I am hoping someone reads this and has had the same problem with their Mini. I have a 2004 S with 35,000 miles on it. Over the last about six months I have been noticing the road noise more. At first I thought is was just me, plus my tires needed replacing (the original Dunlop runflats) and I thought they might be causing it. So I got new tires (conti pro contact ssr) don't know whether they are any good or not, just all I could find that wasn't back ordered for months. I had them inflated to 33 lbs. with nitrogen. Now I think it's coincidence, not the tires (unless someone tells me it may be), but the noise is worse, my gas mileage has gone from being consistenly around 28 mpg to below 25 mpg. right after I got the new tires. On acceleration there is a grinding noise, at around 35-45 it is really loud, at high speeds there is just a loud vibration noise that is way more (unless I'm just crazy and am just now noticing it after 3 1/2 years) than ever. I would have taken it into the dealer by now, but my dealer is 200 miles away. So if there is something wrong, I need to know what and if I am going to be able to make it to the dealer, or if I am going to further damage by driving it that distance. And if it's just me and I'm just crazy (helpful husband ) I don't know what I am going to do because it's unbearable. So if anyone has experienced this and can let me know what they did, I would be very greatful. I love my Mini and it has been a great car, so far. Thanks for your input.
Kirk

 

Are you sure 33 lbs is the correct psi for your tires? My runflats require 38 lbs.

 

Wheel bearings can sound similar to bad tires - a friend recently replaced his tires due to road noise, then with noise still present had to have a front wheel bearing replaced.

 

That doesn't sound like tires, that sounds like a wheel bearing. I'd make an appointment asap and not drive it too far anymore. Thats something you really don't want to fail while driving. It'll leave you stranded at the very least.
You could find a local shop to diagnose it for you. It's going to be fairly obvious when they jack up the car and spin the wheel. It'll howl when spun, or even click and rock side to side.

 

Thank you so much for the input. I'll respond to all at once. The psi is what is recommended on my door and the tire place put that psi in, so I'm pretty sure it's okay.

The bearing thing is what my brother said, too, when I described it to him. I will make an appointment Monday. The only thing is I'll have to drive 200 miles to get to the dealer. Is that going to be a problem do you think? I think I will take it in somewhere and see if they can at least listen to it. That's great to know, that the diagnosis is not hard. Thank you all so much for your thoughts.
Kirk

 

kirk - try rotating the tires to see if the noise changes. Does it change relative to road surface? speed? Direction? If it's louder when, say, you turn left than right then it may indeed be a wheel bearing. Is there a sandy or snowy road you can go on that'd delete tire noise entirely?

 

Jack the car up and spin the wheels as recomended. Like others say, it will make a lot of noise or have some wiggle to it. I hear that replacing the hub (bearing is inside) is a fairly easy job. Should't have to take it to the dealer for that.

But you do have some warrenty left right? What was it, 4 years/50k or something? Dunno cause I never had to call upon it and started to mod at 15k miles.

Anyway, driving it the 200 miles shouldn't be that bad.

 

I concur with GBMINI, chpsh8, and nabeshin...wheel bearings.

A good test is to jack up one side of the MINI and then once the front and rear tire is off the ground, grab (in this case we'll say the front tire) the tire with one hand at 12 O' clock and the other at 6 O' clock and see if the tire will rock, then try grabbing the tire at 9 and 3 O' clock. If it has play in it you should either change the bearings yourself or have your MINI flat bedded to the dealer (call MINI Roadside Assistance and they will get someone out to you). Make sure you tell them the wheel bearings are shot and you cannot drive it to the dealer and have them dispatch a flatbed, not a tow truck. The wheel bearings in bad condition can cause the spindle to actually break off which could be extremely bad mojo on the Interstate.

If the tires do not rock, then it is something else, possibly a tranny or CV Joint issue.

Good luck and be safe!

Please let us know what you find out.

 

As an owner of an '04 Cooper S who has experienced both tire wear noise and a failed wheel bearing, I'd say that yours is likely to be a bearing or something else mechanical. The tire noise (if it was that) should have gone away when you put on the Contis. I just made that switch myself, and I like the Contis a lot. They are much quieter than the old Dunlop runflats. However, I think your pressures are a bit low. I run mine at 40 psi. I think these tires like more air than the factory tires. Your gas mileage drop is probably a combination of low inflation pressure and the drag from the bad wheel bearing.

 

I am really glad to hear you like the Contis. They were all I could find, so I just went for it.

Good news on the mechanical problem, whatever it is, I called our local BMW and they will work on it since it's not on warranty (I think I only had 35,000) and they told me there is a guy there who has done a lot of work on Minis. Thanks for all the advice about jacking it up and spinning the wheels and all, but changing the oil is about all I am going to do myself (58 year female, not going to happen). I take it in Wednesday. Luckily I have a truck I can drive until it's all taken care of.

As far as the tire pressure, I am really beginning to wonder about the correct psi. The tire place wanted to put in 30, but I told them from what I had read on this site that I wanted 33. So you have Conti's and run them at 40? Does it say that on the door, in the manual? I will have to look again, but it seems to me that in my manual it was kind of confusing, depending on how many people were going to be in the car, etc. There wasn't a definitive, put this much into the tires. How do you decide? Do you have nitrogen in them? Wondering if the nitrogen thing is kind of a scam.
Kirk

 

I was curious about that, too. Since "regular" air is mostly nitrogen (78%) why would more N be perferable?

Wikipedia to the rescue under uses of Nitrogen:
Filling automotive and aircraft tires[3] due to its inertness and lack of moisture or oxidative qualities, as opposed to air, though this is not necessary for consumer automobiles.[4][5]

 

Your warranty is 4 years, 50,000 miles.

 

Nitrogen is preferable because it doesn't hold water which "regular" air does so you won't have any corrosion on your wheels. In addition Nitrogen does not expand and contract with heat and cold as "regular" air does so you can measure your tire pressure at any time unlike "regular" air which is only suposed to be measured while the tire is cold.

 

I just have regular air - I think nitrogen is a waste of money for street cars.
With the stock tires I used the factory recommendation on pressure (from the manual) of about 33-35 psi. Contis are a different tire, though, so those recommendations don't really apply. My tire dealer said to use a higher pressure for the Contis, around 40. I have put a couple of thousand miles on at this pressure and it drives fine.

 

As stated, your warranty is 4 year, 50,000 miles. (the oil change aka maintenance program is 3/36).
Try calling 1.866.ASKMINI with your VIN number. Ask them when the warranty runs out. They are very friendly and have all the info right there for you.I've got an 04 and mine isn't going to run out until July of 08!
If you're still under warranty, which is a very good possibility, Mini will pick up the towing and repair!

 

True about the nitrogen filled tires having a benefit of no water vapor, but nitrogen DOES expand and contract with changes in temperature in the exact same manner as any other gas.

Despite what they claim, Boyle's law and Charles' law have not been repealed by the shops that fill tires with nitrogen.

 

Kirk,

Please let me know what you find out on Wednesday. I am having a similar problem on a 2002 S w/ 42,000 miles on it. I get a loud grinding noise at about 15-20 mph and increased road noise/vibration at high speads. I thought it was a failed bearing so I took it in to the dealership today, but they wanted $700 to replace a bearing and could not guarantee me that the noise would go away. They said it could also be my after market wheels and tires, but I have had them for two years and just starting hearing this sound about a month ago. You're right...the sound is really annoying and it seems to be getting worse. I am going to try switching back to my stock wheels/tires to see if the noise improves or goes away, but I really don't think it's the wheels and tires that are making the noise. If that doesn't rectify the problem I will probably have to replace a bearing or two, but I'm trying to avoid that at $700 a pop. The technician did put my car on the lift and spin the wheels while listening to the bearings with a stethoscope and said he heard a slight clicking sound on my left rear wheel that sounded like a bearing problem, but nothing egregious. I would like to hear what they tell you when you take your car in on Wednesday. Please let me know.

Thanks,
Joe

 

Run your hand over the surface of the tire and see if it feels uneven. You may feel some slight "cupping" of the tread which will cause the tires to become extremely noisy.