NHTSA Complaint #10576063 — 2008 MINI COOPER S

I HAVE NOW EXPERIENCED MY SECOND TIMING CHAIN TENSIONER FAILURE WITHIN A THREE YEAR PERIOD. COUNTLESS REPORTS ARE SURFACING AROUND THE GLOBE OF THE FAULTY DESIGN, AND THE MANUFACTURER (BMW) HAS ACKNOWLEDGED A DESIGN FLAW. THEY HAVE YET TO ISSUE A RECALL AS THE FEDERAL GOVT HAS NOT YET MANDATED THE REPAIR. THIS IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION (AND EXPENSIVE ~ $2K) SHOULD THE SYSTEM FAIL. THE ONLY NOTICE IS A RATTLING SOUND IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT PRIOR TO FAILURE. BMW CLAIMS THE TENSIONER SHOULD BE GOOD FOR UPWARDS OF 120K MILES. MY VEHICLE HAS LESS THAN 50K AND THIS IS THE 2ND FAILURE I'VE EXPERIENCED IN THE LAST 3 YEARS. CONSIDERING THE NUMBER OF MINI COOPER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD, A NATIONWIDE RECALL IS THE ONLY MEASURE TO ENSURE THIS PROBLEM IS ADEQUATELY ADDRESSED. *TR