Hi, MINI folks. A bit of a long post here.

I love my '05 S I bought last week. I love it so. It's black, 20K miles, no sunroof, 6 speed. I have been looking for excuses to drive anywhere in it all weekend, here in Brooklyn, despite the lousy weather.

But I'm a little bummed right now - I noticed last night what I think may be the "helicopter" sound coming from the flywheel: when I am in neutral, at idle, and the clutch is out, it makes a faint, but definitely noticeable choppy/whirring sound. Sounds like something is spinning and making a grinding sound. It's not overpoweringly loud, but it is definitely there. Push the clutch in, it's gone. This sound may have been there all this weekend, but it was only last night for some reason that I noticed that it was a noise apart from the engine idling. I didn't know how quiet the engine really is at idle.

Some threads on this forum have made me believe that it might be the dual-mass flywheel, which BMW issued a TSB on, and some of you have had replaced by your dealers under warranty. Of course it's a big job and would cost a fortune out of warranty.

Sucks to not have even had the car a week without having to think about something like this.

Fortunately, my car has 2 months left on the 4 yr/50K mile factory warranty, so if there was a legit warranty issue, I *should* be ok... But, the last time I went to a dealer with a car I owned that still had a warranty in effect was... let me think.... never. And the only MINI dealer experience I have in my life was a week ago when I called MINI of Manhattan.

I originally called there to see if they could do a mechanical one-over on the car before I bought it. But I bailed when they said it would cost $350. I could not stomach the idea of spending that kind of money on a car I didn't own yet. So I had it done elsewhere. During that call, however, (Service Manager) Aleks was nice enough to run the VIN and tell me a bit about the car, but then blew me away by suggesting I would need service soon that, from what I remember, was simply fluids and adjustments, maybe a belt, nothing else that sounded remotely expensive, and it would be around $1400. $1400 service on a car with 20K miles? I asked about an oil change: $160. It left me thinking that MINI of Manhattan is full of pirates who are staring directly at my wallet. Are they smoking crack or am I just naive as to how expensive my MINI will be to maintain? Maybe both?

Anyway, I know I should go get this checked out. Should I bite the bullet and schedule an oil change with this dealer, to establish a relationship and show that I may be a regular customer, then bring up my warranty concerns? How should I approach a dealer I've never met before with a concern like this with a car I have barely owned a week?

Also, just two days ago I installed the Cravenspeed strut tower defender plates (thanks Helix). It's NYC and I am not taking chances with the potholes. The passenger side plate covers the VIN #. Should I remove those before going to any dealer the first time? I don't want them thinking the car is modded, because as far as I know, it's bone stock, down to the tires. They were easy enough to install, I would assume they're easy to remove.

Finally, in NYC it seems there are 5 MINI dealers around. The closest one to me is Manhattan, then there is Hassel (no, really) in Long Island, Prestige in New Jersy, one up in Westchester, and one near Hartford CT.

Maybe I am OCD'ing on this little bit... but I feel my MINI honeymoon ended too soon... what do do next?

 

Welcome to the MINI world!

First, get that baby in to one of those dealers and ask for them to look at it for the sound you're hearing. Warranty is warranty. I also bought mine used and had several things repaired under warranty before it ran out including a window motor. My first used vehicle purchase that a dealer actually honored the warranty.

I'm not up on the flywheel problem and helicopter noise, but mine has done that for thousands of miles. Still, have it looked at under warranty. I thought it was the throwout bearing or something. If it ain't broke, I don't fix it unless it steadily gets worse.

Don't bother removing the strut tower plates. They have nothing to do with your sound. Besides, a lot of us alot reinforced the towers which MINI has never done anything about that I know of.

Five nearby dealers? Wow. I'm an hour from one and two hours from the next. Must be nice.

On the service for $1,400. Are you sure they didn't mean $400? At 20,000 miles you'd be getting close to Inspection 1 which was just under $400 for me a few years back. Look forward to Inspection 2 for the same price around 50,000 miles. I'd call back and check the price though because I think you heard him wrong.

Find a good oil change place you trust and move to a full synthetic. I've been using Mobil 1 and The Lube Stop filters for 3 years now and it's only $70 every 3 or 4,000 miles and I get to stand in front of the bonnet and watch while they remove the M7 brace and I remind the mechanic to lube that filter O-ring nice and get it in there correctly or I'll be back. Only happened once in a dozen changes.

Hey, have fun in that MINI. I can't wait to buy the next one.

 

It sounds like you are hearing a bit of clutch chatter. If so, that's normal.

 

Thanks for your reply. I thought I heard him wrong too, but he started something about $900 plus this and plus that and ended up at $1400. I was like . I'll call back tomorrow and ask what he was talking about.

 

Puppyknuckles,

After a week of owning my MINI, every little thing sounded like a potential disaster (you read my PS pump freak out?), so I made a list of things I knew had to be done maintenance-wise, and I'm trying to plan accordingly. In my case I almost didn't buy one due to the costs I read about. Ultimately though, I think they are great cars. I think there are a couple VIN spots, so you shouldn't have to remove the braces. Join me in the "so far so good" club. Good luck on the clutch. Mine has 96k on the original, so they don't all fail right away.

 

I did the same thing, but these cars have a lot of little idiosyncrasies from car to car.

In any event mine has been making the same sound you describe for the last 8k miles or so (about 1.5 years at the rate I drive) and it hasnt gotten any worse over time I would say. I AutoX my car and the flywheel has yet to do anything but create a bit of noise.

Feel free to leave the plates on, even my dealer who was **** retentive about mods (they will void the WHOLE powertrain for just a catback) they never cared about the plates I have on mine. They never cared about the paint I have on my calipers either.

Any independent BMW (or european car for that matter) shop should be able to perform an inspection 1 type of service for not much money, it is pretty basic.

 

Thanks for your comments, you guys. They're making me rest a little easier. Stanislaus where is your PS pump freak out thread? I tried searching for it...

One thing that made me feel better - jumping in the car and blasting over the Williamsburg bridge and back just for fun. Nothing like driving to take your mind off of things....

 

My pump freak out...I guess I just visited a lot of discussions about them once I realized I had no PS fan guard (I ordered the little screen, not the scoop) and stuff could get sucked up there and jam the fan. The pump is noisy, which in other cars I've owned means it could fail. Perhaps it was a controlled panic on my part. The guard is 40 bucks with delivery. I had a dream last night that I was given the job of inspecting suspect BMWs. One was previously owned by Martin Mull for some reason.

 

Wow, I've heard the inspections are spendy but that is way over anything I've heard.

But for comparison, an oil change at the MINI dealer in Minneapolis only cost me $65.

 

Yep, sounds like the flywheel. I had mine replaced at 12k miles. They went ahead and put a new clutch as well. Definately take it in before the warranty expires. As far as an oil & filter change, if they charge around $80, go ahead.

 

Maybe the throwout bearing??? Never had this on the mini but I had a mustang that made a choppy/whirring sound at idle and when I pushed the clutch in it stop. I replaced the the clutch,pilot and throwout bearings and was fine after that

 

It is the flywheel. I have had mine replaced twice under warranty and it eventually comes back every time. I don't even notice it anymore unless i am idling with the windows down.

 

If you take above advice and go with synthetic which you BTW should since the car came with synthetic in it, don't waste your money for 4000 mile oil changes, unles you're on the track every weekend.
There is no apparent reason to change your oil more often than 7500 miles. I follow the Odometer interval and many people have without any dissasters. MINI has built this calculation system for a reason. But hey, at the end of the day it's your money so do what you think it's right.

 

Heads-up puppyknuckles...

The P/S pump fan can die or malfunction for a number of reasons w/o warning on the instrumental panel. The same is true for the radiator fan's Low Speed, which restricts the engine's operating coolant temperature and A/C operation. Your A/C will blow only warm air until the radiator's Hi Speed fan kicks in. Both of these problems can lead to costly repairs.

I find this very lacking for a car designed by BMW.

 

I've heard about the PS Pump... so, now I have a heads up. What do I do about it?

 

I ordered this for the next service that calls for the car going up on a lift:
http://www.outmotoring.com/mini-coop...protector.html
Other people are doing this:
http://new.minimania.com/web/item/NME7640/InvDetail.cfm
The fan fails, pump overheats. That's what I hear. Your car may have a fan with a guard already-just reach under the car pretty much in the middle at the rear of the engine-it's a 3" diameter fan housing.
I've been tracking PS pumps to buy at competitive rates-might be able to swap it out before failure and head off costly repair.
By the way-did you get the braces for under or on top of the towers? I need to research that.

 

You can also repack an old fan motor with a new bearing set, or just replace the fan when you have the money to spend ( I also want to start a "cheapskate MINI owners" club on NAM. No takers, yet though. I think I'll have to make up the badges myself).

 

Thanks Stanislaus. I will check my car, and order one of those guards if needed ASAP. I did get the strut tower defenders - ordered them from Helix in Philly, they arrived in Brooklyn the next day. Nice pieces, anodized aluminum, with a Cravenspeen logo. They were easy to install, provided you have a torque wrench and some deep sockets. I actually had to run to the Strauss Auto down the road to get some sockets deep enough. I would've done a little how-to, but I was running out of daylight and needed to work fast. They came with bolt extenders that adapt the factory strut bolts so the plates have a longer and thicker bolt to mount to. In some pictures I've seen, the plates have been mounted straight onto the factory bolts, and the nuts can't even 100% thread over the bolt. So I was glad to see some nice fat bolt adapters included. Plenty of thread and the bolts are big 7/8" suckers. The only creative part was having to work the plate underneath the hood release cable on one side, and another cable on the other side, but there was some slack in both and no damage was done. Was really straightforward.

 

Yeah. I just wonder if the underneath plates are more worthwhile, since they meet the shock going up, rather than just put a cap on it. Understand I am not an expert, though. If abuse from below damages the towers, don't you want something underneath, and not capping it off? I will look around on NAM and see what folks say who've had them awhile.
That said, I'll probably get what you got.

 

I hear you. I saw the underneath plates too, but knew that it would be pricey and a PITA to have them installed, relatively speaking. I wanted something immediately to protect against the nasty NYC roads. It buys me peace of mind. Maybe when I have to drop the struts to replace them at some point I'll add the bottom plates too, even if that is overkill. I haven't read any stories of anyone who have suffered mushrooming after installing either method of reinforcement, have you?

 

Yeah,I have but I'm still sold on the preventative measure. I've been in NYC a few times (Williamsburg most recently), and lived in Chicago (not driven it in a MINI), so I see the need.

 

Two of us helped a friend install the underside plates. Only took a couple hours including new guide supports/plates. They do add to the not-much-bolt-thread-left-to-grab-onto concern.

Rallymaniac: I prefer the oil changes more often mostly because it makes me feel better. I usually miss my 3,000 mile mark by a 1,000 or two without any worry. While I don't autoX, I do make all day, stop for gas only, trips every other oil change or two.

Now, someone help me design a kit to route some of that clean motor oil through the SC gear boxes so those will last longer. Even dip sticks and fill tubes would be better than what we have.

 

Heard good things about the Mini dealer in Princeton NJ, as well as Morristown... good luck! Warranty repairs should be no big deal if your warranty is still valid, and those dealers seem to be the friendly sort from what I've heard.

 

Thanks! That's good to know.

 

So I got my front right runflat plugged today because it had a brass tack in it. Just to be safe (I am NOT buying a new runflat, hate them) I decided to have the tires rotated so the plugged tire would be on the back where I hope it will be able to be under less stress. Anyway, while the car was on the lift I got a look underneath and snapped a phone picture of the power steering pump fan (I think). Looks like it has a factory guard on it, no?