchased this car from a dealership and I am experiencing delays in acceleration, loss of forward propulsion.

- Jersey City, NJ, USA

Upon acceleration when the turbo charger engages there is a high pitched squeal which changes tone depending upon the acceleration. Afterwards smokes starts leaking from the hood scoop and sides of the hood itself. It smells of burned oil. I noticed oil pooling at a connection point near the turbo charger unit. In mid-August the car failed it's emissions test due to a cracked valve cover. I had the MINIdealership replace the valve cover which was enough to pass inspection. However, the technician informed me that I had an oil leak in a line to the turbo charger that could start a fire and to watch my oil level closely. The cost to repair this (after nearly $900 on the valve cover) is simply beyond my means presently. Since learning about the possible dangers the car is no longer parked in the garage.

- North Olmsted, OH, USA

This vehicle has twice had a failure of the timing chain as a result of a faulty tensioner, resulting in catastrophic engine failure. The first incident occurred from a dead stop in a parking lot so there was no immediate safety issue. The second incident, occurring 12/03/2012, manifested as the vehicle was de-accelerating coming off a highway exit with a total loss of power at the bottom of the exit, in a remote area. MINIcooper sent their technicians in 2007 a "service bulletin, " short of a recall, when the trend was discovered among its "R56' model engines in 2008. I had warned MINIof sounds which later were determined by independent experts to be the timing chain's "death rattle" prior to the first failure, which they attributed to the car's "go-kart like start up." After 6 months of struggling, MINIagreed to 80% of the repair costs, with a new timing chain under a one year warranty. Other failures sidelined the vehicle for months in the intervening time, and due to the incredible cost of repair the vehicle had to be garaged until repaired. So although over a year passed between timing chain failures, about only about 39K miles were driven in that time. As of now, MINIis only offering 50% culpability, this after starting a vocal twitter campaign. I still owe $10K on a vehicle that requires up to $5K in repairs- a repair which will only replace a defective part with the same defective part.

- Asheville, NC, USA

Timing chain failure caused immediate engine failure at highway speed. Damaged timing chain housing cracked causing oil to spray the hot engine. Subsequent oil started a small fire that was extinguished by driver.

- Shawnee, OK, USA

Engine bay started smoking. Pulled the car over and notice the turbo oil line was leaking hot oil everywhere. Could of resulted in a engine bay fire.

- Fairfield, CT, USA

I took my car into my local shop and had oil change, new battery, tires rotated and alignment.they could a noise from the engine and they checked it out. Call me to inform me that I had to take to the MINIcooper dealership because the timing chain needed to be replace. I called MINIcooper and spoke to [xxx] at the houston dealership momentum MINIShe informed me that the cost would be anywhere from 4000 to 10,000 dollars. I explained to her I had the car for 1 year and have any driven 6000 miles in a year. After doing research I noticed that other people where having the same issues with there MINII purchased this car with 39,126 miles on it and my daily drive to work is a quarter mile if that. Please help !!! information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Houston, TX, USA

While in idle and any RPM, a rattle/growling sound could be heard coming from under the timing chain housing of the engine. When shifting it was harder to place into gear without grinding and very easy to miss a gear when shifting. Master mechanic diagnosed this has a failing/failed timing chain. A new timing chain was installed, costing me $1,400. One week after being fixed the same sound is arising from the time chain housing and need to be taken back in for a new chain yet again. This is not the first time the timing chain has been replaced on this MINIcooper, it is just the 1st while I have been the owner of the car and seems to be an ongoing issue with it.

- Lake Mary, FL, USA

The contact owns a 2007 MINICooper S. the contact stated that coolant was leaking from the vehicle. The contact also stated that the transmission mount was fractured. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was found that the coolant housing and the transmission mount needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted about the failure. The failure mileage was 70,000.

- Willoughby, OH, USA

While driving West on 580 highway, my car lost power and was unable to accelerate out of the lane. I was able to coast off of the freeway out of the way of moving traffic. Highway patrol was able to assist with warning other drivers of a mechanical failure. Due to a mechanical vacuum pump failure, car lost all power, and the engine was a total loss. Also failed on the engine was a cam shaft failure, timing chain failure. This is considered a total loss. Repairs cost more than the car is worth. Cost of repairs provided by dealer is estimated at $9,700 dollars manufacture aware of oil issues with the vacuum pump, which could lead to a catastrophic engine breakdown. Oil feed hole on the pump can become clogged on the pump. Vacuum pump will inadequately supply oil to the vital moving parts on the engine.we had just completed an oil change a week before this failure. Manufacture intervals for oil changes, put failure of pump a reality, not a possibility.

- Mountain House, CA, USA

Daughter was driving the vehicle and while stopped at a toll booth on the NJ toll road, the car shut down and could not be restarted. After several mechanics, the 3rd mechanic has diagnosed the problem as " locked up vacuum pump on engine that caused camshaft sprocket to snap causing bent valves in engine, motor oil was full." Totally unsat.

- Stafford, VA, USA