The Lemon Index$2,300 middle bill · most between $2,000 and $3,500
About the same as the $2,500 middle bill owners of all 63 models reported.
Owners who gave their mileage: a middle of 62,000 miles (35 reports).
Mini Cooper owners reported paying a median of $2,300 for a timing chain replacement, with the middle half of bills between $2,000 and $3,500. That's from 37 owner reports (37 complaints to NHTSA). Costs vary by shop and region.
What owners paid
- Under $5000%
- $500–$1,0000%
- $1,000–$2,50051%
- $2,500–$5,00035%
- $5,000 and up14%
Share of the 37 owner reports in each price band.
By model year
- 2007 Mini Cooper11$2,000 middle bill
- 2008 Mini Cooper12$2,400 middle bill
- 2009 Mini Cooper11$2,500 middle bill
- 2010 Mini Cooper3$1,800 middle bill
Reports per model year, with the middle bill where there are 3 or more. YouTube amounts count for the generation the video covers.
How often owners report the failure
- 2007 Mini Cooper114 complaints name it30% of that year's complaints
- 2008 Mini Cooper86 complaints name it29% of that year's complaints
- 2009 Mini Cooper70 complaints name it24% of that year's complaints
- 2010 Mini Cooper45 complaints name it28% of that year's complaints
Owner complaints to NHTSA whose own words name a timing chain. Raw counts: popular years get more complaints. A complaint is a report, not proof of a defect.
Engine codes that can lead here: P0016 P0017 P0008 P0018 P0019. A code is where a shop starts, not proof the part failed.
Keep going
- Mini Cooper reliability by year
- Timing chain replacement cost on every car
- Car symptoms and what they can mean
Other repairs Mini Cooper owners reported
Power steering pump replacement (44) · Transmission replacement (32) · Engine replacement (13) · Turbocharger replacement (8) · Clutch replacement (5) · Timing belt replacement (5) · Water pump replacement (5)
The details
How we count
Every number here is a repair bill an owner reported, never a shop's price list. Two sources: the bills owners wrote in their own complaints to the U.S. government (NHTSA), and the dollar amounts owners said out loud in YouTube repair and ownership videos. A figure counts for a repair when that repair is the part named nearest to it. Left out: purchase prices, payments, rentals, towing, warranties and deductibles, amounts under $50 or over $15,000, parts-only prices ("the part was $80 on Amazon"), bills for two different repairs named together, and money someone else paid. One number per complaint (or video) and repair: the biggest, so it's the bill, not the diagnosis fee.
The range is the middle half of the bills (the 25th to the 75th percentile), so one wild number can't swing it. Owners who complain to the government often had expensive repairs, so a typical bill can be lower. Costs vary by shop and region, by dealer vs independent shop, by parts and by miles. This is what owners reported, not a quote for your car.
Check the bills yourself
NHTSA complaint numbers (search them at nhtsa.gov): 11114985, 10990672, 10972143, 10945163, 10945161, 10933885, 10818808, 10816908, 10785948, 10779081, 10763831, 10749318 and more.
Quick answers
How much does timing chain replacement cost on a Mini Cooper?
Mini Cooper owners reported a median of $2,300, and the middle half paid $2,000 to $3,500, from 37 owner reports. Costs vary by shop and region.
Is a Mini Cooper timing chain replacement more expensive than on other cars?
The Mini Cooper middle bill of $2,300 is about the same as the $2,500 owners of all 63 models we have reports for paid.
Where do these Mini Cooper repair costs come from?
From 37 complaints to NHTSA: what owners themselves said they paid. They aren't verified bills or a shop's quote.
Which Mini Cooper years report this failure most?
In complaints to NHTSA, owners of the 2007 (114), 2008 (86), 2009 (70) Mini Cooper named it most. Raw counts, not a failure rate.
Sources: NHTSA owner complaints and YouTube videos (amounts said out loud), sorted by The Lemon Index. Owner reports, not a price quote. Costs vary by shop and region.