We recently took delivery on a new '13 MCS and right away noticed that the engine was noisier at idle than we would have expected. We are comparing it to our '05 MCS which ran much quieter at idle. Of course now at 170,000 the engine is not as quiet as the first several years we drove it.

We took the '13 to the dealer to get it looked at and the mechanic said that all of the noises he observed were considered to be normal for the vehicle. The only reason we believe him is because we drove a new Countryman ALL4 as a loaner and we found it to be equally noisy from the engine compartment when the car was at idle.

Are the turbcharged engines in the 2nd generation MINIs just inherently noisier at idle than the supercharged engine of the 1st generation?

 

Yes, they are "louder" due to the direct-injection (DI) fuel delivery design, and the clankity timing chain routing.

Nothing outside of normal; just make sure to watch the oil level as the loud engine noise covers valve tapping when oil starvation occurs.

- Erik

 

The n18b16 is far louder then its predecessor n14b16 and both would be substantially louder then your 2005 MCS's w11b16. The DI,HPFP & Dual/Double Vanos are to thank for this as well as the lovely rattle that has every customer having their vehicle inspected because they hear a rattle @ cold start that is nothing more then the wastegate valve door/face that rotates for the first 45-60 seconds during warm up to help with catalyst warm-up. You should actually be concerned when you n18 stops making all the ratlles and noise, cuzz thats when you know its going bye bye!

 

I still have a hard time accepting that the engine noise on our MCS is 'normal' (even though the dealer said so). I'm taking it tomorrow to the dealer to have a rattling HK speaker looked at and hopefully they'll give me an MCS as a loaner that I can compare against our car. In the meantime shot a video w/ audio: http://youtu.be/2jCH5Y0zoSQ


What do you think? Is the engine noise typical? I welcome your feedback!

 

Then, in all seriousness, sell the car and get something that fits your decibel level.
Again, the 2nd-Gen engines are inherently louder by mechanical design.

Doesn't sound any different then my well-working powertrain.

- Erik

 

Sounds normal to me.

 

Thanks all for your feedback. I'm getting used to the sound of the new engine.

 

I've owned my 09 Clubman S for a month or so now. I took it to the dealer with the exact same complaint and recieved the exact same answer with the addition of "you better check your oil, these burn a quart ever 1,000 miles".

This motor sounds like an engine from the 80's and burns more oil than an air cooled vw or Porsche.

I will admit that the car has all the right looks and performance where it counts so I'll be holding on to mine for the time being. I do share your frustration with hamster wheel sound that the motor makes at idol. $30K cars should sound like this.

 

Actually, the max spec for the old aircooled Porsches and at least some of the VWs was one liter every 1000 km, or 620 miles. That was the limit for what was considered "acceptable" or "normal", depending on which dealer or mechanic you talked to, but most people considered that quite excessive.

I personally don't think 1 quart every thousand miles is reasonable for a modern engine, even for a tightly-wound turbo one, but...