Well... 2009 MINI S, 1200 miles.. I have the whine noise too... but not always.. So I will see how this goes during these days and next week...

 

Very interesting... I am taking mine in for the 4th time next week. They have "supposedly" replaced the water pump 3 times, and some kind of pulley on the 3 rd time. I'm starting to not like my MINI S anymore...

 

I had the whistle show up @ 3K miles, took it in (along with printouts of this and other threads about the waterpump issue) and my noise too was diagnosed as the waterpump and friction drive. They ordered the parts and I scheduled another visit to have the work done.

They replaced only the friction drive, and the whistle was now twice as loud. My dealer consulted with a "field engineer" and he deemed the noise as "normal", so I was told that nothing else would be done to fix the noise.

After 3 more visits back and forth (mind you, all this was time taken off work), numerous calls to MINI USA, and eventually a letter to MINI USA VP Jim McDowell, my dealer put a shim in the pulley of the friction drive, bringing the whistling noise back down to the level it was when I first took it in. I still have the same waterpump. My dealer has told me they have gone above and beyond as far as service, and that the matter is now closed.

By the way, my letter was answered with a letter from someone in their PR dept, telling me they've "looked into my concern, and since the field engineer says it's normal, my case is closed".

Since the market for small sporty cars sucks right now going into winter, I'm parking my Cooper for a few months, and in spring I'll be trading it in. I'm beyond pissed off. I'd trade it now, but common sense kicks in when I see that I'll lose $4K if I trade now.

At least some of you have gotten the waterpump replaced, and you are fighting this and going back again and again until it's fixed.

MINI lost a customer for life, over a $300 waterpump. Amazing.

 

that is soooo horrible. such a new car and having a stupid issue like that. MINI needs to up their customer service. They should be going above and beyond to try to make it right. They aren't cheap either... mine was 30k. We'll see the outcome. I have always owned european and always have has issues. I think japanese may be the way to go. Lexus perhaps.... Good luck on your next vehicle.

 

Sorry to hear that. It really does suck because they are giving up on the customer and not backing their product. They really do need to up customer service and just fix these cars when there is an issue and not say it is "normal" just because they do not know how or want to fix it.

 

I'm back.. whine started at around 1k.. now at almost 3k, no more whine! (no service done or adjustment or anything)

My suggestion is you someone has this noise, give it a few more miles and probably it goes away.

 

Guess what?? Picked it up 2 days ago after taking it back for the 5th time. Replaced, water pumps, tensioners, pulley's, flushed coolant twice, and 2 days later the dreaded squealing sound is back. 5 times, 5 times it has been to the dealership. Anybody out there, did you get your MINI issue resolved?

 

Just keep pushing. Mine didn't work after the first waterpump replacement, but did after the 2nd and a tensioner replacement. It is definitely something caused by a combo of things at certain rpms/weather conditions. I only had it ever show up at around 500 rpm (lowest idle, warmed up, no AC, no nothing). Originally happened during the summer. The replacement pump happened in the winter. Just stand your ground and tell them it needs to be replaced until it stops making the noise. Otherwise threaten the lemon law on them.

 

My 2010 MCCS with 1900 miles just developed the whine at idle. Seems to get louder and higher pitched as the engine warms up. Don't hear the noise at all the first 4-5 minutes of driving. Going into the dealer tomorrow for the first time since I bought the car. We'll see how their customer service stacks up compared to some of these bad stories.

 

Same here. at idle and when the car is fully warm, it gets a high pitched, almost chirping/whirring whistling sound.

Im betting W.P., but ive yet to take it in.

I can say that it appears to be comming from the rear/low/passenger side of the engine


EDIT: Ok, Taking her in a week from today, in the evening when it can be warmed up so we'll see.

 

As suddenly as the problem appeared, it has vanished. I had to wait a few days to get the car into the dealer (wasn't their fault, my schedule was pretty full). In the mean time I put on 250 miles of highway driving in one day. When I stopped at my first destination, I expected to hear the whining in its full glory. I was surprised to hear a healthy sounding idle. I've since gone another 150 miles with absolutely nothing. Canceled my appointment...we'll see if it comes back.

 

I was searching this site to see if anyone else has heard of this squealing noise coming from an R56 engine bay, and found this thread. I'm not sure if this is the same noise the O.P. had, but does anyone know wtf this noise is coming from? I'm going to call tomorrow and try to have it checked out by the dealer soon. I only have 1900 miles and I just noticed the squealing noise a couple days ago. It only happens during idle, and usually only after I've driven it for >5 miles. When I rev the squeal goes away, then at idle it comes back. When I shut off the engine the squeal stops abruptly. I don't notice anything else degrading because of this...it's just annoying.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jug-Zdl1KNs

 

Hi. Is it coming from the passengers side? I took mine in 6 times. Each time they changed the water pump, pulley, belts, etc. It kept doing it. Finally, after the 5th time I brought it in. They fixed it, and 2 days later the high pitched squeal started. The general manager came outside, and 4 other guys to hear it. He said, you have been in here too many times. We are replacing ALL the parts on the passenger side. I don't have the list with me... but once they replaced the whole passenger half of my MINI. Everything has been great since then. Hopefully, they will just replace the pulley, or water pump and you won't have to go in multiple times. Good Luck!

 

Mine did turn out to be the waterpump. all is good now that its replaced!

 

So whats so different about the WP in the S cars vs. the non-S cars?

 

My JCW just started doing this - it's a 2010 - and I'm scared of the road ahead trying to get this addressed. Anyone in Chicago area deal with this and have advice as to which of the three dealers are worth arguing with about it?

TIA!

 

Had similar issue with my 2010 Clubman S last summer. Brought the car to Bill Jacobs (where I bought it) and they took my concerns seriously even though the problem had went away on its own. They had my car for 2 days while they tried various start conditions (cold morning, hot afternoons, etc...) to get the problem to come back. I've been happy with how Bill Jacobs has handled the few small issues I've had and would recommend them.