hello i just wanted feedback from anyone who owns a 2010 mini hardtop (non S model).

i purchased mine brand new 6 months ago and its been in the shop 4 times since purchased.

theres a knocking and ticking sound when i took it back to the dealer they said the noise was normal. i seriously doubt this is normal for a brand new car thats not a turbo.

also just recently my battery died. there were no items left on (i.e. radio, A/C, lights) when i took it to the dealer they cant find anything wrong.

it seems that a vehicle with less than 9k miles should not have these kind of issues.

can someone please give me some advice about what could be wrong and what to do.

 

The "ticking" sound is normal, my MINI does this at idle, kinda' sounds like a Diesel?? As far as the Battery, it sould not have died, but things happen. Did you order your MINI or take it off Dealer Lot? A MINI off the lot may not have had its batter maintained, that's all I can say.

Sorry about your issues, but like everyone says these little things are a bit quirky from time to time.

 

I've heard, on these forums, that the ticking sound is from the direct fuel injectors and that it is normal to hear a sound from them.

MINIs, in my opinion have an undersized stock battery. I was washing and waxing my MINI while playing the radio, and it went dead. I'd never had this happen on any other car, I gave it a jump and everything is OK now. But I am now aware of the puny factory battery capacity. I'll keep that battery until it needs replacement, 'cause I'm cheap, but when it comes time to get a new one, I'll get the biggest capacity battery that will fit.

Dave

 

How often do you drive the Mini? Like Dave mentioned these batteries are just too small. Mine has gone dead from lack of driving in 2-3 days. Even after sustained highway driving 50+ miles. If you are driving it daily but no highway or short trips with multiple start/stops, the Mini battery just doesn't have the capacity. I use a Battery Tender Jr. to keep it topped up. My dealer tells me Mini won't warranty the battery if you don't average something like 800 miles a month. But dealers have been known to come up with the "own" rules so YMMV. The dealer can check the battery and the charging system to make sure it's operating properly, but lack of driving and short trips won't keep it charged. For example with my car hooked up to the Battery Tender and at full charge, just unlocking the car will be enough drain to put the Battery Tender back into charge mode from maintenance mode.

Like Dave, when this battery finally dies, I will be replacing with a larger capacity battery.

 

Thanks everyone for your responses.

I guess ill concede that the engine ticking / knocking is normal but this should be told to all new buyers of Mini's.

But as far as the battery - um not certain I drive my mini everyday. I drive about 30 to maybe 45 miles round trip. I also do alot more driving with my mini on the weekend.

I'll keep a tight watch over both issues (engine noise & battery) but if it becomes more serious than noted I will be taking issue with BMW/MINI directly.

 

blkjac40, just curious what Dealer are you dealing with?? This could be an issue too, sad to say, but there are horror stories with some dealers, I'm sure you've seen some of those posts, just curious.

 

I don't think my MINI makes anymore noise at idle than my Mit. Lancer did when I had it....in fact in the Lancer's manual it said that startup noise is normal.

As far as the battery I haven't had any issues but I drive ALOT. So far I'm going 17,000 a year. However to inflate my tires I put the accessories on via the startup button and with the engine off, xenon lights on and a electric air pump I fill up the tires. I would think if the battery was weak I would have killed it with filling up the tires and having the xenons on at the same time.

 

Global imports mini in Atlanta is my dealership. Sales staff is great but service well my opinion is to be reserved. However my current SA is pretty decent and is working to figure out what's going on- so I guess it's an isolated event (with the battery) and sounds like for the most part the engine knocking and ticking is not.

 

Lright if the battery is too small get a bigger one and good luck fitting it in the compartment. No a brand new battery should not have died on you that fast but like said before **** happens. It should have been covered under warranty and shouldn't have taken them more then 20 minutes to replace. As long as you have not had to pay for any of these repairs I would not worry about it.