Hello gang,
It seems I finally have an...extremely annoying MCS problem.
Every time I hit a bump or drive down a less than level road...my back seats.."squeak" terribly. I haven't been able to pinpoint an exact location...as it seems to be comming from the all sides/parts/directions... of the rear compartment.

It seems this noise began in conjunction w/ the onset of the frigid weather we've been faced w/ here in NY.
Seems logical..... but I had no issues at all..last winter.
The only change that I feel could possibly have made a difference was the addition of snow tires this winter.....?????

Some more.... questions ????
- Has anyone else develpoed this problem ????
- Are there any real fixes..... that are known at this point ????
- Will it disappear..when things warm up... ya think ????
- Is it worth a trip to the dealer?????

It really makes the car feel ..."cheap" and it's annoying to listen to. Yes I crank up the radio to attempt to 'deal" with this annoyance.....but ..I can still hear it because I'm listening for it...of course :smile:.

Any Ideas???

I'm listening... )

Peace,
D




_________________
I own a 2002 MCS w/ alot of stuff on it.

 

Dennis,
That squeek you hear is the US goverment . They have hidden in your back seat


:smile:


I am shot

 

Have you had your back seats down, recently?

The same thing happened to me and it drove me INSANE... until I realized that when I put the one section of seating back in the upright position, the seatbelt had slipped behind and prevented the seat from latching properly. Once you slam that puppy back onto the latch, though, squeak was eradicated. :smile:

 

Two possible answers to my dilema...each being on different ends of the sanity spectrum...rofl :smile:

I'll go out on a limb here..but my gut tells me vdubdoug's answer is bit... ????

I'll go w/ Omtoast...for now :smile:

Peace,
D

 

I just took out my back seats and made a flat floor,squeaks are gone. :smile:

 

D I think i had the same problem as you. Put down your seats and put some black tape on the D- latches and see if it goes away.If it does , there are some replacement latches that are a bigger diamiter and have a coating on them to prevent this from happening. I hope this helps.You and many others have helped me in the last year with my problems. Thanks to everyone.


ROB :smile:

 

Are you certain it's your rear seats and not the storage shelf lid? I find that's the cause of my rattles and squeaks in the back. I took it off and all was quiet.

Richard

>>Hello gang,
>>It seems I finally have an...extremely annoying MCS problem.
>>Every time I hit a bump or drive down a less than level road...my back seats.."squeak" terribly. I haven't been able to pinpoint an exact location...as it seems to be comming from the all sides/parts/directions... of the rear compartment.

 

>>Are you certain it's your rear seats and not the storage shelf lid? I find that's the cause of my rattles and squeaks in the back. I took it off and all was quiet.
>>
>>Richard

No... unfortunately it can not be that piece....as I took it off the 1st day I bought the car.

Peace,
D

 

D - it's not the boot latch either, right? I developed a rattle near the sunroof control buttons Friday night, almost drove me to madness. I hear other squeaks and rattles that pop up intermittently in various temps. With the exception of the boot rattle, my other noises went away in warmer weather. Put the electrical tape fix on for the boot that worked. Coopstas suggestion may be a way to go with the tape on the seat latches.

 

>>D - it's not the boot latch either, right? <<
Correct ..I already had the latch replaced...2 times... the boot latch is fine..finally.

>> I developed a rattle near the sunroof control buttons Friday night, almost drove me to madness.<<
Havent had that one quite yet... fingers crossed :smile:

>>I hear other squeaks and rattles that pop up intermittently in various temps. With the exception of the boot rattle, my other noises went away in warmer weather. Put the electrical tape fix on for the boot that worked. Coopstas suggestion may be a way to go with the tape on the seat latches.<<
I get various squeaks & rattles that pop up as well....though thay are not as pronounced as these dam squeaky seats. Hopefully they will go away during the warmer months... which unfortunately seems to be an eternety away from now.
I'm gonna go hunt down a roll of electrical tape and see where I end up :smile:


Peace,
D

 

I agree on your sentiments regarding feeling cheap. My 99 GTI was less $$$, but never squeaked like the MINI. I'm not even sure it really developed rattles for that matter. Your car is an '02 build, right?

 

>>I agree on your sentiments regarding feeling cheap. My 99 GTI was less $$$, but never squeaked like the MINI. I'm not even sure it really developed rattles for that matter. Your car is an '02 build, right?<<

Yup a May build.... 2002

I just finished the electric tape ... fix... gonna go for a ride now..



peace,
D

 

1st .. the electrical tape did.... nada

but I noticed something else.....

I had a friend drive the car while I sat in the front passanger seat ..and just listened. It seems that the noise is not comming from the seats..but instead from ...the rear end of the car....but beneath the seats.
Can it be some component of the rear suspension????? shocks, aftermarket sway bar...etc...etc.???? The tires are not rubbing as I have heard and felt that sound in another MINI.
If I grab one of the rear fenders and yank it up or push is down... I get the same... squeak!!!!!. It's not as pronounedstanding outside of the car.... as when you are inside the cabin...but it's the same sort of sound.
Hmmm....Is it simply tooo cold or what????
Is there a "grease/lube" maintence that has not been performed????

Any additional opinions?????



Peace,
D

 

>>It seems this noise began in conjunction w/ the onset of the frigid weather we've been faced w/ here in NY.

Dennis I had the same problem my solution was very simple. I moved to South Florida, that got rid of the frigid weather . No more "squeaky" back seats

Cheers

 

D- Try this, If you think it is in the back and under the car, try putting some lube on the rubber mounting points on the rear sway bar. I had a squeak come from ther and this helped. In my oppinion the wet weather washes away the lube and now we have a squeak. I hope this works.

Rob





>>1st .. the electrical tape did.... nada
>>
>>but I noticed something else.....
>>
>>I had a friend drive the car while I sat in the front passanger seat ..and just listened. It seems that the noise is not comming from the seats..but instead from ...the rear end of the car....but beneath the seats.
>>Can it be some component of the rear suspension????? shocks, aftermarket sway bar...etc...etc.???? The tires are not rubbing as I have heard and felt that sound in another MINI.
>>If I grab one of the rear fenders and yank it up or push is down... I get the same... squeak!!!!!. It's not as pronounedstanding outside of the car.... as when you are inside the cabin...but it's the same sort of sound.
>>Hmmm....Is it simply tooo cold or what????
>>Is there a "grease/lube" maintence that has not been performed????
>>
>>Any additional opinions?????
>>
>>
>>
>>Peace,
>>D
>>
>>
>>
>>

 

I have had a squeak as well from the rear and it is possible the rear subframe. Who knows????

I have not heard it lately.

 

>>D- Try this, If you think it is in the back and under the car, try putting some lube on the rubber mounting points on the rear sway bar. I had a squeak come from ther and this helped. In my oppinion the wet weather washes away the lube and now we have a squeak. I hope this works.
>>
>>Rob

I'll give it a shot Rob.
Many thanks dude

Peace,
D

 

Dennis,

On a serious note you said the squeaking started after very low temperatures "frigid" lets say. Rubber will expand with heat and contract with cold. If you have a rubber bushing that was contracted to the point that is no longer tight, with enough play the noise might come from there. I'd look at the sway bar.

 

My Mini started making the squeeking noise right after the temperature dropped here in New Jersey. We had a few days of warmer weather early last week and the noise stopped. I have a Madness rear sway bar. I figure the rubber contractiing and very cold grease are the culprits. Nothing you can really do but wait to warm weather and try to ignore the noise. Oh well.

 

>>>>D- Try this, If you think it is in the back and under the car, try putting some lube on the rubber mounting points on the rear sway bar. I had a squeak come from ther and this helped. In my oppinion the wet weather washes away the lube and now we have a squeak. I hope this works.
>>>>
>>>>Rob
>>
>>I'll give it a shot Rob.
>>Many thanks dude
>>
>>Peace,
>>D
>>
I used to have to do something similar with my Durango R/T. I would jack up one side. That opens up the sway bar mounts on one side. I would place a dab of grease on the end of a regular screw driver and place it in the opening between the swaybar and the rubber mount (created by one side of the car being in the air). Then I would jack up the other side and do the same on the other side of each mount. The grease would spread out between the swaybar and the rubber when the opening closed. It worked great!
Oh good lord, did I just draw a similarity between a Mini and a Durango?! Please forgive me.

 

Hmmmm.....

I do have the madness sway bar... and it seems that ...I've got a good shot at fixing this prob w/ a bit o grease. :smile:
I've got a plan....I'll do it tomorrow
Thanks all..... I'll keep ya posted

Peace,
D

 

Whoa, First you gotta' deal with fixin' the squeaky in 6 degree weather and know snow as well. Anxious to se how it goes.

Hey "D" , did the RDRII Pre Run yesterday. If my car doesn't squeak after those roads I may be OK forever.

Check out the link on page one to GMINI03 web page.

 

Fixed !!

So far .. it's working fine
Loosened the rear sway bar... re-greased the bushings... and added a piece of rubber (a piece of inner tube) for more......cushion.

More work than I wanted to do...but it seems to have worked...so far

Thanks to everyone for the input...!!!!

Peace,
D

 

I'm glad that worked for you. I was going to suggest silicone spray in the seat belt receptacles. That's what fixed the squeak I heard whenever my kids were strapped in to the back seats. But it's back again - tiem to spray!

 

Glad to hear the story had a happy ending.