NHTSA Complaint #10435941 — 2007 MINI COOPER S

AFTER A COUPLE DAYS OF HEARING SOME RATTLING UNDER THE HOOD AFTER COLD STARTS, MY ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER AND THE MECHANIC SAID THAT A FAULTY TENSIONER HAD CAUSED THE TIMING CHAIN TO STRETCH OUT EXCESSIVELY AND IF IT'S NOT FIXED, MY ENGINE COULD SEIZE UP AT ANY TIME.. IT'S A $2,500 REPAIR. THIS IS RIDICULOUS, CONSIDERING THE CAR IS ONLY 4 YEARS OLD AND HAS JUST 30,000 MILES ON IT. I DID SOME RESEARCH AND FOUND THAT MANY MANY OWNERS OF MY SAME YEAR, MAKE AND MODEL ARE REPORTING THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE, YET MINI IS DOING NOTHING ABOUT IT. I CALLED MINI COOPER TO ASK ABOUT IT AND THEY ONLY GRUDGINGLY TOOK MY COMPLAINT. THEY SAID THEY WILL NOT DO A RECALL UNLESS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DEMANDS IT, SO I'M ASKING YOU TO DO SO. I THINK THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE (WHO KNOWS WHEN THE ENGINE COULD SEIZE UP) AND IT SEEMS TO BE SO WIDELY REPORTED, I CAN'T BELIEVE MINI IS IGNORING IT. I WOULD THINK THIS IS ABOUT TO BE A VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM, CONSIDERING OTHER 2007'S ARE JUST STARTING TO HAVE THESE PROBLEMS. PLEASE INVESTIGATE AND MAKE MINI DO THE RIGHT THING. *TR