MINI MINI One R50 (2001 - 2007) - 06 1.6 Con Rod Failure

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Sun 20 Dec 2009 16:32
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - MidSussex
Hello all, new user here.
My wife has owned a Mini One Convertible for just over two years. Bought from a main dealer with 14k miles and FSH. Serviced by them since and now has 26k miles. The car goes to and from the kids schools, shops etc - usual local mileage, no racing, mods or anything silly. Went out of warranty in May but we decided not to renew because what could possibly go wrong on a car of this age, mileage, use etc!!
Last Tuesday the con rod blew out of the block with no warning at all. Engine is a total write off and cost to acquire a new one from BMW and fit is c. £5.5k Main dealer has been brilliant and currently I am being asked to pay £1.1k as a contribution to the labour charge. I'm now discussing direct with BMW as I'm still shocked at such a huge failure on a car of this age and condition.
Has anybody heard of this before. I've trawled the web and found one similar case in the USA. And how much more do you think I might persuade BMW to offer me. Ultimately they are about to lose two customers - my wife who has lost faith in the car and me as I'm about to change my BMW 525 and will probably go Merc or similar now but not BMW!
And any idea what might have caused such a dramatic failure?
Thanks all.
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Sun 20 Dec 2009 18:13
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - WorkshopTech
We operate as VAG and BMW specialists and as such we see quite a number of out of warranites Minis. First of all let me tell you that your engine is not a BMW engine, its known as the Tritec unit and made in Brazil. The bottom end is basically the same as found on the Chrysler I-4s (like the Neon).
Its a crude and tough unit but we have seen some problems. We have seen a few where no.1 conrod bearing has run and thrown swarf into the engine and caused damage. If its thrown a rod then something like this may of happened. Which rod was it? Engine management can also throw a wobbly and start running the motor very lean, at high speed/load this puts a hole in one or more pistons.

I am not a great fan of these cars. The engines are not bad but there is not a lot of evidence of BMW quality. I am an MoT AE and youd be surprised how many faults we see on these cars at 4+ years old. A lot of these cars have been package serviced and turn up with knocking TRE's, brake imbalance, and KO'd suspension bushes.

If BMW are asking you to pay £1100 in total then Id count your blessings and pay up.
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Sun 20 Dec 2009 21:21
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - MidSussex
Thats interesting and helpful! Much appreciated. I'm not sure which rod it was - I havent seen the car. It happened at 30mph so assume speed wasnt an issue. Appreciate your thoughts.
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Mon 21 Dec 2009 13:16
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - injection doc
I too agree with workshop tech. i have been horrified at the poor build quality of the power plants amongst some other components for these minis. the engines are some of the worst build quality i have see & the finnish to the engine block faces etc does beg the question as to how they even hold together.
There ia always a possibility that it has sucked up some water at some stage when driving which has subseqentially damaged a Rod & its just let go
truly horrid car for the price! could by quality toyota for the price of a mini.
Think carefully before you consider a merc iether, could be out the frying pan & into the fire.
The offer that BMW have made I have to say is a generous & Loyal offer, I would bite their hand off. I think there would be some mazda6 diesel owners that would of appreciated an offer like that for their engine failures! consider yourself lucky.
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Mon 21 Dec 2009 13:42
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - Number_Cruncher
If the engine gave no knocking noise before the failure, then, I would expect that it's a fatigue failure of either the con rod or cap, or, more likely, one of the big end bolts.

If the engine was knocking, then, it's a bearing failure, which in itself could have a number of possible causes which led to the failure of the rod itself.

In practical terms, the offer you have been given is very good.

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Mon 21 Dec 2009 16:48
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - Robin the Technician
I totally agree - the offer made by BMW is extremely generous considering you have had use of the engine for three years. They are actually under no obligation to give you anything. So grab it with both hands!!!

Robin the Technician
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Mon 21 Dec 2009 17:23
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - WorkshopTech
I too agree with workshop tech. i have been horrified at the poor build quality
of the power plants amongst some other components for these minis. the engines are some
of the worst build quality i have see & the finnish to the engine block
faces etc does beg the question as to how they even hold together.


True enough, but I have to be fair and say that although the quality is poor we dont actually see that many Minis with engine problems as a proportion of those that we have in the workshop. It seems to be one of the more reliable bits of the car.
I really do dislike the minis though, a real triumph of marketing over function. They are actually quite a shoddy car and something like a suzuki swift is a much better motor for a lot less money. BMW must be making a fortune out of the mini.
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Mon 21 Dec 2009 21:32
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - MidSussex
Thanks all. It may have been water then - the school run includes some large puddles after heavy rain but wouldn't this happen right away? Anyway - it happended last Tuesday and tomorrow the dealer delivers the car back with the new engine which strikes me as good service. I'll press BMW for more on the cost but note your comments about this - makes me feel a little better! And as for style over substance - suspect you are right. My 525d tourer is incredibly well engineered, a pleasure to drive and superbly built but I'll always drive my wifes mini when I get the chance! Cheers
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Mon 21 Dec 2009 21:46
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - ex-Triumph man
As you are obviously a BMW fan, you could always play your trade in card. In other words, tell BMW customer care that you are just about to change your 5 series for a new one. Would BMW be prepared to offset the outstanding Mini engine bill against a new 5 series just to keep you in the marque? Worth a try. Good luck.>> Hello all new user here.
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Mon 14 Jun 2010 08:47
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - AlanMcC

Hello MidSussex,

Would you mind telling me more information about your case please and what the outcome was? On Thursday last, the same thing happened to my Mini Cooper Works. Its a 2004 with only 56k on the clock and obviously out of warranty but BMW don't seem to be offering my any sort of goodwill, even though it has full main dealer service history and the main dealer knows the car well. If there was any case at all for them to replace my engine (ie. your story) I'm sure that could help greatly.

I'd love to speak to you on the phone. If you'd like to send me your number I can call you. Alternatively, my number is +353 87 6739667 and email is alanm@bpi.ie

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Alan

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Wed 16 Jun 2010 11:24
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - AlanMcC

Would anyone know who MidSussex is or how I could get in contact?

Many thanks,

Alan

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Wed 16 Jun 2010 14:15
06 1.6 Con Rod Failure - Chris M

email the Moderators and ask if they would mind emailing MidSussex on your behalf.

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