Apologies if this has been covered before - I searched but nothing quite turned up anything. My car is a 2012 Clubman S with about 31,000 miles.

Symptoms;
When I park the car, and exit I hear a small pop/creak sound when I get out of the car - or when my passenger gets out of the car. It seems to be coming from the passenger side front of the car.
If I pop the hood and press down on the car near the strut tower I can re-create the pop/creak sound.
When were in traffic or come to a stop and put the car in neutral you can sometimes hear the same sound after about 5-10 seconds.
I don't hear it when turning or driving normally.
Just today I decided to start the car in the garage and turn the wheel back and forth and I could re-create the sound again.

I don't hear anything if I go over a bump/speedbump/pothole, etc.

I jacked the car up and tried to shake passenger front tire but noticed nothing.

Any ideas? I have an appointment for the dealership to take a look this week and I'm still under warranty until October. But I'm curious what it is in the meantime. Luckily my commute is very short so I'm not overly concerned and the car drives normal otherwise.

 

I should mention the only recent work done on the car was the dealership replaced the clutch/fly wheel in the last 3,000 miles. Otherwise the car is 100% stock essentially.

 

Well its been to the dealer twice now - the first time they said it was a door seal that needed adjusted ... but once I left the lot the sound was still there ... so I returned. They believe they fixed it this time but as I was picking up the car it threw a code and now its having its thermostat replaced. So not sure what it was or if it's really been fixed yet.

 

almost sounds like a strut mount if you hear it while turning the wheel

 

I'm clueless at this point - I would've put money on it being suspension related and fairly easy to diagnose. I picked the car up this morning and sure enough the sound is no longer there either while turning or going over bumps. Even sought out a somewhat rough parking lot where I'd heard the sound before to see if it would come back. The tech said they triple checked all the bolts/fasteners that would've been touched when they replaced the clutch and all were good. They inspected the shocks and mounts and saw nothing wrong.

While it was there as I mentioned they replaced the thermostat under warranty and I gave them the go-ahead to replace the front brakes since they were due to be replaced.

Hopefully the sound is gone for good, if not they said they'd take a look again.

 

Very interesting. I would have definitely put my money on the mounts as well. Let us know if it does come back.

-Luccia

 

so did they replace something or it just went away?

 

The paperwork makes no mention of anything be replaced or even fixed. The tech and the service advisor both heard it clearly on the ride along and I made my wife confirm that I'm not just hearing things too. Everyone heard it very clearly, and now no one hears it.

Only parts replaced were un-related to this complaint (thermostat (failed/replaced under warranty) and the door seals on the club door side (passenger and club door). The tech thought it was the seals being worn out in one spot that was causing the sound, but the sound was definitely coming from the front passenger wheel.

I've only driven in about 2-3 miles since picking it up and won't be able to drive again until this evening. But initial thoughts seem to confirm the sound has simply vanished or something was tightened and no one reported it.

 

ya I'd guess they lubricated something or tightened something somewhere along the lines maybe they didn't mention it to cosver a human error

 

My thoughts as well - I'm happy either way the sound it gone (for now) and I got to borrow a 2015 S Hardtop for the weekend.

 

Yea, you are pretty new to have a Strut Mount go bad. That look like this.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...nts-split.html



Sounds like a bolt or something was rubbing on the hood underside ?

 

ya I got to borrow the 4 door S I enjoyed it but missed my R56 LOL

 

Thanks! I'll take a look at those tonight