Hey there,

I own an "interchange yellow" 2009 Cooper S Convertible. It's 2009. So, it had the short tensioner problem before I got it fixed at dealer. Many people have discussed about this problem on this forum because it was making a terrible loud sound! Once it was fixed, I was happy about it. But recently, another problem has came up.

The problem is, there is a weird sound that comes from under the hood. Sound like squeal, and I think the reason is the tensioner replacement which had been done like a year ago.

The sound comes only ON IDLE (around 750RPM). When I push the gas pedal a little bit, rpm goes higher and sound goes off (around 800-850RPM). After I release the gas pedal, as soon as RPM comes to IDLE, the irritating sound comes again.

I've been living with this problem for a while but I think it's time to get it diagnosed and get it fixed whatever it is. I'm afraid of ignoring a serious problem which can damage engine or another part of my car :( I'm gonna get my car to dealer when I have time -which I don't have recently- but before I go, I wanna know if anyone else experienced the same problem. I want to know what can I be faced with.

I recorded a video of sound coming from the car, and I'm attaching it, so you may understand the problem better.

It's not happening on cold start. The sound starts after a few minutes of driving. And it never goes off as long as engine is running and warm/not cold.

Does/Did anyone has the same problem? Any help would be appreciated.


Addition: I'm sorry but I forgot to add the video. Here it is:

 

I added the video yesterday, any chance for help?

 

I wont speculate and say what it may or may not be. What I will say is take it back to the dealer. How long ago was the tensioner done?

 

I'm not sure. Like a year ago? Maybe in Feb 2012.

Originally I live in Turkey, so my car is in Turkey. One month after the replacement was done, I went to US and had lived there for 4 months. So I haven't been driving the car in that period of time. When I came back, it was summer, temperature was high, and I realized something is wrong with the car. but I didn't get the noise that serious, until now :(

 

I don't hear anything particularly wrong with your car, but it might be the video... When I changed my tensioner (DIY) I remember I did not properly connect the hoses and air was coming out on one of them. You could really hear the whine, especially when the turbo went off. When I opened the hood it was obvious where the sound was coming from and immediately fixed the problem.

So the first thing you need to do, is locate where the sound you are hearing is coming from with the hood up...

 

Sounds like the noise a failing water pump makes. Could just be a coincidence that it is going out now. It's a pretty common failure even with low mileage. Just my guess from listening to your video. I agree....take it to your dealer to have it inspected. If you are mechanically inclined, the water pump replacement is not that hard if it turns out that is the problem.

Good luck.

 

Its either water pump failing, or when your tensioner was replaced, the tech who performed your service was a **** and didn't bother to put something over the water pump pully which can easily absorb oil or brake clean (usually lazy techs will just spray down in area to clean up oil that has leaked onto back of engine which is a big no no and causes this noise as well) into the rubber surface of pully which basicly destroys it and causes the exact sound you are hearing. More then likely if there was enough oil that had gotten onto the pumps pully, it is very possible it made it onto the friction wheel and is contributing to your noise. Either way, I'd take it back and have them inspect it.

Hope this helps.

 

And it's WaterPump for the win!


(I had exactly the same problem)

 

If other members are hearing water pump you should have it looked at. However, the belt tensioner noise will speed up with acceleration. I have a Justa, but my tensioner made that kind of noise before I replaced it, and then occasionally after. Did you replace it with an OEM tensioner? The difference in sound between yours and mine from the video is that it sounds to me like you can hear a squeak at the end when whatever is making the noise stops turning. Mine didn't make that halting sound. Don't know if this helps at all, hope your problem is minor!

 

The sound at the end comes when I stop the engine. And I'm pretty sure that they have replaced tensioner with an OEM tensioner, because I took the car to a BMW dealer.

I think I forgot to give some detail, because I just remembered that they had replaced some kind of pump as well. I'm almost sure it was the water pump. Maybe that's the reason of the sound. I'm gonna take the car to dealer as soon as possible.

Thanks for all the answers. I hope the problem is minor :\ I'll keep you notified.

 

I bet your car was manufactured before June 2009, wasn't it? If so, the waterpumps on these cars are known to fail. Here's the official TSB:

M 11 03 09
December 2009
Technical Service
This Service Information bulletin supersedes SI M11 03 09 dated December 2009.
New : designates changes to this revision
SUBJECT
Whistling Noise from the Water Pump Area
MODEL
R55, R56, R57 produced up to June 2009
SITUATION
A whistling or squealing noise is heard from the engine at idle and/or at higher engine
speeds.
CAUSE
1. Noise is caused by the water pump.
1. Noise is caused by the friction wheel of the belt tensioner.
PROCEDURE
1. Run the engine up to the operating temperature. Confirm that the noise is coming
from the area around the water pump during engine idle speed.
2. Increase the engine speed up to 1,000 rpm.
3. If a noise disappears at 1,000 rpm or higher, replace the water pump. Refer to
Repair Instruction RA11 51 00, found in MINI TIS.
4. If a noise is still present at 1,000 rpm or higher, replace the friction wheel of the
belt tensioner with the improved part, P/N 11 28 7 571 833. Refer to Repair
Instruction RA11 28 035.

 

Yes, I'm sure mine is manufactured before June 2009. Great to see that! I'm going to show this to dealer, so they can understand the problem more easily. Thanks again!

 

I think I'm gonna have to pay labor + parts for the replacement, since my car is out of warranty. Can any of you, whose car's water pump was changed, tell me how many hours of labor is needed for the job?

I thought the water pump that causes noise is the same as they had replaced on my car earlier, but I was wrong. So it's not under warranty, and dealer will want me to pay them for the replacement.

One more question: Is this noise a common problem or not? It's not related with how fast/hard you drive the car, is it? If it's not, I guess they should replace it under bmw's "goodwill" warranty. Because it's obvious that it's a manufacturing fault. Am I wrong? Anyone has experience with that?

 

Mine was replaced under warranty, but I believe they quoted 3-4 hours for the labour. It is a common problem with the 2009 cars as the OEM water pumps had plastic impellers which resulted in early failures. I believe the new pumps are made of aluminum.

It's not related to driver habits, rather it's due to a poor quality parts supplier.

 

Got it fixed today!

I just showed the TSB to my dealer and they immediately asked BMW for a goodwill warranty. BMW agreed to cover 60% of the part, but not the labor. So I had to pay 40% of the part and 100% of the labor. I paid a little bit but it does worth it. The noise is gone after the water pump replacement. So my car sounds nice now. end of story

 

Hi,I have a 2010 base cooper with just under 17,000 miles with the same problem,not as loud though,had serpentine belt,water pump and now friction wheel been tried today.hopefully this will cure it. If it doesn't has anybody any other idea what may cause this noise?? My mini is otherwise perfect.

 

Well after idle pulley,water pump,tensioner and belt replacement the noise is still there,can anybody shed anymore light on whats causing the whistling/whine in the drivers side(uk model)?! Really fed up now 😫