MINI Countryman (2010 – 2016) Review

• January 2010: MINI Countryman launched
• February 2011: MINI Cooper SD goes on sale
• March 2012: MINI John Cooper Works Countryman announced
• June 2013
• July 2013: MINI Countryman Camp ALL4 Top Tent Camper Launched
• April 2014
• December 2015: MINI Countryman Special Edition launched

22-06-2011:

Solution to turbo dump valve problems. Gloucestershire-based Forge motorsport has launched a pair of dump valves for the R60 Mini Countryman: a vent-to-atmosphere ‘Blow Off’ valve and a recirculation valve. Both have been designed and precision CNC machined to offer a direct replacement for the OEM parts. Each unit is entirely hand-fabricated and uses motorsport-quality materials and fabrication methods to create a unit which is both hugely effective and aesthetically pleasing. These valves take into account the car’s electronically controlled bypass valves, where fitted, and are recommended where the car’s boost pressure has been increased by an ECU software upgrade or simply for those wanting an improved Blow off sound, a more efficient operation, or simply as a solution to the many failures that have occurred.

The most common complaint on the OEM solenoid valve is a split diaphragm preventing the valve from opening fully, or not at all. This doesn’t always result in a check engine light, as the valve can still be blown open by the boost pressure. Forge’s engineers have seen many valves with this problem during testing. The other common problem is that the diaphragm retaining ring is made from very thin plastic that goes brittle with heat cycles, and eventually fails. This may prevents the diaphragm from sealing correctly, causing the same problems as mentioned above. This particular failure has also been known to result in the valve falling apart upon removal from the turbo, though in extreme cases, bits of plastic can enter the turbo and destroy it. Forge’s alternative is a fully engineered solution offering both significantly improved reliability. The new vales are piston based, with no internal diaphragm to fail. Being of all aluminium construction, it replaces the original unit with a pressure/vacuum operated piston valve that still also retains the desirable OEM ECU control over valve actuation. This design of valve has been proved on VAG engines for many years. The spring is interchangeable for different levels of boost, and the solenoid is ‘plug and play’ with the wiring harness which is included. Priced from just £189.79 including VAT. For more information or to buy this part online, link to www.forgemotorsport.co.uk

11-03-2012:

Now thought that low pressure in the fuel pump of the 1.6 petrol leads to low pressure in the oil pump, starving the timing chain of oil on start-up and leading to stretching of the chain. That could also be why they rattle on start-up.

01-04-2013:

Short runs from cold and the ridiculous long-life service regime seem to lead to condensdation in the sump and rocker cover that emulsifies engine oil and leads to blockages of oilways in the turbo petrol engines. See above about Forge Motorsport modification.

28-05-2014:

Extraordinary story of leaking MINI Countryman, purchased 27-7-2011 that leaked from new, with leaks identified as: 1,600 miles faulty windscreen seals; then 1,650 miles perished a/c pipe; 6,984 miles (12-9-2012) faulty door seals; 7,878 miles (26-10-2012) faulty door seals again. Car replaced with new Countryman All4 December 2012. That also suffered ingress of water, thought to be through rear door seals. Car returned to Stratstone MINI at 7,000 miles on 24-4-2014. Now seeking to reject 2nd car.

15-03-2015:

Problem with oil solenoid seal of 55k mile 2011 MINI Countryman Cooper S. Solenoid seal leaked and via the harness contaminated the main control unit. BMW dealer quoted £2,250 to fix. BME MINI contributed 50% of parts cost, leaving a bill of £1,500.

19-01-2016:

Significant oil leaks from 2010 MINI Countryman ALL4 at 44,000 miles and ABS wheel sensor dropped off.

28-04-2016:

Clutch and DMF of 'approved used' MINI Countryman failed after 6 months at 30,000 miles.

11-10-2016:

Report of clutch of 2014 MINI Countryman All4 John Cooper Works failing at 11,500 miles.

31-10-2016:

Complaint of clutch failing on NINI Cooper S Countryman All4 at 37,000 miles requiring replacement of clutch and Dual Mass Flywheel at a cost of £2,000. Warranty claim turned down.

30-01-2017:

Report of strong fuel smell both outside and in the cabin of a 2014 petrol MINI Countryman Cooper S. Local Mini dealership has looked at the car and said there is nothing wrong, and that Cooper S Minis on their forecourt were 'a bit fuelly'. Fuel economy is not quite what it used to be either. See 11-3-2012 and 1-4-2013.

30-01-2017:

Problems with 2013 MINI Countryman 2.0d ALL4 bought used at 14,780 miles and now at 22,500 miles have included: a jolting feeling when reversing or going forward with full (or near) lock at slow speed. Dealer spent a lot of money under warranty trying to rectify the problem. They now feel what is left is “acceptable” to MINI and normal. The day it was due to go in to have this work done it broke down after the EGR valve failed also see bills below. It is a low mileage car having done only 22,500 miles to date but only 14,780 when bought it. Owner assued EGR failure was due to previous lots of short journeys and therefore coked up. Also a vibration noise coming from the engine bay when initially setting off and it sounds louder outside.

19-10-2017:

Report of clutch and DMF failure on 2012 MINI Countryman ALL4 at 22,500 miles. Quoted £2,000 to replace. Might get a Goodwill reduction, but £2k is the standard price.

11-01-2018:

Report of failure of transfer box of 2013 MINI Cooper D ALL4 Countryman at 28,000 miles. Owner not warned that a disparity of more then 3mm between the tyres can cause this. Quoted £2,114 to repair.

12-03-2018:

Report of centre clutch of 2014 MINI Countryman 1.6TD ALL4 failing at 26k miles. MINI wants £2,467 to replace because car had been serviced independently and centre clutch fluid and filter had not been changed.

23-05-2018:

Report of sudden failure of N47 diesel engine of MINI Countryman SD ALL4 at 85,000 miles. BMW dealer ran up a bill of £1,000, then quoted £13,500 for a replacement engine in a car worth £7,500.

11-06-2018:

Report of 2014 MINI Countryman Cooper S needing new waterpump, housing and pulley at 26k miles because the parts had developed surface cracks.

05-07-2018:

Report of N47 engine of 2012 MINI Countryman 2.0SD "blowing up" at 48,000 miles. At first, dealer quoted £10,000 to replace it. But after a contribution from BMW cost reduced to £1,400.

23-08-2018:

Report of engine failure of 2012 MINI Countryman at 71k miles, all servicing ahving been done on time by the MINI dealer. Had started to use more oil two months previously. Local garage could not work out why. Amber warning light lit up whern driving on M25. Nowhere to stop. Then engine cut out on slip road to M11. Dealer first thought head gasket had failed. Has now condemned engine as irrepairable.

19-03-2019:

Report of failure of transfer box of 2014/64 MINI Countryman Cooper S All4 at 20,850 miles. We queried whether it could have been caused by a tread depth disparity of more than 3mm between the tyres.

16-06-2019:

Report of engine problem with 2014/64 MINI Countryman (didn't say which engine) at 55k miles. Auto electrician reported that the timing chain was not turning the camshaft. Possibly due to a stretched timing chain.

08-11-2019:

Report of stop/start stopping working on MINI Countryman diesel. Suspect battery.

20-11-2019:

Report of timing chain of N47 2.0 diesel engine of MINI Countryman failing at 54,000 miles, at slow speed and without any warning. Car had been serviced at the (BMW) 'correct' intervals. (See: 23-5-2018.)

01-07-2022:

Report of timing chain failure on 2013 MINI Countryman. Car has N47 2.0 diesel engine. Chain snapped and destroyed the engine.