Anyways, bought a new r56 about 6 months ago. After having it for 3 months i noticed a terrible clacking sound coming from around the second cylinder. So i shut it down immediately and called mini. The tow truck showed up about 3 hours later with no replacement vehicle, because they were booked solid for 6 months. Mini called me and said they could not identify where the sound was coming from. I could hear it over my radio when i was inside the car, however they could not seem to find the problem area. So I drove 1 hour to the nearest mini dealership to say right hear, and point to the spot. In 3 days my car returned with the same clacking sound from the same spot, so i once again called mini and the rep said that its a typical clacking sound until the engine gets warmed up. Then the Mini rep said that they found a problem with the turbo, so they slapped a new turbo on the car and sent it back to me. It sounds more like a diesel engine than a gas engine to me, so my father suggested just to drive it until it breaks cause its under warranty. Is anyone besides me experiencing a terrible sound before the car gets completely warmed up?

thanks for your help

 

i dont get a horrible clicking sound but i do get some. Its because of the direct injection.

 

Yep. Not common... but it's out there. It's a clatter on cold starts thats WAY BEYOND the normal DFI clicking. It goes away after warm-up, while the DFI keeps chattering away. Two VERY different noises alltogether.

Attributed to a faulty cam chain tensioner or faulty lifters. No guarentee that either actually is at the root of the problem, or if those are just symptoms of somthing else wrong with the oil circut.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ine+noise+cold

http://www.mini2.com/forum/2nd-gen-f...when-cold.html

Might be a good idea to file your concerns with NHTSA. Read here:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=117824

 

the direct injection can clack pretty nasty at startup sometimes. Ive heard a few in my day.

 

Thanks for the great links, i had heard that it was a common problem with alot of peoples cars, but why would mini slap on a new turbo and say that its fixed? I dont believe that can be the root of the clacking problem

 

I think that loacal dealers/tech are shooting in the dark without much "global" info/support coming from on high. I'm hoping this changes.

Some have switched turbos... some cam chain tensioners... some lifters. For some, the problem has returned. Others... not yet.

I can say my tensioner piston was not getting oil on start-up. But again, is that the problem? Or is it a symptem of another problem within the oil circut, or how the ECU controls oil pressure? Many of the R56 systems are "on demand", meaning they don't kick in until the engine warms up to operating temps. Seriously a shot in the dark, but no different that the dealer techs are doing right now IMO.