Hi Everyone,

I have just purchased my first ever Mini and I love it. I might have let my heart rule my head but I want to ask a few questions about a few problems I have. These were not here when I purchased the car but again I am not an expert in buying cars.

When the cars is first started it makes a squeaking noise and after I take it for a drive 9 times out of 10 the squeak dissapears but when you switch the engine of from time to to time you can hear the same squeak again. I have watched a few youtube videos and a lot of them indicate this fault to be a waterpump problem. I would appreciate any advise on this.

The car is a 2004 163hp before the update with 83k miles. The service history up to 47k was at a BMW garage and the last 2 services have been carried out by an independent gararge.

The car does not overheat the temp gauge is always at half way but the car does seem to get there very quickly may be 5 - 10 minutes after driving the car. It drives well and I cannot find any other fault with the car.

I am concerned that if the water pump needs replaced is it worth getting the supercharger checked and tested when they have the car in this many bits.

Sorry for the rant but I am concerned the more I drive the car the worse it could get.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Colin

Do you hear a grating noise when you accelerate or deccelerate

Not that I am aware off just this annoying squeal from time to time. I only hear it when the engine is idling and then after I go for a long drive it seems to disapear most of the time. I was worried it was the water pump because it seems to be a common fault. It kind of reminds me of the same noise you use to hear on a dodgy fan belt. But given my limited knowledge of cars I thought I would consult the experts like you.

Thanks,
Colin

I was wondering was it common for supercharged Mini Cooper S to heat up this quick. I have owned all forms of motors in my life but never one that would heat up on the temperature gauge as quickly as this one. Please note the Temperature never goes above the half mark which I would have said was normal for a car and I drove it for over 200 miles the other week without this changing.

might be worth posting a video of the noises

Could possibly be a belt slipping??

Mine doesn't take long to warm up either, temp gauge sits at half way too :wink:,

Could you take it back to the place you bought it (or an independant garage) for a quick check over??

Mine doesn't take long to warm up either, temp gauge sits at half way too :wink:,

Likewise - one of the first things I noticed was how quickly they come up to temperature - they also take a long while to cool down when parked up.

Sometimes I'll jump on mine ages after I last used it and it's still warm.

I also notice that if you turn all the fans off, the cabin still heats up really quickly with warm air from the engine.

I think it's the nature of the beast. Talking to Tony Franks a few weeks ago he was saying one of the major challenges when tuning them is keeping them cool.

Rob

I was wondering was it common for supercharged Mini Cooper S to heat up this quick. I have owned all forms of motors in my life but never one that would heat up on the temperature gauge as quickly as this one. Please note the Temperature never goes above the half mark which I would have said was normal for a car and I drove it for over 200 miles the other week without this changing.

I have a 2005 MCSa and it seems to heat up really quick too. Hovers at just below half way. I don't think its anything you need to worry about.