Folks...

Am I the only one that has some creaks and buzzes from my B pillars or windows and doors?

Going over things like speed bumps, my windows and pillars creak. Over rough pavement, I get a vibration or buzz SOMEWHERE in both doors. On the drivers door, it sounds like it's coming from within the pillar, but passenger side, more like the area of the door handle.

I know I'm being a bit picky, but if my $18K Element can go without those kinds of noises at 120K miles, I expect my $32K Mini to do the same at 3.5K miles.

 

I haven't any in my cosmic blue. Are you sure its not a loose strap on the seatbelt or something in the door trays.

If you do have them I would let MINI get it fixed.

Bill

 

Yup. Nothing in the door trays. The creaks are definitely creaks. I will try driving with all the belts buckled and just see. I also removed the deck lid in the hatch area...don't use that anyway. Removed the jack from the well, as well. I'm trying to eliminate every possible thing.

 

Hmm I don't hear any obvious creaks or buzzes in mine. Will keep my ears open though. Had one of the rear seat belts flap but that's about it.

 

Could it be from the sunroof?

 

I have a buzz in the driver side... Either in the B pillar seatbelt mech, or something do do with the lock mech... but seems louder with the window down... Other rattle is under the glovebox on pass side. Not ready to take it in for anything yet... going to let it go for a while and see what else pops up... Then have them all tended to..

 

I thought I had a buzz/rattle, but it was change in the change cup.



Otherwise, nothing.

 

Those are my most prevalent ones, too. Annoying as crud.

 

I just turn up the music for now! lol

 

every mini I have been in buzzes. I am not that impressed with fit/finish of the interior. I have a regular MCS but my tach is constantly buzzing and I have to push on it as well as the right mid speaker cover

 

Yes -- I'm having the exact same problems. The whole roof seems to groan when going over even subtle bumps (I have roof racks, so I assumed it was those), and the doors sound like there are crickets breeding within. I've taken my Countryman back twice, and the doors still rattle enough to make me loathe my commute. Not sure what my next step is.

 

What did they say they were doing at the dealer? I found an old forum post in a different forum for BMW's that recommeded some type of rubber treatment for the seals that seemed to work for people. There is also a buzz with the speedometer. But the window creaking is getting worse and worse.

 

I think they said they were wrapping things in tape, but that's clearly not working. I'll probably take it back again if things get worse. It's a big disappointment.

Magna Steyr is the Austrian company that builds the Countryman. They were the same folks who built the first generation BMW X3, which was apparently plagued with squeaks and rattles too. Lesson learned.

 

I took mine in today. They heard the dash rattle (and the loaner, a new All4) has the same thing, coincidentally. The windows he said were creaking due to the rubbing against the felt flocking. He plans to use teflon tape in small strips. Not ideal, and honestly if it's just a rubbing sound vs truly loose windows, I'd forgo the whole thing. He said it will be invisible as it's going to be in the molding. Anyway, he was the shop foreman at the local BMW dealer before, and said he dealt with the same issues on several BMWs, and also said it's often believe it or not based on the color of the car, and he said white ones were worse than others. Didn't seem like he was BSing. He cracked the windows a little and showed me it stops the noise. Gave me a nice loaner without asking...true blue all 4 loaded up. They are taking it seriously.

 

So I will pick up my car tomorrow. They apparently were able to locate all of the vibrations and do some insulating (I guess) and they are driving first thing in the AM to see if it's better. But what I realized while driving a loaner All4 is my car is a POS compared to the loaner. Not because of the All4, but the cabin, even with a sun roof, is TONS quieter...no vibrations, rattles, squeaks. And the engine noise is tons quieter too. Mine sounds like a sewing machine compared to this. I wish I could swap out my car for the loaner! :-) It really does bother me, though. I don't like the fact that they had to stuff my door panels with feathers or whatever, and that they had to put tape along my door edges in order to get the same result everyone else gets just from the factory. Why must we be stuck with $32K rattle traps? I know it's nothing mechanical, but it seems like a rip-off when one can't do something about a crappily built new car that is tough to enjoy when you have driven one built "correctly" and know that's how it should be.

 

Got the car back. Lots of apparent insulating, but no change, honestly. Speedo still vibrates and apparently is a known issue, which won't be fixed. The windows may be fixed. They put teflon tape on the bare metal between the seals and the body. We'll see. They aren't creaking so far. Still a vibration in the passenger door that buzzes over rough pavement. Drives me crazy. Plus I think one of the right speakers is problematic, or it actually makes the buzz happen, too at certain frequencies. It seems to be either the door handle area or maybe the right vent of the dash. Anyway, just rambling in case anyone else is experiencing this. The loaner had no creaks or buzzes, except for the speedo.

 

Just looked at the Countryman for the 1st time yesterday - the above posts makes me want to run the other way. Really liked it but will wait for the bench seat (long wait - sounds like September at the earliest). Maybe they'll work these quality control issues out? Problem is I can't think of any other car/CUV/SUV that is even remotely similar to the CM at the price point? Talking base with fwd and no options. Any suggestions? Is Mini QC truly that horrible - even after all these years? Thanks.

 

Have you looked at the subaru WRX wagon? Or lancer evo wagon maybe?

Also, keep in mind the few that have posted here are doing so because they have a problem. Everyone else that has the car isn't coming on here saying their car is quiet. You'll always hear about the negatives

 

I also have creaks coming from the door of my CM. My dealer told me it were the rubber seals on the body which is where the door seals to. They did apply some silicon oil on the seals to make them more slippery but the creaks were still as loud and present as ever. I applied more silicon oil when I got home but there wasn't any difference. What tape did they use on the bare metal? Might give that a try. The sound may also be coming from the windows, but i'll give the Teflon tape a try though. I really can't stand these creaks, specially when my service adviser says that is normal with BMW's. I hope someone comes up with a solution.

 

He used a roll of teflon tape...a thin strip on the metal of the body where the felt flock of the door seal would touch when the door is closed. Imagine the top of the rubber door seal being aligned with the top of the tape. The inside is felt and that was what was rubbing. Seemingly it is working. This was apparently a problem on BMW's and he was the foreman at the local BMW dealer shop and had figured it out with a problematic car that a customer complained about for years. They replaced the door seals several times, and nothing worked, and then he either read about this or figured it out.

 

I hear a sound much like styrofoam squeaking when I go over bumps slowly. I can't tell where they're coming from, but it sounds like mainly the rear of the car. Haven't had any other issues with noise or vibration though.

 

Cosmic,
Just want to follow up on this creaking door problem. Did the Teflon tape solve the issue permanently? My creaking door has gotten so worse that it creaks even from just turning on a flat road. What kind of Teflon tape did they use? Does it have an adhesive backing? The only teflon tape I could find is the one that you use for plumbing. What color did it come in? TIA.

 

It did help the creaking...not the buzzing of the door panels, which still drives me crazy. I can easily stop the buzzes by pressing on the arm-rest. But every time I go to the dealer, it doesn't buzz and they won't do anything til they hear it.

So on the tape...it's clear. They cut it into very thin strips and it is placed where the rubber trim on the doors themselves would touch, so it's upside down on the car. You can't see it unless you are looking for it. The service manager said it is a couple hundred dollars per roll, so not sure exactly what he is using.

It did fix the issue for the most part. Haven't had noticeable creaking now for months. Still a million rattles and buzzes but no creaking.

 

I actually only have the creaking door, now the challenge is to find that teflon tape since my dealer doesnt have a clue about this. Wonder if moving the door striker in a little would reduce the creaksby putting more pressure on rubber trim.

Regarding the buzzing door panels, on my R53 MCS, what I did was to slide in a thin price of foam in between the door panel and the metal door frame so the there would be constant pressure on the panel. Might work for your situation.

 

Ours has the noise behind the speedo, but I don't actually think it is the speedo. I think it is a loose heat shield under the floor and because of the location of the shield, it sounds like it is coming from the speedo. I closed the passenger door and heard a rattle and I think a heat shield is loose under the car. Had a noise on the highway from the same area as the rattle. When I can find time to get it to the dealership for warranty work, I'll have them check the shields.