The engine valves are noisy during cold start. The oil dipstick is half-full, but the valves are noisy for about 5 minutes after I start the engine.

The current temperature in Sacramento is the high 40's and low 50's. Is it normal for the MCS to be noisy normal under these weather conditions?

 

Mine seems to moan and groan on cold mornings. It seems to be a cold blooded beast. After about a 5 minute warm up all is good!

 

survey says as horrible as it sounds, its perfectly normal

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...weather+starts

 

Direct injection, diesel's next of kin

 

The rattley cold start some people are experiencing... the one that goes away after 1-5 minutes... has NOTHING to do with direct fuel inection . Trust me... if you car doest it on start-up... YOU WILL KNOW!!! It sounds HORRIBLE . Best place I've seen for vids and discussion is here:

http://www.mini2.com/forum/2nd-gen-f...when-cold.html

 

Sounds like (no pun intended) piston slap.

 

I went through that thread, and THANKFULLY my car doesn't sound like THAT Mine just does the regular tappety tappety of the injectors.

 

No. No it doesn't. Not in person. It's about a hundred times worse than any piston slap out there.

 

Only drawback to direct injection is the sound.
I'll take it in trade.

 

The tapping sound stopped last Monday and I still don't know the cause of the problem. It must be the cold weather.

 

Moving this to the R56 Problems and Issues forum

 

Just as a note off the beaten path. Direct injection does not need to be noisy. My other car has a direct injection based V6 and you cannot hear a single plink from it. Cold, hot, does not matter it is perfectly quiet. I have even raised the hood and tried to hear some noise and there is none.

Yet the Mini's direct injection system can be quite loud. Cold does seem to exacerbate the condition. Romi does indeed sound like she has a diesel engine on cold mornings.

 

There's two different noises ,the cold tippy tap that doesnt bother me ,and the one time noise I had where the engine sounded like it had no oil and also ran bad until it warmed up .I'm not sure the latter happens on the non turbo .

 

I have the sound too. I live in Sacramento and it started when it got cold. Especially if I don't drive for a day or two.

 

The tapping sound is back during cold starts and it occurs when the temperature is below 40 degrees. It does not happen everytime, but when it does, I let the engine run idle for about 4 minutes before the sound goes away.

Is this really normal? Should I let the dealer check the engine? Is the cam tensioner really the cause of this issue as mentioned by one of our NAM members?

 

Does this sound like an acceptable noise a $30,000 car should make... however infrequently!?!

IMO, get it to the dealer now.

 

I got that that sound this morning when I started my MC here in south florida and we have a front that is giving us a 55 degs low, then I realised that was the sound of my teeth chattering together.

 

I dropped-off my MCS at Niello of Sacramento last night. Niello mentioned that this could be the high pressure fuel pump which is not unusual with the 2007 MCS. I'm not familiar with these cars, but is that correct? If so, should MINI recall the 2007 MCS to replace these noisy high pressure fuel pumps?

 

No, that's not correct.

As stated several times before... the common-rail direct fuel injection system uses electrical solonoids to spray fuel into the cylinders. So yes, it clicks away as the engine runs.

But no... it's not the sound owners are descibing in these cold start rattle threads. Go over to MINI 2, or the thread here on NAM ( https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=121761) where I posted the videos, and see what we're talking about. Then lets hear your dealer say it's normal.

 

I don't believe the MC has direct injection, only the MCS. Couldn't find the engine press release on motoringfile, but the MCS uses the vanos technology which is different than the direct injection the MCS uses.

 

Not sure how that applies... what am I missing? Are you referring to Skuzzy's post where he heard the cold start rattle?

The OP, and all but one or two posters here have the MCS.

It must be too early for me.

 

referring to skuzzy and djam43.

 

Reason this happens is because the valve lifters "bleed down" from no oil pressure after the car sits for a while. Since these engines have automatic valve lash adjustment, the tappets (lifters) need oil pressure and the only way they get it is from the engine running. It's nothing to worry about, just turn your stereo up a little louder until it goes away...

 

What about the loss of power ? what if a monster is chasing you and your trying to get away ?

 

Though I would agree on the general direction of your analysis (low oil pressure and/or low oil levels in the head)... I would seriously question the conclusion that "it's nothing to worry about".

Considering 1) It isn't happening to every car 2) Frequency and duration increases over time and 3) Low oil means decreased lubrication and therefore increased wear and tear on moving parts... I would most definately worry about it.

A stuck valve or two and an inoperative cam chain tensioner can do some serious long term damage to the head, cam chain and if the chain wears abnormally and breaks, there goes the valve train and heads. So just turning up the stereo and ignoring the issue is a very, very bad idea.