left my MCSa at the airport for 7 days, revved it to 3K at shutdown, parked nose slightly up, upon return car started fine, no banging or other obnoxious noises.

 

I had this problem since my MINI was new, Dec '07, but only once in a while and it always went away after a minute. Today, when starting her up warm, the sound appeared and persisted < 2800 RPM.

Anyone care to speculate as to why the sound is persisting versus the usual self-extinguishing behavior?

I'll check her again tonight, but I'm dealer-bound, I guess. And I have a track day coming on Saturday.

 

I can't tell you why. I can speculate that something is wearing and getting sloppier. With my 2007 MCS the noise became more frequent with time, and by 36,000 miles was happening on pretty much every start-up.

 

well to update. only been a week. got slightly more cold last night.

this morn i heard the problem again. I verified the part number they used to replace the chain tensioner. Thanks to this thread, i can tell they did not use the fix # 3 part number. They used the one before this.

yaaay, back to the dealer for this and the sunroof still not being fixed..

 

^same thing happened to me. i think the dealers are trying to skimp out on the repairs, hoping they can get away with as little work as possible.

watch out though, the new parts are on back order. I called first and it's been over a week since they've ordered, still haven't come in yet.

 

agreed. it sux that I have to research this info myself and then have to INFORM the dealer...

its sad how much i am liking this car less and less each day. albeit I am one of those people who gets EASILY annoyed by every sound..rattle, and not correctly functioning part.

For those that are not bothered I think can carry on with owning this car much more easily. Maybe my expectations are too high for this being a "BMW" but still.

To top it off, my 2005 Ford F150 has had only one issue since owning it. The rear motorized sliding window burn out. They fixed that pretty quick. Since then, no rattles...sounds..or malfunctioning software or electronics..

i NEVER thought i would make that comparison. *sigh sorry, just venting.

 

Be careful everyone -- the Bentley Publisher's link provided a few posts earlier may have been overtaken by events. The part number for the latest iteration of the timing chain tensioner is the same (11.31.7.598.956) but I believe the PUMA Measure has been superseded by 10686850-13 (vice -12).

I'm not sure what changed from version -12 to -13 but based on available evidence I suspect it directs the SA toward replacing more of the related timing components (e.g., VANOS, chain, sprockets, guides, etc.) instead of the just the revised tensioner only. There are several reports of rattle reocurrences at varying RPM for those who only had the tensioner replaced. If -12 is used as the reference for the maintenance performed on your MINI you might end up having to make a return visit to the shop to make it right.

No one really knows if the latest and greatest fix is actually getting at the root cause of the problem, but thus far there seems to be almost universally happy results among owners who've had with the wholesale change in timing components, including the newly designed tensioner -- both here and over in the UK. Only time will tell if we now have an actual, bona-fide fix or just a really good band-aid.

 

is it bad when the SA at the dealer doesnt understand when i ask them to reference a puma measure?

she kept saying they know about the tech bulitin.. then she says "sir, we didnt open a puma case for you" we only do that if we dont know what the problem is..

for 15 min i had to argue to get her to write down the info, to then go talk to the tech.

they dont want to do anything until i bring the car back and they can "duplicate" the problem. 1st time it was there they couldnt "duplicate" the problem until i told them to start the car, move it out the parking space..then move it back in..then shut the car off. Then 30 min later to start it up...

The SA kept saying they did the measurment per the tech bulletin and then replaced the tensioner. (with the old part number)

the SA further explained that getting information off the net isnt always going to be specific to my car, but only specific to the one that had the puma case.

*Sheesh* i just asked politely to research the puma measures and compare it to the work they already performed and then get back to me. I would reserve my judgement of "knowing more than the dealer" after they looked up the info i gave.

*sigh

 

Here is an update from Motoringfile.com that another poster here posted:

http://www.motoringfile.com/2009/05/...d-start-issue/

 

I am all over that. Thanks!

 

Yay!!! I'm going to wait this out a few months since it is warmer in NJ now and that way we'll know for sure whether this really fixes it.

 

Just got a call from Keeler MINI in Latham, NY that my MINI is ready. They said that they did the full PuMA xxx-13 cold start chatter fix. They are arranging her return via MINI Roadside Service to get her on a flatbed and delivered back home. I'll let you know how she runs once she arrives.

She was delivered there yesterday afternoon, and I had a call on my answering machine at 1030am this morning saying that she was ready!! What's up with that?!

 

Not sure about the timing of your fix. It is my understanding that it take quite a bit of work to get the full -13 fix. They are keeping mine for up to a week to get mine done.

Be sure to check the parts replaced when you get the car back. They could have done a measurement on the chain and just replaced the tensioner.

 

^that's what my shop did.

my rattle came back a few days later though, so they ordered me up the parts.

i'd be worried about the timing of that fix too, because the rest of the parts are on backorder, i've been waiting well over a week now for them to come in.

 

i just got a call from my dealer. The shop forman explained that the tech didnt see the latest part number b/c it wasnt on the "micro fiche" parts list. Its not really micro fiche anymore, but they still call it that.

I asked about the full xxx-13 fix and he said the measured limits of my tensioner were not close enough to the extreme listed. He said the limit was 69mm and my was 63mm. Therefore they wont do the complete fix. Just install the new part ending in 956.

They still will attempt a 3rd time to fix my sticking roof also.

Not sure what you guys had to do to convince the dealer to do the full -13 fix.

alex

 

OK, all good advice. He SAID that they did the full -13 fix with the chain, sprockets, guides, etc. but I will check the work order sheet to make sure. When I brought it in, he told me that it was going to be a week. Thus my surprise at the speed of the fix. If the SA mislead me, there's going to be hell to pay in Latham, NY tomorrow morning.

Track day on Saturday, so the fix will get a major workout very soon.

Regarding getting the -13 fix, remember that my MINI had the chatter at all engine revs < 2800 ... it stopped going away. But now I'm wondering exactly what they did. Stay tuned, friends.

 

gotcha...good luck!

 

OK, she's back, running fine (at the moment, at least). Here's a copy of the invoice. The chain measurement was 69mm. They didn't quite get the original symptom right (continuous rattle < 2800 RPM), but ...

Thoughts?

 

I dont see VANOS on that SO, does it go by some other name? Im pretty sure the latest fix includes VANOS.

"ticking?" I would say banging, at least when mine did it. All DI engines tick. noisy little buggers.

good luck, I hope the fix works OK for U! If it doesnt, then I would venture a pretty sure guess that the problem lies deeper within the valve train and oil delivery assemblies than superficials like the chain and its tensioners/guides.

 

Yes, I noticed the absence of the VANOS there, too. One of the commenters on the Motoring File page said that there is no VANOS in the MCS turbo-equpped MINI. I personally have no idea if that's the case or not.

We need a few more people to go through the process and then we can compare the service orders to see what the complete fix is all about. I sure hope that this is it.

 

Yeah I saw that comment too... guy reversed his cars justacooper = no VANOS. Nikki and Syd (my car) = VANOS

 

i'm waiting for the vanos unit, that's whats on back order.

and yes, the s has vanos.

 

OK on the vanos unit, thanks for the clarification. Thus, we can assume that I did NOT get the full -13 fix, contrary to the SA's assurances earlier today. So, what do you think, should I call them and tell them I want the vanos fix?

 

We called Schomp today to set up the first major maintenance appointment on Nigel and we were told they know nothing of a fix involving anything more than the chain tensioner. So we called back w/the number on motoringfile and they said they hadn't received any bulletins about it, but they'd check to see if they had all the parts before we go down next month (the 11th & 12th). Hopefully they'll be able to fix it in the two days we're there, otherwise we're shmucked. They also want us to bring a copy of the article.
We're actually driving through eastern Why?oming to go to Schomp since they already diagnosed the issue and will have parts ready rather than going 300ish miles less to Murray so they can diagnose it first, then decide what to do/order parts, even though Schomp already diagnosed. Do dealerships not talk to one another or something?

 

Actually the both have VANOS...justacooper has VANOS for intake and exhaust, while the S has it only on the exhaust since it is force fed the air.