How is the mechanical reliability of the new Mini?

[Maverick1]

little uneasy as I am not a big fan of Chrysler. I have narrowed down my option choices for a new 06 Cooper S, however I am now concerned about the longevity of the Mini engine and other major mechanical components.
I currently have a 1988 Civic hatchback with over 483,000 kms on it and have never touched the engine or transmission.
For those who own Minis, have you had any problems with the engines/transmissions in your cars, or have you heard of any major engine problems or other major problems with the Mini. I love the way the car drives and handles, and the looks are timeless. The steering feel is awesome.
I just hope you guys can put my mind at ease regarding the Mini's reliability.
cheers

[Maverick1]

little uneasy as I am not a big fan of Chrysler. I have narrowed down my option choices for a new 06 Cooper S, however I am now concerned about the longevity of the Mini engine and other major mechanical components.
I currently have a 1988 Civic hatchback with over 483,000 kms on it and have never touched the engine or transmission.
For those who own Minis, have you had any problems with the engines/transmissions in your cars, or have you heard of any major engine problems or other major problems with the Mini. I love the way the car drives and handles, and the looks are timeless. The steering feel is awesome.
I just hope you guys can put my mind at ease regarding the Mini's reliability.
cheers

[ButtonIt]

The engine is made Tritec engines, partly owned by Chrysler I believe, but is soon to be replaced with a European engine built with Peugeot. There's a lot of info on Mini2 about it if you do a search.

http://www.tritecmotors.com.br/english/index.html

[justbob]

Yep, the Tritec is made in Brazil by a consortium of three (hence the "Tri" in Tritec) auto makers: BMW, Daimlier and Chrysler. The same block is used in many different cars.

This is not a cutting-edge example of engine technology or design, as it has a steel block, and aluminum head and a single overhead cam--all of these are fairly common nowadays. But the Tritec seems to be the epitome of development in this type of engine, i.e., they got all the bits and dimensions right and it fits the car well, especially with the supercharger. You won't see this engine in a Formula 1 car, but then again, it does the job with now fuss and no muss.

In short, a fundamentally sound implementation of a fundamentally sound engine design.

[Paul]

It's not a Chrysler engine per-se, it's a Tritec engine, a BMW - Chrylser joint venture company that also supplies other vehicles. It's built in Brazil.

There's a lot of information on the site, try a search for chrylser engine or tritec and you should find all you need to know.

The engine is basic, but pretty much bullet proof and very reliable. It's won several awards.

[Maverick1]

Getting ready to place my order and just wanted to find out how the reliability of the new Mini is. Any major mechanical problems I should be aware of? What got me thinking about this was an article that I read which said that the Mini engine is actually a Chrysler engine and I have little faith in Chrysler products.
Thanks

[pocketrocketowner]

The block is the same one used for the Chrysler NEON, but obviously every other peripheral is changed for the MINI.
MINI engines have so far proved very reliable despite some serious abuse by the nutters who buy them. There has been the odd blown one through, believe it or not, water ingestion method. this, however, has not happened in New Orleans. The Faults and Fixes forum will give you a sense of ALL the issues people have or think they have with the MINI. Moi, I am happy as a clam and I have abused ole PKT RKT very thoroughly (I do keep it clean though)