Dropped the mini off at the dealer today. Last time I was in they told me the noise I was hearing was due to the flywheel. They have a modified flywheel that fixes the noise issue. I was also having an issue with the clutch feel not being linear at times.. So I hope they can see the problem and fix both issues.
So far my mini dealer experiences have been very positive. I really didn't want to take it in for just the noise... but I want to be sure its not something worse that could leave me staranded someday down the road..
Hope to get it back tomorrow sometime... They gave me a Ford focus to drive... just not the same thing...

 

Would that be Rick Hendrick MINI?

 

those dual mass flywheels rattles when they go bad(i know a flywheel should not go bad just because ) and the new design should take car of it. is a straight forward repair just time consuming, you should have your car back soon.

 

Has Mini started putting an improved flywheel in the '06s at the factory, or do all the 06s have the faulty design?

YD

 

Yep.. thats the one

 

Just had my 06 flywheel replaced after about 7000 miles. I know other 06 owners who haven't had the problem at all.

 

i'm not sure but i have yet to replace one.

 

Add me to the list of affected 06'ers

Yesterday I took my 01/06 MCS in for some warranty work including the rattly gearbox in neutral and the service guy said that they will need to replace the flywheel. It's a bit disappointing to need to have what is a fairly major procedure to replace the flywheel done when the car has yet to tick over 10,000 kilometres The worst part is that my local Mini service centre is less than reliable when it comes to fixing things and I have this horrible feeling that they will end up stuffing other things up in the process of trying to fixing the flywheel

Does anyone know if it’s OK just to leave the old flywheel in and live with the rattle? Is it likely to end up causing other problems in the longer term?

 

I wouldn't be bothered by the rattle. I've replaced my flywheel with a lightened flywheel and it rattles even more now! Of course, I was well aware of this fact and I knew it wasn't going to be a bother. I suppose if you really want to have no rattling under the hood, your best bet would be just to get it fixed, especially since you can get it fixed under warranty. However, if you have concerns about them not doing the job properly, hell I'd leave the flywheel on there till you get near the 36k mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and have them replace it then. Least at that point in time you could opt for a new pressure plate, clutch, and throw-out bearing (although you might have to cover the part costs). I don't believe the rattling you hear causes any damage to the car, though, aside for the annoyance of having to listen to it. One thing you might try is let out the clutch slowly when you stop at a light if you leave it in neutral. That will help to subdue the rattling some that it becomes barely noticeable, if at all.

GotMINI

 

Thanks for the reply Alerious

As you suggest, I think I might hold of getting it fixed for a while and when I do end up getting it done, I might take it up to Sydney where they have a lot more Mini dealers and a lot more service department throughput.

 

just picked up my car this morning from the dealer from its first service. I went in for a bad motor mount and went ahead and did my first service even though I'm only at 9600 miles on my 05 mini S. I changed the oil myself at 5,000. I had the same list of things as most have had, noise with clutch out, noise from the LSD when turning, rear windshield washer leaking and a rattle in the dash. When I drove off the first thing, I noticed is the groan is gone when turning and the gear box is noiseless. They replaced the fly wheel, clutch and throw out bearing. I too was concerned about them doing such major work so early but I'm glad they did it. The big thing I'm up against is the motor mount sprayed hydraulic fluid down the passenger side and went all over the back of the car. My pepper white Mini is truly a pepper white now. The Mini factory rep said that there is not enough hydraulic fluid to spread to the back of the car and that I must have gotten the damage from driving thru something else so, Mini says it won't cover the repaint at this point. Before I left with my car, the SA, mechanic and I put my car on the rack and looked under the car and sure enough, there was hydraulic fluid covering the inside of the wheel well as well as trailing down the undercarriage. I go back to visit with another Factory rep on the 26th. Can't wait for him to see the underside of my car.