I didn't post this in the problems areas as I don't know if it's a normal noise...

I hear a very subtle noise when using my brakes and coming to a complete stop. It's not like a grinding noise as if the brakes were going out... I would certainly hope not with only 600 miles total on my car....

Almost like the sound of a small motor or compressor kicking on under the hood.... Like the sound of Darth Vader exhaling.... I haven't been getting on the car much at all since I'm still in the break in period and I've been listening for little noises like the fan going for a few seconds after I shut the car off, the electronic hum after you press the lock/unlock button, and my personal favorite... the litte turbo fart after you shift gears.

Every new car sounds a little different from the one you drove prior and with a small car like the MINI, I didn't know if there were normal little noises to expect that might go unheard on larger cars.

As for this noise, the only reason I noticed it is because I had the stereo off and was driving very slow in a parking lot with no traffic around. It's subtle enough that with the radio on even at a low level, or on a street with a little traffic, I can't hear it. Is there a small motor or compressor that kicks on when you use your brakes?

 

I have never heard such a noise from my car. However, I did hear a high pitched whining sound when I was at a complete stop, which would go away when the RPM's went up. That went away after 3 months. So, maybe your noise will just go away also!!

 

Well, it's not high-pitched... I took it out this morning for breakfast and its so subtle that I couldn't even hear it on some types of pavement even with the radio off and no traffic around me.

Everything on the car is running great. Maybe its just an electronic hum the car normally has and I just need to turn up the stereo...

 

If you are at stop, or dang near, when you hear the sound then I bet you have the clutch depressed. That would leave your engine at idle. Could be the change in the vacuum demand as you hit zero mph. You would get a small air return to the intake, with a small spike in rpm. The system would adjust quickly, maybe that is the source of the noise.

If you hear it while you are sliding to a stop with the radio in "favorite song" mode, then worry.
Up til then, drive it like a rental.

 

Do you have the MCS with turbo? If so when you take your foot off the gas there is a slight noise. This is the Blow Off valve for the turbo. If so then a way to make it a little louder is to accelerate heavily then quickly take foot off gas. Still not loud but a little more noticeable. Some people put special ones on to make it real loud.

If you don't have the MCS ignore my remarks as does not apply.

 

Since you say you're taking it easy on the car, your noise shouldn't be from the blow off valve. That takes a lot of throttle change done at high engine speeds and the stock valve is very quiet.

Does your noise happen continually as the car slows down and fades as the car stops, or does it suddenly start at a certain speed? You might simply be hearing your brakes working, particularly since you have a new car.

 

I have exactly the same noise when I brake on my 08 MCSa. I can hear it very easily when at low speeds. I always thought it was the brakes friction noise and considered it normal ?

 

Can't say I've ever heard the noise the OP is talking about.

This isn't exactly the same area but it's an equally weird noise .. I've been wondering what the mechanical noises are that I hear when I open the doors after the car has set for awhile. Seems to come from the rear of the vehicle, sounds like an actuator of some kind. I assume it's normal but I've been curious for awhile now.

 

Are you aware of the window dipping when you open the door and the gas cover lock? I would be willing to bet those are the noises you hear.

 

Yeah, I've noticed those particular noises.. maybe it is just the fuel door checking itself. It's odd, say for instance if I leave the car unlocked and walk off for awhile. I'll come back, open let's say the passenger door, and I'll hear something moving something .. makes about a second or two worth of noise. It's weird, but normal I suppose!

 

The electric motor sound that you hear a couple of minutes after the car is shut down towards the back of the car is the fuel pump operating. There is also a dull thump associated with whatever it's doing. I don't know this for sure, but I believe it's checking the integrity of the fuel lines and/or adjusting the fuel pressure as the car goes from stand-by mode to total shutdown mode. My car does this and plenty of people have reported hearing these sounds and had no mechanical issues, so as far as I can tell the noises are perfectly normal, if not a bit odd.

I do know that disc brakes can make that whooshy, Darth Vader-y type of noise and be perfectly normal. It particularly happens when there's a bit of rust on the rotors, which happens pretty quickly and itself isn't an issue, either.

 

I get the "startup prep" noise when I open the door. Sounds pretty high-tech.

Last couple of tanks I've been taking it extremely easy on my S (450 miles/tank in town) and started noticing relatively high-pitched noise from the engine when I'm touching the gas pedal. Goes away the second i let go of the accelerator. Probably the turbo spinning noise that was drowned in engine noise when I was driving the car in a more spirited way. Thoughts?

 

DI motors don't create much vacuum at idle. That's why the MINI has a vacuum pump (you've probably heard it blamed for your cold start noise in your MCS). At slow speed/idle on the brakes the vacuum pump could be making that noise you hear.

 

I have this same "brake noise" with my 09 MCS. It's exactly as described above. Kind of like a hydralic sounding compressor noise. It does not sound like the "metal on metal" noise you get when you're brake pads are toast BUT it is in that same category. Definitely a noise associatted with the brakes.
I'm fairly confident this is not the turbo blow off because I am familiar with that noise. Also, the noise will stop if you let off the brakes.
This is the newest car that I've ever owned and my first Mini, so I just assumed it was normal? I only have 1,200 miles on the car and it's done this from day 1.
Anyone else familiar with this?

 

My MCS sounds like an electric car...

 

I have a hydraulic-ish sounding "brake noise". When I push the brake pedal down, it makes a "hiss" noise (like the sound you get when you're pumping up an air mattress with a foot pump). I've never noticed any "constant" noise--this is only as I'm depressing the pedal.

It's never bothered me... until now. Is this normal?

 

Do you know where the hissing sound is coming from? I haven't noticed the sound in my 08 MCS, but it doesn't sound serious, particularly if nothing else is wrong with the car.

The high pitched noise that Zoltiz talks about is probably not the turbo, more likely something else in the intake manifold or throttle operations. It doesn't sound serious. My car has made several different noises over the past year that have come and gone, depending on conditions. None have been very noticable and none have resulted in any problems. Best thing to do is drive the car normally and monitor the issue over a long period. As long as nothing else is happening and the noises don't get worse, I think the car is OK.

 

Always wondered what that motor sound was. The thump sometimes happens when I'm in Park with the engine running.

 

I hear the whirring noise (I also think from the rear) after it's sat awhile when I hit the unlock button for the doors as though I am "waking" something up on the car.
I also think I am hearing a very low, subtle electronic beep of some sort when I am at a stop. I thought it was perhaps coming from the radio, but now I don't think so. It's barely audible.
I used to get a "ticking" when I was going really slow. I'd hear it when I was going through a drive-thru, for example with the windows down.

 

ding ding we have a winner. It IS friction noise from the pads against the rotors. very normal but usually covered up by background noise.



while off topic the noise you hear when you unlock the mini in the morning (or after a long rest) is the fuel pump priming.

 

It's the turbo. I know that noise... The turbo fart!

 

It's only when coming to a complete stop. I gear down slowly to save the brakes... Right as I'm almost at a complete stop, I hear it. It's VERY subtle.

Perhaps it's the normal sound of the brakes working, but because the car is so small you can hear it whereas you might not on other cars?

It's not a grinding noise like when your brakes are going out, but it does sound like a friction noise in a way.

 

I've heard that noise also. I thought maybe there was an elctronic device that locked the doors as a safety measure if there was an accident so they don't fly open? Perhaps the same device is used to lock/unlock the doors?


I'm totally shooting from the hip on this guess...

 

So it's normal!