2011 Mini Cooper S suspension knocking noise in COLD weather
 

Hi guys..
I have 2011 Mini Cooper S with 36000 miles. I am the original owner.
I have winter set Run Flat Tires right now. Its bumpy, I know :) My summer set are regular tires (couldn't stand RFT for summer).. anyhow..

with winter being here, I noticed this season more and more clunky noise coming from suspension.. usually on icy road or manholes etc...

Would this be something I could take to dealer and have it cover by warranty? I know, this wasn't issue in warm summer weather.. but now with the cold I can hear it a lot and its annoying..

What do U think?

Thanks.

It seems to be a chronic issue with some R56 Minis during cold temps and mostly audible at parking lot speeds. I have an 2010 S with 24,000 miles and am suffering with this. Do a search for front end/suspense/etc clunk noise and you will find quite a few threads. Most have tried different approaches/solutions with mixed results. The "guessed" culprit has been either from sway bar bushings, ball joints, bad tie rod joints, bad steering rack, to loose shocks. I have spent tremendous amount of time and effort trying to find the culprit with no success; our stealership's diagnosis has always been "unable to replicate issue". The SA s' think I am on crack for having an vivid imagination. If you do find a solution please share.

endlinks are garbage on these cars as the bushings in them are actually plastic. can cause a small knocking/rattle over bumps. the plastic portion actually rattles against the metal part of the endlink. cold weather will shrink parts, including plastic and widen the gap causing amplified noises.

I just got my '12 MCSm fixed yesterday!

The noise was just as you both described - in cold weather only, at low speeds (though I could make it clunk at high speeds too - it is simpky easier to reproduce at low speed) over bumps that are not even side to side on the car, and that pul the suspension to one side...

MINI replaced first the rear sway bar end links (nil fix - I U turned back to the dealership and took the shop boss out for a spin to demo the clunk), then they replaced the sway bar bushings and some miscleaneous hardware. Someself tapping screws and some hex nuts.

The noise is gone!
E

You hit the nail on the head there. They are pure budget endlinks. Mine were also really noisy in the winter when I had my MINI. I just ignored it. Part of being a MINI owner... the car turns into a rattle can in the cold weather :grin:

thanks guys for Your input..
I may try call dealer (closest one is 110 miles away) and ask them ahead about that.. hate to bring my car and then hear WE WERE UNABLE TO HEAR ANYTHING :)
its becoming annoying to hear it every day as soon as I drive in the morning...
I can only hope it will be cover under warranty.. 36K miles on my car

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I had a similar clunk in mine from about 20K and had it to the dealer a number of times with no positive results - it was especially noticeable in cold weather at low speeds like pulling into my driveway or hitting bumps at parking lot speeds, I was getting close to warranty escape velocity and took it in one more time and they replaced the front sway bar bushings - noise gone!


Hasn't been back since either. I'd try that first...


The only trouble I've had with end links is when I don't get them tight enough on my rear bar - I have an aftermarket bar that I change when I go to the track and back again when I get home, sometimes it takes just a little extra tweak to get them tight.... but that's a completely different noise than what I was hearing in the front end.

I took my car at the end of 2013 to dealer.. told them about the noise.. but of course they couldn't replicate it.. when I came pick up my car (had oil change and coolant change done).. it was seating in garage.. so there was no cold temps to help with pointing the problem..
now with the cold here, noises are back but I am tired of driving 115 miles just to drop of my car and then hear no problems have been found..

it sounds like hammers instead of my struts..


sigh

Same noises on my '10 MCS. I started experiencing the clunking sound up front first, and it began in November '13. I was able to get rid of it by replacing front sway bar bushings and cross-member (expen$ive) bushings with polyurethane units. The rear began shortly thereafter, late December. I have not yet been able to determine the culprit, but the sound occurs exactly as described by everyone else in this thread. I have replaced the rear sway bar bushings with polyurethane units, and had my mechanic check every single bolt/nut/screw related to the rear suspension to ensure it was securely fastened in place. I even mounted softer tires! The clunk persists. Because of posts in this thread, I will try replacing the end links next.

Most likely your rear sway bar endlinks...the stock ones are pathetic, replaced them...TWICE. I went with the Detroit Tuned aftermarket ones.

the SUCKY part is that living over 100 miles from dealer doesn't help. I don't mind to drive my car there every 6 months when I can collect a group of problems and address them at one time.
Problem is when dealer CAN NOT replicate them without me and all I get is: all seems to be all right.
On top of that they keep my car inside room temperature where most things happen in cold temps..

Right now I have really bad shaking of steering wheel.. when I accelerate its shakes from left to right and back.. its very annoying.. I am going to change wheels from winter ones to summer ones and see if maybe I lost some weights and they were out of balance...

I am getting tired of mini cooper quality of ride.. it was great while it lasted.. now its becoming annoying and life is to short to deal with crap like that.

If the dealer won't be able replicate those problems again I will be looking into selling it and moving on..