There's a rattle in the back of my totally stock '08 Cooper going over small bumps that's driving me crazy.
I think it's coming from under the car, but it's hard to tell.
What I've done so far is:

-Looked for size of stabilizer bar-of course it's just a Cooper, so no bar
-Tape on hatch striker
-Drove with hatch open
-Removed hatch struts
-Put cable ties at muffler hanger to tighten it up
-Tightened up bumper foam with some paper wedged in there
-Removed spare and tool kit
-Checked for loose stuff under car with rear wheels on ramp
(did not put on jack stands, yet)
-Clicked in rear seat belts
-Pushed down vigorously on rear of car to bounce it (nothing)
-Drive with seats folded

Next steps:
-Have wife drive car with me in back
-Put car on jack stands and poke around underneath some more

It sounds like it could be the exhaust, but I can't duplicate it when moving it.

Would anybody have any suggestions? It's driving me crazy.

 

Sway bar bushings.

My '08 Justacooper had the same noise - started as a small squeak, got progressively worse until it was knocking over every bump, especially loud in turns.

Dealer replaced sway bar bushings (warranty) more than a year ago - A-OK since.



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Thanks. I looked, and I didn't see anything that looked like a rear sway bar.

 

Did you have them replace the striker under warranty with the larger, redesigned unit? I know you said you put tape on it, but that fixed my rear-end noises (hahahaha) right away.

 

Tape? I also drove around with the hatch lid up!

I spoke with the dealer, and they swear that I have a rear sway bar! Two bushings for 18 bucks-I'll give it a try.

I'll try to find a picture so I can find it.

 

My wife's '09 Just-A-Cooper had the same issue. We thought it was coming from the spare tire as we had to use the temp while a flat was fixed. The rattle showed up after the temp was returned to the carrier. We pulled the spare back out and noticed that a small self-adhesive rubber pad had fallen from the underbody. This pad is there to prevent the steel wheel from bumping against the underbody. Restuck the pad to the underbody as best we could and reinstalled the temp inthe carrier to see if the rattle went away, with no luck.

The car was scheduled for a trip to the dealer for its first oil change. We asked the Service Advisor to check out the rattle to see if they could make it go away. It turns out that the hatch latch was defective. The latch was replaced under warranty and the rattle hasn't been back.

 

I'm pretty sure it's not the lock for me since it made the noise with the hatch lid up.

I found some pics on line and it does look like there's bar in there I didn't see, so I'm hoping for the best.

I wonder if the bushings can be replaced without too much hassle. Are they split?

 

Yes, all R56 MINIs have a rear sway bar. Sport suspension is slightly larger diameter so be aware of that before you order new ones.

Very straightforward to change. They're hard to reach if the car is not on a lift, and the space around them is tight. That's why I let my dealer do it - took them all of 20 minutes start to finish, they charged me nothing (warranty).

Made a huge difference when completed, no more rattles or "knocks" from the back.

Good luck.
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I picked a couple of the rubber bushings up on the way home this evening.
They are indeed split. Hopefully new keepers don't have to be installed as well-the dealer didn't have any of them in stock. I'll give it a whirl soon.

 

no keepers needed. a 13mm will do the trick for ya. really simple.
if that doesnt fix it...

do you have a sunroof? i fixed two cars recently with rattles, that everyone though were coming from the rear, and it was actually the sunroof. if you do have one, try driving around with both glasses tilted and see if it goes away.

 

The bushings did the trick! At least for a five mile drive tonight. That service bulletin was very helpful.

 

Great!

Mine has been quiet for more than a year since I changed the bushings. Still nice and tight and quiet.

I'm guessing that this worn bushing issue is more widespread than many people realize. I wonder how many of the other MINI owners complaining of rattling hatchback latches (and other mysterious noises) that defy attempts at repair are overlooking this simple and cheap fix??

Worth a look for sure. Just my 2 cents.


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