When driving at freeway speeds a flapping noise comes from the c-pillar. Especially on the side that wind may be hitting the car. Anyone else experience this?

I'll be bringing this up to the service adviser when I bring it in for service soon, but wanted to throw it out there for kicks.

 

I experience that sound on the driver's side when going above 70mph. I thought it was the fuel filler door so I taped it up but that wasn't it. Has the dealer found what it is yet?

 

Hey barnoun, not yet. I'll bring it up for my next service appointment (oil change etc...). When I do bring it in, I'll update my post and let you know though. It's not something that I can't deal with for the time being however it's interesting that you are having issues as well. ...Stay tuned.

 

Have you looked the the seat belt buckle on that side? Mine does this sometimes if the belt is not all the way back.

 

I had some rattling noise coming from that area and moved the seat belt buckle out of the way (so that it hooked over the pass. seat bolster) and the rattle went away.

Not sure if we're talking about the same noise though.

 

Appreciate your guy's input, however this sound is definitely coming from the cpillar area of the car (both sides). It seems to get louder the faster you go and if you have any side wind, it's crazy loud. I'm familiar with the buckle rattle though. Heh, That's actually a pet peeve of mine when someone gets out from the back seat of any of my cars. I always catch myself looking to see if the buckle and belt are back to where they should be. Good suggestions!

 

I have this issue. I planned to get service to look at it next time I go by. Mine only happens at 80ish which I don't hit but maybe once a month. Sounds like wind making it's way through a seal back there.

 

Could be the black plastic is loose or the rubber on the leading edge is loose.

 

I'm thinking it's the plastic arches that move around with the wind. Maybe adding double-sided tape would solve the flapping.

 

Are you referring to a very subtle flapping (not a metallic sound, but sounds like plastic on plastic/metal?)

I just picked up my MCSa less than a week ago and did not notice anything, until I read your post, and then I started to pay closer attention, and sure enough at 70+ MPH I do hear a very very subtle flapping.

I don't know what it is, but now it does bother me a little little bit. If you figure out what it is please post, so that I can bring it up next time I go in for service.

 

Hi Sumint, Yes, a subtle flapping noise that almost sounds like there's a piece of plastic stuck to the outside of the car. I'm curious to see if the same noise you are experiencing gets worse when you get struck by side wind. Mine tremendously gets worse in that case scenario.

With the free time that I've had (very limited), I've tried to pull up images from RealOEM.com to see if I can identify what's making that noise before I take it in for servicing, but no luck. It's very common to have cabin air exiting vents in the C-Pillar areas in any vehicle, however I'm thinking that this is an issue with the weather stripping that would be there to prevent water and debris from entering the cabin in that area.

As mentioned, I'm managing to just cope with it until my next scheduled service appointment. I'll be sure to post here once I get more information. Hopefully if others get any insight to this annoyance they'll post here as well.

BTW, Congrats on the new Mini purchase. I'm a Mini newbie myself as we have just picked up ours about 4 weeks ago.

 

Agreed.

 

Possibly. We'll see, I'll just let the dealer figure this one out.

Gotta love the new car warranty!

 

this is probably a VERY dumb question... but: do you still have the temporary tag on it? mine flaps in the wind when driving on the highway (i've had the car for a month still with temp tags) not sure how long it takes for you to get your plates where you are.

 

No temp tag here.

 

Hey Buzz, Good suggestion to check this. I'll have to try this once the weather starts to clear up here. I'm still fairly sure that it's coming from the C-Pillars themselves but It's definitely worth checking.

Regarding new plates; Since I'm California, it's going to take some time to get them... Evidently with the state recession and furlough days being implemented here, it's taking much longer for everyone here to get their new plates. What I don't get is I thought that they were made by incarcerated individuals in our prisons, but knowing how things are all screwed up here in California, they probably are on furlough days as well.

 

Got my car from east bay mini in pleasanton in december last year and got my plates in mid-January although it was nice to run plate-less for a bit.

 

anyone ever get a resolution to this? 1 year later and a couple visits to the dealer and the flapping noise is still there on mine. I just turn up the music now But would still like to find out what it is and get it resolved.

 

Mine still has it too. I thought it might have been the arches but I changed the attachment tabs and it didn't help. I just ignore it now lol

 

I'm getting this noise in a 2009 Clubman. I've videoed the back seats while driving and I've had my wife sit back there too. Cannot see any movement of the seatbelts.

Mine seems to primarily make the noise if there has been recent rain/moisture. I'm wondering if there isn't some kind of drainage passage for water back there not unlike water noise in a pitot tube. However, this theory seems to be contradicted by the fact that it only occurs when the windows of the car are open.

It's driving me batty trying to localize it!

 

There is a material called 3M Strip Calk that I have found useful for finding and fixing rattles and leaks. It's a sort of automotive-grade bubble gum. Its heavy bodied, non-hardening and has a just right stickiness. You might employ some of this stuff on one thing at a time to help you track down the source of your noise and perhaps, fix it.

I just looked for it on Amazon and it;s there for about $20 for a lifetime supply. The more I use this stuff the more uses I've found for it. Yesterday I was installing some bolts that I needed to keep from falling out of the socket while getting them into position - a little dab of this stuff inside the socket and the bolt is effectively stuck there until you get it threaded on and cranked down.

Hope you find this useful.

 

I seem to have this problem on a 05' convertible. I am thinking it might be the cabin pressure exhaust flaps. These flaps keep the cabin from having pressure spikes when you close the doors or in a convertible when the wind deforms the soft top. I have heard that these flaps can rattle, especially when you are driving at highway speeds.

Here is a couple of pictures from different cars. I haven't been able to find a picture of it on the MINI yet and I haven't yet found it on RealOEM, but I will keep looking.





I have also pushed on my rear glass window to deform the top a little, and when all the doors are closed you can definitely hear the rattle. But, if the rear hatch or a door are open then the rattle goes away. I am assuming this is because then it is easier for the air to escape through doors than through these flaps.

I haven't had a chance to take off any panels yet to see if this is actually what is causing it, but hopefully I will have a chance this weekend.

Has anybody else had problems with these flaps before?

 

Finally, after multiple visits to Mini, i've finally nailed this problem down.

It ended up being a clear plastic bump stop pad/tab (where the adjustable bumper on the hatch touches the car). Ripped it off and the flapping noise is as good as gone.

...it's been some time but thought i'd respond and let all you guys know. I hate result-less threads.

Cheers!

 

Talked to the Mini tech about this as well. He said it's actually a common problem with the Clubmans. It's a little rubber flap in the rear exhaust ports that make the fluttering noise due to fluctuations in cabin pressure. He said that their fix was to simply tear the flap off and leave the hole open and exposed. These rubber exhaust ports don't normally have flaps in them on other models anyway.

...Just passn' the word along folks

Cheers.