I'm quite sure that's what it was. It's a "clattering" noise that goes away after one or two minutes, and that originates from the passenger side, right?

If that's it, then my car has it...

1,000 miles, 2010 Cooper S.

Today my father came to my home in order to do some stuff. We started the Mini and looked stunned - the engine sounded as if it had no oil. The noise was far louder on the passenger side... clap-clap-clap-clap. We opened the hood and simply couldn't find the source of it until suddenly it disappeared.

Time to head back to the dealer, I guess. It's about time, anyway - I've had my car for a full week now (water pump problem was fixed) after all.

 

Oh yeah. This is exactly how it sounded like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x04c9...eature=related

Yep. 2010 MCs also have this issue. Buyer beware.

 

I thought they had a fix for this in mid '09? I think my late '09 model does it too but actually it doesn't really bother me.

 

I was expecting something far more terrible,a ctually. It goes away after a little while. Sounds as if my hood was unlatched.

 

If you start your car to move it say from the garage to the driveway and then shut it down for awhile and then restart and move it into the garage it will sound like crap. Seems like the oil doesn't have enough time to fully circulate when you start the engine for short durations...

 

They replaced just the chain tensioner on my '09 about 2 months after I got it in Feb, it hasn't done it since. I also thought they had a handle on this problem by now........

 

How did you get a 2010 already?

 

I keep hearing about issues with 2010s and people asking if they're out already. Are 2010s out already?

 

Yes. Apparently not in the States, but there are 2010 MINIs at least in Mexico.

Proof...

http://www.bmwinfo.com.mx/mini/

Check it out.. MINI 2010s already! I got mine back in June.

 

2010 model in June? That means you ordered in April/May? What dealer was this from?

 

As I recall, new model year MINIs shipped to the US market begin manufacture after a factory shutdown in the UK for the month of July? August?

New model year MINIs in Mexico may begin shipping before the shutdown and may be different from the same model year car shipped to the US. I don't know of anything that says that cars shipped to different countries are the same. In fact (thinking of the automatic shut-off and restart on European models), we know they aren't the same.

Thus, 2010 models shipped to the US may not have cold start issues and those shipped to Mexico may.

 

the first 2010s should be hitting America's east coast soon. My dealer in CO doesnt even expect their first shipments until around the first week in October. I take it the OP is in Mexico, even tho he/she doesnt say. That "Chili Pak" in the sig is the giveaway.

And yes OP sounds like U have the problem. Try this: before U shut down yr car for 6+ hours, rev the engine to 3K, hold it there a sec, and hit the stop button. This method insures that enough oil is getting to whatever is causing the problem, and that premature oil drain and resulting aeration doesnt occur. It's worked for me, and few others I know with the cold start knock.

Also, try not to park yr car nose-down if U can.

 

I took delivery of a car they had in stock, so there wasnt any wait. Dealer was BMW Imagen.

Do you guys need to see a photo of my VIN in order to trust me? It is a 2010 VIN...
Btw yeah I Live in Mexico

 

No, I believe you. Maybe the rattle you have is different from the ones that others have had. Either way it sucks that a new car rattles on start up.

 

nah, from the way the OP described that's it. a lot of folks confuse the Direct Injection and generally noisy engine at startup for the knock, but that is its own unique, loud and unsettling beast.

 

Just listened to the video, God that thing sounded like a diesel!

I have to say mine did not sound like that, mine was more of a chain rattling against the aluminum case sound, and followed the engine RPMs, it was especially noticeable from 1500-3K, then it would suddenly be gone and the engine was fine from then on. But mine was loud enough that one day as my wife drove off in the car I could hear it clearly from inside my house all the way up the street till she turned at the end of the block!

Replacing the chain tensioner at about 2K miles seems to have fixed mine, I have 9Kon it now and have not heard it, no matter how I start or park the car.

 

Not meant to be an interrogation. I was more concerned about a sheisty dealer than you not telling the truth. Pics of your MINI are mandatory here on NAM though(VIN #'s excluded of course)

 

The direst injection sound is not too bad, & that is the sound it will make even on the test drive. The OP said the sound goes away in a minute or two so I doubt that it is related to the direct injection.

 

My MINI S , build date May 2009, has rattled the last two days. Sound comes from the passenger side front varies with RPM goes away after a minute. Both times the car had sat long enough for the engine to be cold. I had hoped that this problem would have been resolved by now. My last MINI was a disaster, four months in the shop in less than 3 years of ownership. The problem on that car was electrical problems related to a dealer installed Digital Power Sound Module. I like having a MINI, but I'm not having much luck with them.

 

Pics.. OK, I'll post some either today (if there's enough light left!) or tomorrow.

Yes, the car is parked nose-down. I could try doing it nose-up - it's just that my garage is set up with an incline. And everytime it has had the chatter, it has been while parked there.

:(

Wildcrazy, your story is eerily similar to mine. The rattle is identical - passenger side front, sounds as if the hood was unlatched, varies with RPMs and suddenly it stops. I can't reproduce it at will, so I guess I'll take my camera everytime I start up my car and show it to my dealer when it happens. And I also had an R53, which spent MONTHS at the dealership with a blown tranny and driveshafts (twice).

I've been seriously considering selling my car, but I'll lose an arm and a leg if I do so. Ack, why did I ever think Mini had fixed the R53 issues?

 

Damn, to think I could've had a 2010 back in June. But Mini made me wait til the end of July to order one, and won't see it here in Colorado til early October....those dirty bastages!!!!

 

You mean R56 issues, I believe. Engines between the two are completely different. I had an R53 and while the Tritec engine was rock solid, everything else that surrounded it was crapola.

Next time U park nose-up and do the 3K shutoff bump as described above and see if that helps. Shoot try it nose-down and see if that helps as well.

 

Back in June, if U could, all you would have been able to order was an 09. OP lives in Mexico, where they get their cars on the international build schedule, not U.S.

 

I know...just being a smart ***.

 

Happened to me again last week after months of it not happeneing. The reason? I drove it around for only a few minutes ( from a cold start) then shut it off, then started it again a few hours later. Bingo ....rattle. It seems like it must be related to the oil temperature (or pressure). Never happens when I do not follow the above mentioned sequence of events.