I’m looking to purchase a 2012 Cooper S with a JCW tuning kit installed on it. The previous owner really did take unbelievable care of the vehicle and I’m luckily to have stumbled upon it. I have taken it for a couple long drives and have noticed that when the engine is fully warmed up after driving it seems to have a weird idle. Almost like the engine noise is louder and it transfers into the cabin more, also more of a putt-putt than a consistence smooth idle. However it doesn’t do this all the time, it seems random, as it could be happening and I start driving again and then come back down to idle and it’s normal. When the engine is cold it purrs like a kitten. Any ideas? Should I be worried about timing chain or is this model year safe in regards to that? 88k miles on the vehicle

 

It could be many things. Did the car come with maintenance records? I'd start by reviewing the maintenance history. If no history is available, take it to a reputable indy shop and have them diagnose the problem so you don't troubleshoot by throwing expensive parts at it.

 

You can be sure if the owner installed a JCW tuning kit he drove the car to experience that. No one adds a JCW tuning kit to perk up the grocery run.

While I'm sure the owner took care of the car the engine can still suffer from wear and tear from the use it receives.

I'm not that knowledgeable about these engines but if you think you should be worried about a timing chain you need to walk away from this car and resume your search for one that doesn't manifest any signs of any issues.

 

Based on how the car runs and drives I’m highly confident that it wasn’t abused. The owner was a 40 something year old engineer with a little fluffy dog. He bought it a year old with 10k miles on it and I’m thinking it may have already had the kit installed. I’m not thinking there is necessarily something wrong with the car, I’m just wondering if those particular vehicles have timing chain issues like the older ones.. the idle thing only happens sometimes and it may very well be normal for a 80,000+ mile vehicle.

 

If you have no records showing proof you are due for a walnut media blasting of your intake valves. I just had this done at you mileage range and the transformation of operating performance was incredibly remarkable, had no idea the car could run so well.

-Kevin

 

Hmmmm!!! That’s a fantastic thought! I would be super interested in having that done. It could totally solve the idling issue. It also raises the question for me of whether this would be something I could have done to my daily driver which is a Ford Explorer Sport with the twin turbo ecoboost engine, which is known for having serious carbon build up problems in the valves. Ford currently has no approved cleaning method as it could “damage the turbos”

 

For all direct injection motors this a maintenance issues that needs to be performed. Unfortunately, this is something that is not noted in any operator’s manual and commonly found in forums like these.

-Kevin

 

SO I've narrowed down this noise a little bit. Once the car is warm and has been driving for a while and I come to a stop at a red light for example and I put it in neutral and my foot is OFF the clutch it sounds as if the engine is running somewhat rough or wonky, but if I depress the clutch pedal the noise is gone and everything is smooth as silk. When I release the pedal again the noise may or may not come back, it is pretty inconsistent. I am now directing attention to the clutch and have determined the engine runs mint. Is this a throw out bearing? Everything I read says the noise should be audible when the pedal is depressed, not the opposite like I am experiencing.. help!! (the noise is not a grinding, more of a pitter-patter sound)

 

I think you may be looking at two different issues. the clutch sound and the idle rpm fluctuation sound like two different causes. my car always makes more noise when the clutch pedal isn't pressed. its not very noticeable but if you listen for it I can hear it. its been doing that since I bought it with 53k miles and its got 90k now. you need a computer that can read fault codes and bmw/mini codes. like this one
your rough idle could be a bad sensor in the throttle body(which requires replacing the throttle body), or a bad coil or even spark plug. you really need a code reader. instead of that expensive I linked. something like this could help you track it down: