2014 F56s with 81,000 miles.

My wife and I are retired so the car may sit for a week or so. We bought it About 7 months ago and put about 2000 miles on it.

I have since put in a new air filter and replaced the gas valve at the front of the engine. Start up used to be rough but those changes made start up nice and smooth.

We live in AZ and lately night temps will go 37f.

When we decide to take it out the car starts normally. Revs up to about 1200 then drops in. Perfect even after sitting all that time.

I let it warm up about 5 minutes and it idles perfectly with no lumps. Steady as a rock.

Car starts out very sluggish but by the time we hit the gate about 1/3 mile it is responding normally. I have no check engine light.

However there is a growl coming from the right side in the area of the turbo. Kind of sounds like the engine in my old nova SS from back in the day but only from the right. If I didnt know how quiet the car runs I would think it sounded cool !

It doesnt affect drivability or acceleration. It performs normally except for the growl.

When we get where we are going, turn off the engine, do whatever come back and start the car.. it is back to its usual quiet self like nothing happened. It will run the rest of the day quiet and normal

Didnt happen at all during the summer and only started after it got cold.

Cant begin to figure what it might be and want to have a clue before i go to a mechanic.

In all honesty... i am regreting my purchase. Its a bit to finicky even though its a blast to drive.
Any help would be appreciated

 

So when the noise is present you can be parked or driving? AC on or off?

I have a gen 1 car, so it's completely different than yours. I get a growl when the car is warm on a hot day. When I shut the AC off it goes away. So I've narrowed it down to the AC compressor. It still works fine so I haven't done anything with it.

 

its cool now in AZ so no AC. It can be heard while driving but not while idle.

so weird !

yesterday we went out for a little hike down by the river. Start the car after a week and change of sitting in the driveway. Starts fine.

low growl all the way to hiking spot. About 9 miles. Walk around for about an hour and start the car. Starts normally. Drive off

no growl.

go on to different stops doing chores and such. Start stop in various parking lots ... no growl. Sounds quiet and normal.

only started when it got cold

 

Unfortunately, it is near impossible to diagnose rattle, growls, and miscellaneous noises over the internet. What you think to be one type of noise, someone else might think it to be something completely different. Also, we can't hear with certainty where it might be coming from. Only you can.

That being said, If the car only "growls" when moving, I would suspect wheel bearing. The fact that it is intermittent means its not so bad yet. A colder wheel bearing would have slightly more clearance, and have the tendency to make more noise.

 

Oddly enough ... this morning I decided to take the car out ... no growling. Now .. my mini has done stuff to me like this before. One time I released the hatch using the button in the footwell. For a few weeks every time I hit the button to unlock the passenger doors the trunk would open. As soon as I started to pull out I got the door trunk open signal and had to go out and close it.

Hit the button in the footwell again .. just because .. the doors would once again open with out opening the trunk ??

My only thought with the growling is ... I dont know .. maybe it doesnt like sitting over a week at at a time in the cold. Drove it yesterday and it was very happy today? Usually I drive it and then it sits. Its not often I drive it two days in a row.

I will report back if it reappears or if I wind up in the shop since it might be helpful to others.