27k miles, and had a couple of rattles fixed by the dealer about 8k ago. More barks than rattles. (Rrrruuff! Rrrruf!)

 

WOW

I didn't realize there were any MINIs out there that don't rattle!

My 03 MCS has had rattles from day one, although not too many at first.
Now, at 22k miles, it has more squeaks and rattles than my 1973 MGB-GT used to have

I can live with most of them, and have eliminated a few (as soon as I do that new ones pop up). I have attributed most of them to the combination of stiff suspension, runflat tires and the abysmal road quality here in TX.

As long as the car drives ok, I don't mind that much. Crank up that HK!

 

Mine only has the hatch rattle (the latch is defective) and even though I´ve tried to fix it on several occasions it still rattles. Its not bad though.

I do run on 15 inch rims with the regular sport suspension, so I guess that helps, since I´ve seen cars with the sport plus and 17 inch runflats with tons of rattles

BTW Hondas also have rattles. My 01 Civic had an amazing collection of them after just 2 years and less than 15K miles.

 

Just under 23k and I've only recently developed a tiny door rattle on bass-y songs, but I'm almost positive that the screws holding the oval-shaped insert onto the door need tightened--and that's it.

I think it's a really well put-together car, actually.

 

I think it depends on the roads in your area. Newer MC's will have additional bracing in the a-pillar as well. I tried putting lightweight (16 lbs) 17" wheels and non run-flat tires on because MI. roads are just stupid in places. At 2,100 miles, it creaks, squeks, rattles, pops and every other kind of noise you can imagine. I have the boot latch problem since discount tire put it up on the hoist last week now as well.

It is my greatest disappointment with the car by far. But, if you go with 16" wheels factory or otherwise, and the roads are at least respectable, (ours are not), in addition to new a-pillar bracing I think you will be fine. It is my opinion that all cars flex a little and that the MC's are in fact a well designed chasis for the roads of most places. I think BMW missed something with the a-pillar's because they didn't test the car on roads like we have in Michigan, if they do, and add the proper prevention material in key areas, and possible a softer bushing here and there, I think they could prevent the MC's from getting a repatation as P.O.S. rattle trap.


I think if they would come clean about the a-pillar flexing, they could prevent BMW/MINIUSA from getting the rep as P.O.S. company.

 

>>Just under 23k and I've only recently developed a tiny door rattle on bass-y songs, but I'm almost positive that the screws holding the oval-shaped insert onto the door need tightened--and that's it.
>>
>>I think it's a really well put-together car, actually.
>>
>>
I had the boot rattle that was easily cured with some minor adjustments and tape, but the door buzz drives me nuts. Typically, it is (or I am) worse first thing in the morning on all roads that are not perfectly smooth asphalt. I went to the point of ordering Dynamat to install and I followed someone else's lead in removing the door panel and injecting insulating foam into the center "Y" piece from the back. BIG MISTAKE! The "Y" had many openings I was not aware of and the foam oozed out all over as it expanded. Now my panel looks like sh*t, and the dealer will probably make me pick up the tab on a replacement. By the way, the foam did squat, and it is not the stereo; something inside the rear portion of the door is vibrating. I'm still kicking myself. Lesson- Be careful following other's advice on the web.

However, I cannot complain too much when I consider that my MCS provides more fun, performance, and curb-appeal than my last cars and does it at half the price.

 

I hit 10,000 miles on my Cooper yesterday, and nary a rattle to be heard. I do get something going on near the passenger door speaker on loud, bassy songs as well - Kelley, let me know if you figure out something that works to cure that!

 

My MINI fells pretty tight with no rattles or other problems except the stumble issue that I feel will be resolved sometime in the future. I did have a nut fall off the scoop. I was going around the car to tightening up anything that may have worked loose when I discovered the missing nut. I did read that others have had the same problem so it may be a good area to check. Everything else was OK.

 

Coming up on its one year aniversary, 9,500 miles. All smiles, no rattles. :smile:

 

My MC had some initial rattles in the rear seat latches, but that was fixed up the first week. Now at almost 10K, still rattle free. The car complies to my every motoring whim without a peep!!! :smile:

 

May 2003 build MINI Cooper CVT - Zero rattles, 5,000+ miles -- EXCEPT when the Harman/Kardon is cranking at moderate volumes -- the the door frames buzz and rattle like crazy, esp. during songs with lots of bottom-heavy bass. This is annoying, because I don't play music at volumes you would expect to hear buzzing/rattling. It's like the MINI doors need to be "detuned" or something -- they must be hollow and therefore act as big hollow subwoofer ports when the music is cranking!

Anyway, my 1998 Olds Intrigue (I know, it's a grampa car) has a beautiful 200 Watt 8-speaker Bose system in it, and no matter how loud it gets -- ZERO rattles. I actually prefer the sound of the Bose system better than the HK...that's my personal observation...

Also, if you look real close between joint surfaces throughout the MINI, you can usually see strategically placed pieces of felt -- obviously placed there during assembly to prevent rattling. It's not cosmetic--you really have to look to see the felt -- but it's there.

Rock On,

-Joe

 

11k and one small rattle out of the seat belt thing right by my ear I can live with it!

_________________
MINI Cooper S, dark silver/Black top, lapis blue interior, premium/Sport package

 

2002 Cooper CVT, 14K miles and zero rattles.

 

Here is my experience with rattles in the MINI @19K + miles I have only one rattle at this time its from the dashboard which will be fixed by the dealer the next time I get there, this rattle is only heard when I go over expansion joints on the hwy.
For those with the HK it does cause the door panels to rattle like hell I solved that problem with Cascadeaudio VB-2, the rear door latch is a know problem and MINI has a fix got mine taken care of and it fixed that one. Another word of caution since the car is mostly plastic inside almost any thing that you carry in the pockets willl rattle even a paper bag in the boot will rattle against the plastic so some times it might just be your phone in the door pocket that making that rattling sound. This has been my experience with rattles in the car.

 

April 2003 MCS, 4000+ miles, and no rattles. Tight as a drum! We had one little incident involving a cracked windshield

 

I'm at almost 10,000 and no rattles at all!

 

9590 Miles No rattles. Only service call was to change rear seat. It is at the dealer right now geting the oil changed.


Dave

Mini-Rolls

 

6500 miles, 7 months, no rattles :smile: .

 

No noticeable rattles, not even from tne sunroof, in our 11/02 build Cooper which now has 18,000 lots-of-fun miles on it. It's ony been back to the dealer's twice so far, for the 10,000-mile oil change and a suspension bolt recall and recently to replace the radio that failed and the shift know that melted.

 

>> It's ony been back to the dealer's twice so far, for the 10,000-mile oil change and a suspension bolt recall and recently to replace the radio that failed and the shift **** that melted.


how did your shift **** melt?

 

I have two. Both 2002. The MCS rattles like my wife's AMC Hornet she had decades ago. The MC doesn't rattle at all.

 

11,000 miles and 6,000 miles on our MINIs and the only rattle is from the junk in the door pockets. Our 14 year old Scorpio with 201,000 miles, lowered has no rattles but my in-laws 2003 Accord V6 with 2,000 has a very disturbing rattle in the passenger door. At least they are in their 80s and can't hear it.

 

>>WOW
>>
>>I didn't realize there were any MINIs out there that don't rattle!

And, unless someone asks about problem-free MINIs, few of us on MCO think there are such creatures. One of the hazards of a forum where people can voice frustrations or seek solutions to problems!

Mine is 1500 miles w/o a rattle. Oh, ok...so there was rattle in the door that lasted until I took the empty cd case (close to the h/k speaker) and stored it in glove compartment. Rattle solved!

 

>> how did your shift **** melt?

It's been a common problem in MINIs that when sitting in the hot sun, the plastic transparent disc on top of the shift **** distorts and curls up.

Not sure if it still happens with current builds or not.

 

My MCS had two rattles I could hear before I was out of sight of the delivering dealer. I have found and fixed most of them, but new ones keep cropping up. Turning up the HK doesn’t work anymore as the left driver’s door speaker has developed an annoying “rattle” sound at high radio volume. These problems pale to the electrical problems that still plague the vehicle and have rendered the car inoperable at times. I take the car in to the dealer to fix one electrical problem and I get the car back and a new problem appears in a matter of days. On the bright side, at 7,200 miles I still have my original windshield, the car starts (when it starts) on the first try, no stumble or yo-yo and I still have my original coolant tank. Fun car to drive, annoying car to own.