So I'm noticing within the past couple of weeks that I am getting a constant noise emanating from my right rear wheel. It is not a full metal grinding noise, but it is definitely metallic sounding. The sound is directly related to vehicle movement (i.e. tire rotation). At speeds up to 10-15 mph it is very audible. After that the sound reduces considerably - I think this is related to the fact that the sound is then overtaken by my Magnaflow .
Any thoughts?

 

Hmmmm...Parking brake shoe?

After driving the car for several miles, get out and feel the temperature of both rear wheels. If the right one feels hotter (toward the center of the hub) than the left, one of your parking brake shoes may be dragging.

Alternatively, with the right rear jacked-up off the ground and the parking brake released, do you hear the sound when you rotate the wheel?

How many miles on your MINI?

Theo

 

I've have the same pbm, it sounds like 'ning, ning, ning, ning.......'. It may disappear if I hit the brake lightly but will come back after a while. It's usually more audible during low speed but the problem is that it's not always there.....
Will have the parking brake shoe checked next week. Hopefully there's nothing major.
Cheers