Hello all,

Add me to the list of people who had this problem. It started at about 3000 miles and continued all of the way to 12,500 and my first service (it was on and off, mostly on). Luckily they were able to replicate the sound and changed my fan belt. No noise since (about 50 miles on a very hot day).

Fingers crossed.

mb

 

sad to say but im surprised the dealer did that when theres a bulliten out stating not to replace anything due to a squel noise...hard to beleive they got MINI NA to pay for it also...It is "NORMAL" for some reason and nothing to worry about im told by my master tech,......I say this b/c i picked mine up 2months ago and had the same problem....alil silicon n you'll b ok. just dont douse the belt to much.

 

If that's all it is, why don't they try that at the factory and save us all a lot of trouble? Pretty dumb if you ask me to send out a product with an easy to fix problem. Just my opinion.

Steve

 

o i totally agree with u ......trust me.....after workin for bmw/mini for the ast 5 yrs ive seen alot of things that are dumb designs and still are to this day. In all honesty.....i think thats the worst excuse id have to tell my cust with this type of problem on a brand new car....." Well sorry sir....after buying your 25k car the belt noise is normal and you have to deal with it "

 

Both my dealer and I tried the silicone "solution" in two seperate instances. It didn't work.

If the noise my car was making is normal, I don't want a normal car. Instead of normal I described the noise as as annoying, irritating, obnoxious, and most of all embarrassing.

I can't believe that someone could look at someone else and tell them that it is normal and still have a straight face.

 

You n me both......i cant tell my cust that with a straight face myself. They have changed the belt and tensioner and the problem is still there. I can only think ita a bad pulley maybe and it hasnt been found yet or something stupid.....You never know..... A bad batch of belts will do this.

 

On my Mini, they changed the tensioner, vibratio dampener, the belt,and a crankshaft pulley with chipping paint. I understand that the crankshaft pulley problem happened on the early models approx. 2 years ago. Don't know if it is related to the problem. Mine has been squeel free for 4 days. Not many miles though. Lets cross our fingers.

Bob

 

Tomorrow I am dropping off my MINI at the dealer to get a new supercharger after a 4 weeks wait. It is going to take at least 2 days at the shop but they tell me that is going to cure the squeeling for good. I am at 800+ miles and the sound still the same, no signs of leveling down like in some earlier posts. I will let you know how it turns out and what other info I can get from my dealer. What intrigues me is that everyone here has the same problem and a lot of possible (no) solutions.

 

Here is Mini's bulletin on this matter.

SUBJECT: DRIVE BELT NOISE

MODEL: All R50,R52,R53 built from April 2005 to present with W10-W11 engine.

SITUATION: Customer complains the engine exhibits a hig-pitched squeal from the engine accessory drive belt. The noise can occur at all engine speeds,mostly accurring in the 2500-RPM range.

CAUSE: Root cause is under investigation

PROCEDURE: One of the following could be the cause of the complaint. Please follow the procedures outlined below in order.

1. Alternator Alignment

a. Loosen the 3 moutning bolts that attach the alternator to the mount two revolutions, do not remove the drive belt during this process. Leaving the drive belt in place causes a natural alignment of the alternator.

b. Retighten the bolts and torque to spec.


Drive belt removal MINI Cooper S vehicles equipped with W11 engine and F21 6speed automoatic trans ONLY


2. RUST OF FLAKING PAINT ON THE PULLEY

a. Inspect all pulleys for rust or flaking paint in the belt contact surface. Removal of the drive belt will be necessary.
b. Using a 3M Scotch Bright pad or similar pad, clean the pulley until the rust or flaking paint is removed.
c. Before reintalling the drive belt, inspect the belt for damage, foreign material in contact surface and length of the belt. Compare the belt length to a new belt from parts dept., replace as nececassry or reinstall old belt.

3. DRIVE BELT IS HOPPING OR THE BELT TENSIONER IS BINDING

a. Inspect belt tensioner using a special tool to release tension. Remocal of the drive belt may be neceassry.
b. If the tensioner feels soft or appears to be binding and will not re-apply proper tension to the drive belt, replace as necessary.
c. Before reinstalling drive belt, inspect the belt for damage` as stated above.

4. SUPERCHARGER DIFFICULT TO TURN (W11 ENGINE ONLY)

a. In some circumstances this could be caused by a difficult turn or binding Supercharger....DO NOT REPLACE THE SUPERCHARGER. Submit a PUMA case to the Help desk.

 

Its not a squeak or a squeal - its your MCS saying "I want a 15 pulley!".

BahamaBart

 

Mine was screamin for a 19%.........After whining for so long, it got its way!

 

Well, I guess it too late for the "Do not replace Superchager" bit. But after the dealer tried the adjusting, lubing and scrubbing, that is the last thing to do. WT# is the PUMA case?

 

PUMA is a phrase used in submitting claims for technical problems.

 

Did you have your SC changed and if so , did it help?

 

It's at the dealer, left it last night and got a loaner on the mean time, they told me it would take 2 days so I guess tomorrow is D day. I'll sure let you know what happens as it is really strange that a car that has been so long in production comes up with this problem. BTW where is the beer icon? Ooops wrong site.

 

I believe that the Mini Service Bulletin that 1FSTMINI provided is missing a couple of steps...

1) When customer brings car in complaining of squealing noise, look at said customer and say that it is a normal noise that will eventually go away. Make certain to keep a straight face through this discussion.

2) Get in car and drive around. Make certain that customer is in passenger seat. Turn radio volume up until noise is no longer noticable above the noise of the radio. Look over at customer, nod, and state, "I do not hear the noise you are describing!". Please keep a straight face during this conversation.

3)Inform customer that this is a way to bring more people's attention to the Mini that you are driving. Please keep a straight face when conveying this information.

4) if none of the above work, go to the alternatives noted below...

 

lmao......thats funny....but my bulletin is correct....str8 from Mini

 

Well, I have to be thankful that I did not experienced that, my dealer from the offset on the first visit adjusted and lubed the belt, on second visit they told me about the superchager but that I had to wait for around 3-4 weeks. That I did, and now the car is in the shop, no news yet.
Shame that some dealers treat people poorly and I do not understand but at the end is a profit for the dealer, they charge the work to MINI so in most cases they are more than willing to repair "anything" under warranty.
About the PUMA, I tought I would get a nice pair of sneakers for my trouble, hehehe, not

 

1FSTMINI, you were right, I got back my car today, so far no squeeling or something, what the service order described is:
Replaced Alternator Belt
and
Retorque Alternator Bolt
So I hope that's that, but still think it took to long for my dealer to order an alternator belt (4 weeks!!). Well, I guess they were hoping it was going to cure by itself or something.

 

Thats B.S about the belt taking that long.....What a bad excuse b.c i have 4 of them in stock and so should any dealer being thats the main belt for everything......"IF" they didnt have it, it only takes 2-3 days max to order a parts.

 

So it looks more and more that they wanted to see if the sound went away by itself, right? On the mean time I was a loud rolling advert of MINI high standars of quaility. I just turned the radio up.

 

Hi all! My mini now has over 800 miles (450 miles since repair). They replaced my belt and adjusted the alternator. So far, I am squeal free.


Baha

 

Im seeing more n more that its just an alignment issue with the pulleys

 

RAcking up the miles 2300 and no more squeals (since 266). Replaced the Belt Tensioner.

 

3,000 on mine since they applied the JCW belt and still squeal free. I talked to my dealership the other day for an update. My dealership had three cars at the same time with the same issue that were all fixed by applying the JCW belt. He wasn't sure but he thinks that MINI changed their parts supplier for the belt tensioner and that this *may* be some of the issue.