In scanning recent posts I read up on the problem people are having with timing chains and related parts. My 2011 MCS is about to hit 40K miles, and I have been noticing what I think might be the "death rattle" when the engine is first started in the morning, and is cold. Once the engine is warmed up, and restarted during the day, I don't notice the rattle. It could also be because the first start in the morning is in the garage, and it makes it easier to hear. Did Mini make any design changes to the engine in 2011 to address the timing chain problem?

 

My understanding is that some changes were incorporated with the change to the N18 engine.

Beyond that, there's the wastegate rattle-when-cold thing, this one:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-question.html

which isn't harmful, just annoying.