[adamlondon]

I have a Cooper S and I have noticed on a few occasions that when I pull away from the lights quite quickly the car makes a strange groaning sound . The sound only lasts a second (until the clutch is up). However, it doesnt happen when pulling away slowly. Has anyone else noticed this, and if so is it a problem or just what the car does anyway? Thanks.

All the best,

Adam

[dpms2]

My Feb02 Cooper does this aswell. It's the clutch that makes the noise. I find it's much worse in damp weather. If i slip the clutch on purpose, I can reproduce the sound. My car went in to the dealer for this in the summer and they said it was normal. I don't like it though. I don't think a car with 20 000miles should do this.

[andellamd]

My S has 2100 miles on it and I dropped it off at the dealer yesterday for exactly the same thing. I'll have to report back in on their findings


Matt

[cozzers]

Quote: Originally Posted by andellamd

My S has 2100 miles on it and I dropped it off at the dealer yesterday for exactly the same thing. I'll have to report back in on their findings


Matt

Do let us know what they say...

I took mine in with this problem about 3 months ago and they said they would replace the clutch. However, when I went to pick it up they changed their minds and said they couldn't replicate the problem so no new clutch

It tends to happen more in the cold/damp, so it's been driving me mental over the winter, but by the time I get the car over to the dealer the car warms up and refuses to perform the noise!

[MJ.]

I've the same problem, usually only in the wet. It does sound a bit strange. Maybe I'll have a try at getting it sorted on first service

[andellamd]

latest update.........

I took the car to the dealer on Monday night and demonstrated the sound. At first, they thought it was the PCV valve but it wasn't so they kept it overnight and returned it to me the next day stating they adjusted the heat shield and couldn't replicate the noise. I took it home to find out that that was not the issue and the noise was still there. I brought it back tonight and brought the tech that was working on my car out to hear it and they said they are going to replace the clutch tomorrow. The noise on my car doesn't seem to matter what weather it is. It only happens after the car is hot, and I mean hot as in driven for a while in the city so that the heat really has a chance to soak in and isn't being cooled off in the wind from driving fast, but the noise is exactly the one you described.... A sort of medium pitched whrrrrr at the friction point when pulling away in first.

Stay tuned for more updates,


Matt

[nickguy]

OK I need to join in here. Same issue 9500 miles. Similar noise to the one a throwout, (thrust bearing for the english speakers) bearing makes when it fails. Well it is not that.
My dealer has now replaced the following:

First trip

PCV hose, apparently it can collapse causing a weird noise.
Pulley belt , they thought it might be slipping.

Second trip

They pulled the transmission, inspected the clutch and swapped out the the throwout bearing. This worked for a day and now the noise is back. Any ideas anyone? I read
on Mini Cooper Online that some folks with similar complaints had problems with the
gearbox. Rumor of final drive issues...

watch word wrap

http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...pic&topic=8156

Anyway I am at my wits end. One thing I do notice is that the car has to be moving
for the noise to occur, if I hold the car on the handbrake it does not happen. I told the
service manager that a throwout bearing would probably still make noise in that scenario.
The annoying thing is that it went away for a bit after the change. The only other thing
they did was rough up the surface of the flywheel and clutch.

Any help appreciated.

Nick

[andellamd]

Sorry it has taken so long for me to get back..... Dealer replaced clutch and I have not had anymore problems with the noise yet. 700 miles on the new clutch. We'll see how she holds up.


Matt

[Root Ginger]

I have the exact same problem on my car. Thought it was a pad rubbing at first but sounds like it isn't. I also have trouble getting into first and a whirring noise in second. I think my transmission is shagged

Think I've found out the reason JCW reduced the power output on the Cooper Works from 132 to 122BHP

[z3bum]

Greetings,
Having read your alls posts, I wanted to add my info. My MINI Cooper has 16400 miles on it, and for a while when you took off in first gear, it would make that whirring noise in the transmission. It wasn't a big deal and didn't seem to affect anything. Till a few days ago... I had to pull out in traffic fast, revved the engine and engaged the clutch and stepped on it... The car started to pull out, and suddenly made a chopping noise *like the ABS noise, but rougher and louderm I don't have DSC or ASC) and lost traction. I upshifted and was able to drive fine. Since then, I have been testing, and find that under light loads shifting at 3500rpm or less, everything is fine. But to my horror, under hard acceleration, I get the chopping noise in first and second gear and almost a complete loss of traction, push the gas hard enough, and the engine winds up and then something clunks and away we go. Haven't been to the dealer with this yet, because I had just installed my seventeen inch wheels with new tires, and actually thought it was the tires make the noise. It's definitely the transmission (I think) Any ideas? Will MINI replace my transmission? I am calling the dealer this coming week.

[Efit2004]

Hi,
Its definately a clutch fault, I have changed loads of them for this fault. BMW say its not an issue and only individual cases have this fault.

[Efit2004]

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