My girl has a 2007 Coop S with about 28,000 miles on it. Just recently she has informed me that in the mornings after letting the car idle for a minute or two, the makes a growling noise during acceleration. I experienced this for the first time this morning and the noise is coming from "back side" of the engine closest to the firewall. She has told me that it will make this same sound driving down to the gym (less than 2 miles away) and never makes that noise for the rest of the day.

First thoughts that come to mind is turbo, but I am not that knowledgeable of the in and outs of her car. I am working to get a video of the sound but have informed her she needs to go to a dealership to figure out what is going on. Any thoughts or am I overly concerned?

Thanks

 

Check the noisemaker. It is a hose that comes of the turbo boost line on the passenger side and ends up in the firewall right behind the speedometer area. It should have a rectangle shaped end that goes into a port on the firewall that should be marked with a red sticker. My 2007s had it off and it would make a wierd sound. If not check all the hose connections from the intercooler to the intake. You may want to take the aircleaner off to gain access.

 

No, you are not overly concerned. First, make sure you check the oil regularly. These cars use oil. Second, if you read the 2nd generation forums, you will see multiple threads regarding the timing chain and the tensioner.

When the chain is stretched or if you have a bad tensioner, you get very loud noise when starting the engine cold. It believe this is what you are hearing. I was getting the noise when accelerating after starting the car the first time of the day. I replaced my tensioner, and now it is fine. If the chain is stretched too much, it could skip a tooth or two and cause major engine damage.

I would get this checked out ASAP!

 

I agree! I didnt know about this until it was too late and spent 5 grand, so get the tensioner checked out asap!