Anyone, had this then ? My 03 Cooper with 18000 miles has the most obvious loud rattle coming from the underside of the car, but its only there when its warming up and accelerating or using engine braking through the gears. Its at its worst climbing a hill. It isnt there when the engine is cold (left overnight) but is obvious in the first 2.0 - 10.0 miles of driving and goes when the engine is hot.............it actually sounds like mixture burning in the exhaust, but the dealer has done a diagnostic and says all is well.

They have replaced the exhaust manifold and Cat' but its still there, so they have it again this week.......any ideas ?

My S works has something similar going on. At first i thought it was the join between the factory pipe and the works back box pipe which was blowing a bit where bmw hadnt fitted it all the way in. Sorted that and the noise lessened but didnt stop. While up on the lift, we gave everything a good whack with the rubber mallet to see if anything was loose, and something is loose in the cat we think. Getting a gtt manifold and sports cat next week so i'll see if this cures the problem. I'll let you know if it does. I know its not that helpful as youve had the cat replaced but if it doesnt work, i'm sure roland will find the problem and i'll let you know the cure...

Thanks, Have heard of Cat's internals coming loose, mine's in for an overnight stay Tuesday and they have it from cold Wed. Am taking the Tech out in it to demo' so will let you know how things go..

Cheers ;)

I've got that problem too - it's really annoying, and is so loud that for the first 10 miles or so, you hear it above the cd player. It's going to go into the dealer in a few weeks for a service, so i'll ask them to sort it then.

Left my Coop' overnight and went back Wednesday to take the Tech' for a spin. He said straight away "that's coming from the gearbox, you need a new one and I'll put a new clutch in at the same time" . So its booked in a week today, we will see what happens and I'll keep you posted. :)

Blimey!

Let us know if that cures it!

I hope not! I just picked up my brand new 05 Cooper S ! (10 miles on the od!) I noticed this problem right away! :( (having a cooper before , I never had this problem, I thought maybe that what the exhaust note sounds like!)Mine dose it especially downshifting from 3rd to second theres a "popping/rattling" sound coming from underneath.

The rubber mounts that hold the central exhaust bracket (which are hard to see) do break from time to time (as per my local dealer). Might be worth it to have them checked. They replaced mine but I did pay for them as I had been kerb hopping all over Monza when ole PKT RKT developed just the type of symptom you guys are describing. anyways, it was like 50 euros as it only took them 20 minutes and the parts were cheap as well.

My cooper had the Manifold replaced for what sounds like the same problem. Lets hope mine stays ok.

After that work was done, I have just had a PlayMINI Catback exhaust fitted ... all seems well at the moment so we'll see. I'll keep an eye on this thread for sure.

OK guys Get this, I called my dealer and they say that the "backfire" noise I hear is Normal and is a new feature on the 05 Mini cooper S. He says there trying to mimic the "old " style sound of the fifities. any one else get this response? :confused:

It's the exhaust popping noise! Sounds weird in the car but get someone to sit in it or rev it up with the door or window open and listen to how it sounds outside the car!!

Some people love it some don't.

I am surprised that MINI don't tell new customers about it though.

The popping noise is cool :) I love the popping noise my Playmini makes :D

Hi folks, well 4 days on and all is well with the new gearbox, no more rattling or popping. It nearly went back the next day after some problems engaging first gear, but so far, is settling in nicely......just keeping everything crossed........ :D

Well another week and a bit has gone by and no more rattle. It was the gearbox after all. After 600 miles the new box is settling in nicely and the few initial problems of engaging first gear have gone.