]Disclaimer - I know very little about DIY repairs on cars, especially my Mini (last car was an '02 diesel VW, so I'm familiar with all their "fun" little quirks, but not so much the Mini). Please forgive me if what follows is a stupid question. (I mostly follow the convos here about travel/road trips!)]

My Countryman has about 18,000 miles. It's under warranty and was last serviced at around 15k.

I'm in the Northeastern US and it's been a cold winter. So back in November/December when we got our first taste of below-freezing weather, my car started with an odd rattle that seems to come from under the hood, front passenger side while idling. When in drive, it was mostly quiet except for an occasional somewhat metallic rattle for the first ten minutes or so of driving. Then the check engine light would come on. A few minutes later (seemingly once the car warmed up a bit) the light would go away and so would the sound. (Video of cold start here, taken this AM: - I know it's not great but the best I could do in a rush to head out to work.)

This happened on and off for a few weeks but nothing ever got worse, and eventually the check engine light stopped coming on (I'm trying to figure out if this coincided with slightly warmer than Polar Vortex temps). Then about a week and a half ago, I started my car up from cold while my husband was standing outside. "Whoa, that's a loud rattle," he noted. (I guess I had just gotten used to the noise.) My service light had also come back on at start-up.

So last Friday I scheduled service at the dealership for whatever the light was on for (I couldn't find any scheduled service around 18k noted in the manual and I wasn't due for an oil change either) and to check out the rattle. They kept it overnight and started it up in the morning, said they couldn't hear a rattle and I needed no service. They also said they could not find anything in the computer relating to the check engine light and sent me on my way.

[There are some factors here that I'm not certain about - whether they left it garaged overnight or out in the cold, for example, could have impacted whether or not the heard the rattle. Also, did they start it up and listen from outside, or did they take it on the road? Not sure.]

Anyway, I guess my question is - am I crazy? Does the rattle on the video sound normal to you for cold weather? And any idea on what it could be from ? Anyone have the same problem?

Thanks so much for any help pointing me in the right direction - so I can at least go into the service department better informed, or stop worrying!

 

That does sound slightly louder than the normal direct injection engine noise. What symbol is appearing on your info center? Is it the maintenance reminder, or a CEL? Have you checked the oil since your last service visit?

 

That's definitely louder than normal. It sounds like it might be the timing chain. I would take it in and have it looked at. Search NAM for timing chain tensioner.

 

i agree with chini, not normal at all...i'm surprised the dealer wasn't able to find the alert error code, i thought it would register in On-Board Computer...i would take it to another dealer for the second opinion. i see that you are in central jersey which dealer did you go to? Try Ramsey Mini -bergen county - i highly recommend them.