Have an appointment tomorrow to have this cold start chatter problem looked at. Dropping it off Tues evening and they are looking at it Wed morning. Any and all suggestions of anything particular to convey would be appreciated.

 

I had my dealer look at it and i was told it was "normal" and it was a vacum pump....

I don't want to be a pain in the *** but i am pretty damn sure this is the cold start chatter.

Starting up after a long wait (over night sub 30's) car is fine.
If i start up, let it run for 10 minutes and stop. Come back later and horrible knocking noise.

-Will

 

There's a fix from Mini for the clattering. Visit your Mini dealer for some engine work. I had my S fixed. The clattering is gone, and I believe the engine runs smoother overall.

 

Took my car in today. They were surprised to hear my complaint about the clattering on my car, they said they thought it was only a problem on the R56's, not the R55's. Apparently i'm the first R55 to come to them with this problem. They said they might need it overnight, which I had no problems with. They wanted to duplicate the noise, which I had a feeling they wouldn't be able to within the day anyway. The noise was there this morning when I started it, too..Anywho they call me and said they had my car running for a while and there was no noise. I told them that it's only when the car and engine is cold. They said that they were going to leave it overnight and start it up tomorrow morning to see if they hear the noise. Hopefully my car doesn't conveniently and miraculously cure itself and they give it back to me unable to duplicate the problem..

 

of the "this is the first we've heard of it!" reply. It's going to happen to some of the turbo engines, no matter the chassis.

There was hope that this version of "the fix" was going to be it.... But it just sounds like a different set of symptoms are getting fixed, and the root cause remains.... What a bummer!

matt

 

What all exactly did they do on yours?

 

Here is the noise i hear.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/willsisti/4206118640/

-Will

 

Yep! You must have my engine LOL Got the exact same noise. So you never get it when just starting up; it is always after running for about 10 mins, stopping, and then restarting? And it then last for about 2-3 mins?

 

Yup after the car warms up 5 minutes or so all is well. I just go easy until the noise is gone.

My concern is the engine will crap out. But the dealer heard the noise and said it was "normal" so if something goes wrong i should be covered.

 

yeah but if that vac pump fails, so too does your engine.

 

Hah say what? It's the same engine! Even Euro Peugeot 207s with the turbo'd Prince engine are having this problem.

I'd really be leery of this dealer and their ability to address the issue, if they dont realize the R55 and R56 have the same engine. Jesus Mary Joseph FCOL

 

Here is me eating my own words with a fork and knife...

Came back to my MINI as the airport after a 5 day business trip and it rattled like crazy (less than one month after the entire timing chain and associated parts were replaced)...

 

Just got back from the dealership. Took a copy of the service bulletin with me, but the service advisor was familiar enough with the issue and indicated further damage could be done if not addressed early enough. Will post back once I find out what happens.

 

So they called me today, they were able to duplicate the two issues I complained about - one was the buzzing tach when it's cold, and the other being the clattering. They ordered a new tach for me, and whatever parts needed for the tensioner fix. I think i'll have my car back by Thursday.

 

I picked my car up last night with the new tensioner fitted. So far, so good, but I won't be too surprised if (or when) the clatter comes back.

 

OK, now's a good time to try the rev-to-3K-hold a sec-then-kill technique when U shut yr car down for more than 6 hours, or overnight.

 

Damn that such a horrible noise! Im stil xing my fingers my MCS doesnt become a victim.

 

They replaced the tensioer on mine just under 3K miles, and I haven't heard it since - I'm up to almost 13K now, and I've left it at the airport for 5 days at one point with no issues. I've never had the knocking noise that some have complained about, just the chain rattling.......hope yours does as well....

 

I said the same thing to them, then they rambled on about production dates of cars...I think they are suggesting that Mini addressed the problem and fixed it after a certain production date, who knows?

Anyway, they called me today and said that my Tach was replaced, and the noise that they were hearing in the engine room was not the chain tensioner issue, they said everything in my engine is within the normal tolerance/operating range, so they didn't do anything with that. They did say that my car was 1 quart low in oil, and when the Mini engine is low in oil they tend to be noiser. I know for sure that my car has the tensioner issue based on the noises and sounds I've heard it belt out and what I've heard and seen from the many people on the web posting video's of it, but the only way I'd be able to prove it is to have them hear it themselves. Anyway, they are closed tomorrow and Friday, open on Saturday, but I can't pick it up on Saturday, so I'll get it on Monday. At that point the car would be sitting there for 5 days untouched and in the cold, I should hope that after sitting for that long, I'm going to walk over to my car with the SA and the shop foreman and start it up in their presence in hopes that the noise is there.

 

I actually tried the 3000rpm hold method before the fix, to no avail.

Four starts since the fix where the car has sat for 6+ hours, and so far,
no noise. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Has anyone gotten this issue fixed at Prestige MINI in Mahwah NJ with no hassle? I have an appointment on Monday and have even recorded a sound clip of the noise. I don't want any we couldn't replicate the issue excuses or else the car is staying there until they resolve it.

 

My car's still at the dealer, they claimed the noise that I and they heard was as a result of the engine being down 1qt of oil (I have about 4400 miles on her). They said the engine tends to be a bit noisier when it's down some oil. They fixed some other stuff and had to reprogram the car and it wasn't ready before they were closing for the holidays, so it's sitting out in the cold from last night until I go to pick it up on Monday. When I go there to pick up the car, I plan on having the SA and shop foreman with me as I start her up after 5 days in the cold and in hopes that when I start it, there will be clatter.

 

Interesting...just got off the phone with the dealership with 8,000 miles on my 09 now, they said the same thing, it was low on oil which was causing the noise. The are familiar with the service bulletin by BMW, but indicated my production date was not involved with it. Service Advisor indicated some change was made to the engine which now requires more oil than it use to, but the good news is that mine "shouldn't" actually be effected by the cold start chatter. What is the production period of the service bulletin? Seems they were going to start replace parts, but checked the oil and noticed it was down about a quart. He indicated going forward, expect to add a quart of oil every 4,000-5,000 miles. Does this sound about right or a bunch of b.s.?

 

Took my car in this morning. The noise happened before i went to the dealership as soon as i started the car, and thankfully the noise happened again as soon as they turned the car on. My SA told me that the tensioner will be replaced, and i will have the car back on Wednesday. My 09 loaner's engine is so quiet, did MINI fix this issue in the newer models?

 

Anyone know what the "cut off" production date is for this issue or does it occur on all the 09's and 10s?