Yeah but it only seems to be affecting the S...the non S and S motors differ and this difference seems to be making it happen on the S and not the non S...i do hope they find a fix tho because that would put a horrible image on MINI if their engines died right after warrantee

 

Not necessisarily... the issues primarily appear to effect the head and it's attached components.

The design differences between the MC Valvetronic set-up may be keeping more oil in the head... unlike the MSC VANOS only system.

On the up-side... identifying a root cause at least lets the engineers start work towards a possible solution. Oil starvation (if thats what it turns out to be) can be addressed various ways. The nice permanant-type solutions that ensure the issue will not return.

I'm 500 miles into the new engine and it purrs like a kitten. Not to say it'll last... but for now .

Got two cold/sunny days this weekend to spend some quality time and remember why I love this car so much. Two long twisty day drives followed by a coffe-house visit with car friends at the end.

If they end up acknowledging the issue, identifying the cause and developing a fix... I think it'll be a great car to own long term. If not... .

 

Mine went in on thursday and it rattled for the dealer !!!!!!!. Needless to say..... THEY KEPT IT IN. They think they may have fitted the wrong (ie older) new engine unit !!!!!! YEAH, RIGHT. Not heard owt since.

 

They should give you two new cars for your trouble Specky !

 

I wish.......... I'll just av to keep runnin..... "THE LOANER" !!!!!

 

I know it's a little too early to tell, but curious if any '08 owners have experienced this problem yet.

 

I think I heard the rattling noise for the first time in my 07 MCS today too. I had parked the car in the garage at around 10 pm last night (Saturday). I heard the noise when I started the engine at around 5 pm this afternoon (Sunday). It was definitely not the usual engine start-up noise I was used to. I should also mention that earlier today, around noon, I briefly started the engine two times to move the car a bit to clean its interior. The engine did not run more than a minute or two both times. I don't think I noticed a strange noise during those short runs. My car has about 4700 miles on it. The outside temperature was about 70 degrees today.

 

Mine acted up for the first time this morning. It has almost 9000 miles and it was in the garage so the temp was around 60°F or so. Damn...
I didn't run it on Saturday and I moved it about 5 yards on Sunday to clean the interior.... And it did that this morning.
I guess moving it a short distance and leaving it somehow causes it?

 

2 more on the list then !!!!
Just got back from stealers and they dont know how to fix it !!!!!!
So i'm no better off now !!!!!!!

 

Hey Folks,

Though I am not a sufferer (yet), I am extremely sympathetic to those affected and concerned for my car. Seems inevitable. How about the following "COLD START REGISTRY:"


***************
MC or MCS:
Build Date:
Date at First Noise:
Miles at First Noise:
Temp at First Noise:
Any Resolution (y/n):
Any Particular Issues:

Cold Start # (self-assigned based on last # taken):
**************

No pride in authorship. But does everyone agree we need to get organized?

 

Check your local lemon laws. Repeated unsuccessful repair attempts may entitle you to rescind the contract or get a new vehicle. The noise is a mechanical knocking. This is bad for the engine. If it is a regular occurrence, there is most likely some unusual or accelerated wear occurring, which may not manifest itself until after the warranty expires.

 

I tried this before

Btw, 0w-30 Castrol is still working well. No cold start noises so far on this oil change. Car is very easy to start and drive in the morning. Very quite too. I believe this oil flows much easier allowing the cylinder head to receive proper lubrication.

 

I may have missed it, but is the downward slope of the park angle pretty much a requirement?

 

Event-Horizon,

I like your parameters much better than mine, except there is no place to begin to keep count

So you are CSN #1!

Next?

 

Assuming the 0w-30 oil fixed the problem for good, what are you planning to do when you take your car to the dealership for your free oil change? The dealership will want to use the regular MINI-branded 5w-30 oil. Will you take your own 0w-30 oil to the dealership and insist that they use your 0w-30 oil instead of their regular 5w-30?

 

If it is in the spring/summer months, then the 5w-30 dealership oil change should be fine. If it's in the winter months, I may bring my own oil for them to use.

 

It happened in the garage for me. It is not the weight of the oil that caused it as far as mine is concerned. It sounded like a bad chain saw. The noise was worst when the rpm was up to 2000 rpm. I had to go to work and per owner's manual no warm up so I drove off. The noise went away after about a minute from the start of the engine.

Build date: June 2007.
8800 miles.
MCS manual.

 

Post your info here: https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=130308

Cold Start Issues database thread

 

To all affected by Cold Start Noise, please go to NAM "COLD START DATABASE" https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=130308 and register so there is a single bank of info for MINI to see and use hopefully to all our mutual benefit to fix the problem(s). Thanks.

 

No. It has nothing to do with the slope. More to do with outside temperature, and a cold car (sitting overnight...).

 

I see people posting that they have this problem when it is 70deg outside. That's not exactly cold.

 

It doesn't have nothing to do with the slope, because that is a common situation reported by posters. And it is definitely not contingent on temperature, although, if oil starvation is the cause, it is going to be more noticeable when the temperature is lower.

 

I keep a notepad in the car. And every time I start the car I note, the date, time, temp, time since last start, and angle the car is resting at.

I have dumped the info into Excel and can say for me at least, there is a correlation between slope and the noise. If the time since last start is less than 5 hours, it seems like slope makes a difference. I don't understand why, but that's my data so far. Small sample set so take it with a grain of salt...

 

I'm on LI, you'd be hard pressed to find a slope of anykind. ;-) I park on a dead flat driveway and parking lot at work. My data shows only one thing: COLD temperature. 95% of the time, it must be lower than 30 degree's and the colder it is, the more likely it is to occur.

It occurs 100% of the time for me when the temp is below 20. When it is between 20 and 25, it occurs 50% of the time. When it is between 25 and 30, it occurs 15% of the time. From 30 to 45, it occurs 2 to 5% of the time. It has never occurred above 45.

 

I read the article in Motoringfile and went to the site of the Michigan Mini Club on the net as recommended. Some good information there on this issue provided by some apparently well qualified engineers. If you haven't checked it out I suggest you do so. www.michiganmini.org