Hey guys,

I have owned my 03 Mini Cooper S for about two weeks now and I love driving it - make excuses to get in the car and go somewhere! There is just one thing that is more of an annoyance than anything - the RATTLES! I know there has been posts on the various rattles but my car is FULL of them.

Sunroof Rattle - I thought for sure it was coming from a loose connection above where the sunroof switch is - put rubber washers around plastic pieces to make fit much tighter - seemed to help a little but it came right back. Seems as though the rattle goes away when I press up on the plastic molding in the center and to the right - very loud at 1800-2300 RPMs. Goes away almost completely if I slightly open the sunroof...Any ideas on this one?

Driver Side Door - This rattle comes and goes but is not very loud...possible power window regulator?

Rear - Haven't been able to crawl back there when someone else is driving but there are a few little rattles coming from the back as well - seems like they are never ending!!

Is this common in the earlier models of this car? It is very irritating. Thanks for any help!!!

 

I have had my 04 MCS for about 19 Months now, and i am still getting all the rattles out. The drivers door was a big one, I adjusted the latch on the door and added a few hard rubber stoppers like you use on the bottom of furniture and that helped alot.
Also put in a very thick 1 inch rubber floor matt with artificial turf on it, cut it in half and placed under the rear seat, that also rid my car of a few rattles and noises. I keep the rear seat belts buckled also.
Some people on here have had No rattles at all, my car has just about 64 K on it now, and has less rattles then when i bought it
good luck and welcome to mini world

 

For your sunroof... when it's open there are two flaps that flip up. Each flap has two plastic squares that come in contact with the leading edge of the sunroof when closed. Try putting some self-adhesive velcro (the soft side) on those, it may stop that ratling. Did for me anyway...

I got nothin' for the other rattles, I'm in the same boat as you.

 

agoodsign: I put two strips of adhesive foam on those two plastic flaps where the wear on the plastic was and although the rattling stopped for a minute or two it came right back - seemed as though the noise was coming from above where the switch for the sunroof in the trim is.

I am learning quick that these cars are very easy to fall in love with but take a lot of love to keep them running quiet and happy - all part of the fun I guess!!

 

If interior rattles bother you, then sell the MINI asap.

 

Haha, you seem to have a lot of rattles that I did/do.

Don't have a sunroof, so I can't comment on that one.

Door: Some times sound will actually bounce off of the door, so it sounds like it is coming from there but really isn't. Have a look at your tach, some times mine rattles, I haven't gotten around to tightening it yet, but I thought it came from the door at first. Also, I had found that the power window regulator (where the motor mounts to, towards the front of the door, there are three screws holding it on) I found that putting rubber grommets on the holes really helped that rattling.

Rattling from the rear: There are three places that I have encountered ratling:
- Rear Hatch: The metal catch seems to rattle in the latch, I found that wrapping the catch with some electrical tape stopped the hatch rattle (you can also try adjusting the rubber bumpers on the hatch, but that did nothing for me.

- Luggage Cover: Some times the luggage cover rattles in its little hooks, (located right below the bottom edge of the glass on the hatch trim piece) unfortunately, I don't know how to stop the bouncing/rattling other than removing the luggage cover.

- Rear Seatbelt Buckles: These too have been rattling and I am truly unsure how to keep them from rattling/creaking when somebody is buckled into the seat. I've tried silicone spray, and padding the buckles, but still haven't had much luck.

Hope this helps in some way, good luck finding and getting rid of your rattles!

-Chase

 

My center console rattles like nobody's business. It's loose, and I can shake and move it with my hands. My wife's MINI, by comparison, is quiet inside, and her center console is rock-solid. Going to play around a bit with this in the coming days and see if I can't get the center stack to "tighten up" a bit and get rid of some rattles...

 

Best solution with rattles, either learn to love them or play the music louder!!

 

I don't really mind the rattles, it just gives me an excuse to play around with the interior of the car - I tried adding another layer of foam tape on the flaps of the sunroof, no rattles when driving the car this morning! Just a few more to figure out then we'll be good to go!!

 

Iv noticed severe rattles coming from the passenger door panel and the drivers side door panel. I know its coming from here because as i drive, if i lean over and push against the passenger side door panel(the upholstered part) , the rattles stop. does anyone have any idea on how to fix this. ill take a closer look at it tomorrow to see if i cant slide something back there to stop it. Thanks Also: this is occuring when its cold outside... if that plays a part

 

if any of you have removed the back seat you may notice the child seat rings make a fare amount of noise. I was doing some speaker upgrades and while the back seats were out i noticed that the rings rattled alot around 3k rpms. I too suffer from a ridiculous amount of rattles. I also have a e46 bmw that is still silent in the cabin after 130k miles, My mini had 80k when I bought it and I am still struggling with the rattles.. electrical tape around the d rings in the back helped but made ease of opening the hatch more difficult than I would like. "spirited driving" is still infinitely more entertaining in the mini though. its sad to think that I find the sport suspension on my bmw "luxurious" where a ride in my sisters civic is far more uncomfortable than my mini...

 

NAM Alliance Magazine did a thing on this a while back, try tightening the Torx screws securing the sunroof.

 

The condition of the tires and suspension plays a large roles in rattles too.

I have a bunch with 1" tires near the wear marks and OEM struts at 60K+ miles.

 

I have a really loud rattle at idle coming from my front dash somewhere, and im not sure about where it is, i cant pin point it when im driving, but its tru, learn to love em

 

I get a loud THUD in my driver's side door when driving from a dead stop. It seems to be a slightly different time from my auto door locks. It seems to have a loud thud even when traveling at a steady speed, but under 20mph. Not sure WTF.

 

I had an '03. After a couple of years the sunroof developed a rattle that the dealer never resolved. The felt/velcro on the flaps would work for a day or week and then come back. I used to wedge folded paper towel/napkins between the sunroof and the forward plastic trim to stop it.

My dash intermittently rattled and there was another intermittent rattle in the left B pillar.

I loved that car and am waiting on my '10, but I never understood why MINI didn't take action to come-up with a fix for these problems in the existing cars.

 

I had a rattle in the front dash area that was fixed by jamming some foam between the fronr edge of the dash glare shield and the windshield. It seems that the glare shield front edge is not supported and slight vibrations make it come in contact with something underneath and rattle.

 

^^Yup, the dealers will install three or four pieces of velcro between the dash and the windshield. That usually takes care of rattles from the dash area. As far as the rear hatch rattle, you may want to change out the striker plate for a heavier duty one. My dealer did this for me under warranty but I wouldn't think the part is that expensive and install is a simple switch out.

 

Somtimes if the rear rattle is more like a vibration rubbing noise, it's the lower rubber support plugs on either side of the boot. They can become dried out and can make a noise like that. When we bring our MINI's in for service at Our club mechanic's shop he regularly puts a small dab of silicone or lube on there to eliminate that noise in the back.