I live on a severely bumpy road - not big bumps, little washboard bumps. Over the last month or two I am hearing a knocking especially at low speed as I go down this road, but it does also do it if you hit a small abrupt bump at highway speeds. Completely quiet over a large bump, say a speed bump or hump, or a heave in the highway. The noise is well, like something is loose, or it could be a rock trapped somewhere even. It's a rapid knockaknockaknockknockaknock.....knokaknockknock. I cannot shake the car hard enough to make it talk to me however, when I am not driving. So I am having minimal success at locating where this sound is from, exactly. Any tips on where to look? The dealer is 3 hours away- if I could get a rock out of someplace or tighten a bolt somewhere life would be much easier than driving 12 hours (assuming there to drop off, home, there again to pick up, home again).

Additionally, the wheel well - what is that stuff? Felt??? is sagging on the passenger side.

 

Mine started doing this at 6K miles. Usually only when it's below 70F. Same set of circumstances (slow speeds, small abrupt bumps).

 

Hmm, no temperature constraints here; mine's knocking away at me and it is definitely over 70F here! I tried rolling down the window and could not hear it at all yesterday, so maybe it is in the door? Something loose about the window mechanism? Dunno.

 

take yr car and drive it for awhile to get it warmed up. then go to a lot, turn off the radio and cc, lower yr window, and make some hard right turns. if you hear the symetrical knock knock knock coming from the left front, or if gets worse and the knock knock knock turns into a grind grind grind or crunch crunch crunch, congrats you have a defective CV joint.

 

Is the felt popped out or still inserted and sagging? If it's popped out it can be pushed back in place.

The knocking from the symptoms and what's been described by sequence do sound like a CV joint issue.

I'd schedule an appointment and see if they can tackle both issues for you.
Good luck.

 

Mine's definitely not a CV joint. It's usually while traveling in a straight line, at low speeds, and only when going over small, abrupt bumps. Mine goes away when the car warms up and usually doesn't happen at all above 70 -75 degrees F. It almost sounds like the hill holder solenoid rattling, it's kinda the same noise the solenoid makes when it engages/disengages normally while stopped on an incline.

 

Another thread that was started in this forum - check the bushings on the front and rear sway bar - some have had sub-standard bushings that were wearing prematurely and causing the noise that has been described.

 

That thread had another poster who found a clanking noise due to a part of the hill assist mechanism just like I suspected in my earlier post here. I had my son wiggle the part while I sat in the car and I think it's the culprit. The part appears to be some sort of weighted lever mechanism attached to the hill holder solenoid. There's a bit of axial free play in a shaft that attaches the solenoid to the lever. If you wiggle the lever up and down it makes the familiar clank or click I'm hearing when I go over bumps. Still can't explain why mine seems to go away at higher temps, unless the free play is greater when things are cold.

 

My noise is not CV either, always happens in a straight line and more of a rattle than a pop anyway. (Am familiar with CV joints - specifically, the noises associated with their failure) Ahh, far too familiar.....many dollars flew from my pockets once upon a time.

Um, so what are all these parts you mention here guys? I'm going to need a description that is somewhat in-depth as I don't know what things like "bushings" and such are. I deal in thingys and doo-dads, sorry! But I'm very handy once I know which ones to look for even though I don't know their proper names. I'll check the other threads and try to ask specific questions though.

On to the felt- Maybe mine is cut too small, but there is nothing there to hold it assuming that it is supposed to fit into the little ledge in there; it's about 1/8" too short if that is the case. And it is falling down.

 

I checked the other thread. Check my sig- MCSa = no hill assist. I don't even have that part. (and I did look just to be dead certain, and assuming it is correctly described, it isn't there) My noise is too close to me anyway. It is either in the wheel well or in the door very close to the hinge.

Maybe it IS IN THE DOOR, and that is why all the parts-changing in the other post has failed to remedy the problem..... Checked all hinge components. Nothing loose. Ain't gonna crack open the door though... Keep in mind that my noise is silent if the window is open

 

I've been posting on "another thread" and the sounds you describe are exactly the same and under the same circumstances but the sound comes from way up front towards the left. They've tracked it down to inside the gear box and most people that have the sound have a manual not an auto . I'm thinking yours is something else, like you said, it may be inside your door since the sound goes away with the window down... If I were you I would take the door panel off and drive over the same bumps that cause your knocking and see if it's coming from inside the door.

 

hello. i didn't know where else to post this question... i have a 2007 cooper S (sidewalk package) and tonight i hit a really nasty bump going @ around 55/60 mph. my wheel felt very loose after and not as responsive. my brother tells me that the responsiveness will be retained once the springs in my suspension tightens. is this true? i am just dreading having to get my wheel aligned since the car isn't even a year old. TIA!

 

Cleofe, you need to use search to look at "mushrooming". The search button is just under the left side of the yellow MINI in the photo at the top of the page. Threads under that may have more information for you. Hope this helps.

 

thanks for the tip Minerva Louise

 

Minerva:

I started the original Clacking and cluncking post. My car still has it, but someone got his fixed. Look at the post below, sounds a lot like mine. It ended up being the flywheel in the clutch assembly. I am going to talk to my dealer to check if they did not overlook that option. Hope it helps.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=132893