I have a '05 mcs with 6800 miles and the seat makes a clicking sound. It sounds like something is loose with the rachet system. When I brake or accelerate suddenly you feel and hear the click. Also while stationary if you rock the seat you feel and hear the click. It seems to come from the pivot point of the seat or from the track the seat rides on. I have put the seat through its extreme range of motions to try to " reset the cogs" maybe but that did not work. Has anyone had a similar problem. I don't want the seat to fail in an accident. I know the dealer response when I mention it at my oil change will be "unable to reproduce the problem" just like my passenger door speaker buzz.
Thanks for any input.

 

I have an '05 mcs with 9,200 miles and I have recently noticed the same thing. But once I hear the click I don't hear it again. I even have tried shifting my weight forward and back to see if it clicks again and it does not. I have not really regarded this as a problem but I sometimes worry like you that something isn't quite right.

Does your MINI have more than one driver? Or do you sometimes change your seat position? I think (but not entirely sure) that this only happens after my son has been in the car and has moved the seat and I have to move it back. Or maybe if I change the seat position myself.

 

If the problem is constant, drive to your SA and have him drive it WITH you in the passenger seat. Then he can't say "what problem".

 

They replaced the frame of my seat for something that sounds very similar. Go to your dealer and have them witness the noise, they should fix it under warranty.

The noise changed after the first fix and the dealer did other things to finally make all of the noises go away. It has been fine for the past 12 months and 12,000 smiles.

 

This problem just started for me a month ago. I went to the closest dealer and after much haggling they said they'd replace the seat rails....they did this and it didn't fix it. Now they are saying it's normal!? I have told them in no uncertain terms that it is not normal and they must fix it.

When you say they replaced your "seat frame," exactly which parts so you mean? I'd love to be able to tell them exactly what to do.

Many thanks!

 

Does the sound occur on accelleration/braking, or during cornering?
Mine was making the clicking during cornering and i was able to isolate the sound to the area between the seatbelt buckle and side seat trim. A piece of cardboard wedged in between stopped the noise until a proper fix could be determined. HTH.

 

Same thing here and affects both of my front seats. This is a '05 MCS 6MT, February 2005 build with nearly 18K miles.

Playing with the seat adjustments either minimize or eliminate the "Clicking" noise somewhat, but aftermany hours of fiddling with the seats I have found that the noise seems more prevalent when the seat back is more reclined than "straight" 90 degrees. If I put my seatback completely straight, the noise goes away. Try it so you see what I mean.

Fortunately I have found a comfortable and "noiseless" seating adjustments, so I won't bother taking it back to the dealer until the next service stop, unless the clicking comes back full force.

This is a fairly minor complaint on an otherwise rock solid car. 18K miles and no other problems to date.

The seats of my '04 MCS never, ever clicked. Neither the seats of my wife's '02 MC.

There is some quality glitch with the factory sport seats in '05 MINIs, for sure.

 

For me is mostly during acceleration when body weight tends to shift.

 

Yes, mine also is forward and backward motions. I can stand next to the car and grabbing the headrest, can make the sound occur by shifting the seat fore and back.

 

Mini Rep took a look at my MCS today and the driver's seat. He is having the service department at Bob Smith Mini replace the frame in the seat bottom. Changing-out the seat-rails did not fix it and now I have some play in the seat fore and aft from not so great new seat rails! They'll be fixing that also.

 

Mine click, too. Mine is a 5/2004 build. Sadly though, the clicking stopped just in time for the last service. Now it's back full force. Both seats....

 

Thanks. I will have the dealer look into this on my next service stop.

 

Picked-up my MCS from Bob Smith Mini today. The replacement of the seat frame in the bottom of the seat corrected the clicking/snapping sound. The whole seat is as tight as it was when new. This certainly seems to be the fix.

It was unfortunate that I had to be so forceful to get to this point. Bob Smith Mini service did finally fix the problem and well, but it took getting the Mini Rep to OK it, and before that they kept trying to tell me it was a normal condition. Yes obviously it is normal for the seat frames to break under easy use...less than 19k miles and it was broken (sarcastic intent here). This is a poor design problem and they should fix under warranty as was done. Again, Bob Smith did get it done and really in the end did a great job...it just shouldn't be that the customer is wrong until the service department is forced to admit the product is faulty. And I was the one that found the fix by inquiring with the great members of NAM...special thanks to Bilbo. You'd think the dealer would be the one searching to find the fix...and subscribing to the age old adage that "the customer is always right." I think this would serve their business better than the other way around.

 

And now during the next day and more inspection...I find that they gouged the plastic interior panel while removing and replacing the seat. I have eMailed them that I want the panel replaced.

 

I just discovered this thread after using "search" on "seat click noise."

My car is a March 2005 delivery, and the clicking sound occurs when the chassis flexes (I assume) when traversing bumps in the road. It can be really loud and disconcerting on any even slightly irregular road surface. It's worst when the weather is cold and damp. I find that pushing the seat back to its most extreme rearward position helps a great deal.

If it continues, I'll report the fault during next scheduled service.

 

Hey, C4, welcome back!