[Ebrian_x2]

Hi all,

Ok this one is gonna be hard to explain. I have a noise that i get for about 2 seconds when
accelerating out of a dead stop..Its kinda like a grinding sound, but i dont think anythings grinding.
It seems like its coming from the engine area not the brakes...Its not loud either, i can only ear it
if my music is off..so im at a loss for what to do. Should i take it into the dealer to check or just wait
for the scheduled service and mention it then(not for another 5,000 miles). And the car is bran new
05 with just over 5,000 miles on it. Any body have any experience like this?

Brian

[deano_54321]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ebrian_x2

Hi all,

Ok this one is gonna be hard to explain. I have a noise that i get for about 2 seconds when
accelerating out of a dead stop..Its kinda like a grinding sound, but i dont think anythings grinding.
It seems like its coming from the engine area not the brakes...Its not loud either, i can only ear it
if my music is off..so im at a loss for what to do. Should i take it into the dealer to check or just wait
for the scheduled service and mention it then(not for another 5,000 miles). And the car is bran new
05 with just over 5,000 miles on it. Any body have any experience like this?

Brian

Hiya!

I have an 02 MINI, and have had a similar sounding problem, but I think my problem is my wheels/tyres. Is it only when pulling off or also when slowing down? Have a listen if you can hear is when you are rolling at arounf 5MPH, can you still hear it then?

First i thought it was my brakes, but I noticed that the noise didn't change at all when I did brake, which I'm sure it would have done if it was the brakes.

I took my car to the dealer who said that the tyre munufacturer (in this case Goodyear) had said that the tyres can expand (when the weather is very warm) and rub (I think against the shock absorber). At first i thought this was a load of cr#! but the last couple of days the air has cooled down and it has gone away for the meantime.

Strange problem and still trying to get my head round it!!

Dean

[Ebrian_x2]

hmm, thats strange.. Mine only occurs when starting from a start, then its gone...Ands its
definately not the tires, the sound is mechanical i think, its not rubbing..its really hard to
explain...

They told you wheels rubbing??? That sounds like a load of crap to me, if that
was the case it would start to wear the tyres pretty bad..i would check the tyres to see if you
see anything, take them off and have a look, i would bet 10 to 1 there is no rub marks!

[beken]

There has been other discussion on this somewhere else in MINI2. Even some theory that your clutch is mis-aligned.

My car does it intermittently. I notified my dealer and he seemed to know there might be a problem and told me to just monitor it awhile. The clutch might need replacing and since I mentioned it already, it should get replaced under warranty.

Like Deano, after thinking about it, I thought it might be the tires too. I noted that it usually only happened when starting while going uphill. But the sound did not sound anything close to rubber losing traction.

Could be the brakes too. Brake dust on the front might cause the brakes to release a bit slow.

Another observation on my car is that once warmed up, it didn't happen. I found on my car the sound only happened when the car was cold and generally, the weather was damp.

I haven't isolated it to clutch, tyres (tires on this side of the pond) or brakes yet. All I know is it doesn't happen once warmed up.

Maybe if we all share our observations, somebody can join in and diagnose the problem for us. However, if I can get 4 years on my clutch out and nothing breaks, it might just be another one of those idiosynchroses of driving a MINI.

[kyriian]

my early 03 does the same thing... sometimes happens when i let out the clutch a certain way... i can rarely replicate it, but seems to do it when i just give a bit more gas than usual taking off from rolling at 5-10 km, just before stalling

[MiniFr34k]

just started noticing this sound

doesnt happen once cars warm, only when cold .. im assuming its clutch because everytime this is happening im slowly rolling forward & dont have my foot on the brake.

[E74778]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ebrian_x2

Hi all,

Ok this one is gonna be hard to explain. I have a noise that i get for about 2 seconds when
accelerating out of a dead stop..Its kinda like a grinding sound, but i dont think anythings grinding.
It seems like its coming from the engine area not the brakes...Its not loud either, i can only ear it
if my music is off..so im at a loss for what to do. Should i take it into the dealer to check or just wait
for the scheduled service and mention it then(not for another 5,000 miles). And the car is bran new
05 with just over 5,000 miles on it. Any body have any experience like this?

Brian

Hi,

Does the sound only happen when you have some lock on and is it like a groaning sound?

My wife has a MCSC fitted with a Chili pack and this makes a rubbing groaning noise when pulling away while you have some lock applied.

The issue with your car does not sound like the same problem though.

Try reading the thread: http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...ited+slip+diff

Alan.

[beken]

Another thing I haven't tried yet....(maybe somebody else has?) is turning off the ASC or DSC when the car is cold and seeing if this still happens.

I have a theory that it may be the electronics keeping the brakes applied a bit longer normal because the car was stopped. I understand that some BMWs and Mercedes purposely had their brakes rub against the rotors to warm them up when the car is cold to get them up to more efficient operating temperature. Not sure if this is done on our MCS' but given that there's all those electronics in the car, maybe they did....just a theory.

[Ebrian_x2]

Well i will try that when i get off work today....it does seem to do it more when the car is
cold as opposed to warmed up...Im going to take the long way home tonight and see
what i can rule out and so forth...one thing i forgot to mention is mine is an automatic, so
i dont think i have the clutch.....

[MickyD]

sounds like the ABS self test to me. there's mention of it in the FAQ

[Ebrian_x2]

Thats interesting, i had never heard of the self test thing....It doesnt just happen
when its cold either, its everytime i start off after a dead stop, i'm not sure if its really
a clunk sound, but i might just be splitting hairs now lol

does anybody else know anything about this ABS Self test?....

[Ian Clark]

I posted a lengthy thread in the Cooper section. After numerous returns to BMW, they replaced the Manifold on my car and the grinding/vibration I had stopped.

[nulltty]

If it sounds like an elephant or a harmonica type noise, then yes, I've had this issue... usually first start-up on a cold morning (~50* F), with the temps now warmer (65*+ F) I don't hear it.

Mine is either going in reverse, but usually going forward for a few feet and once I reach past 10mph the noise is gone, even after several stop/starts.

I've taken it to the dealer who said it was a rubber hose near the engine, which they replaced. They said it was faulty and was squishy to the pinch.

Brought it in again when this didn't resolve it, this time they changed out the throw-out bearing.

That still didn't resolve it...

[oliverhager]

Hi

Yes , I have a similar sound when I pull off. I have a 04 MCS. It is very intermittent but it is when I pull off, letting the clutch out quickerthan normal. Sounds like a handbrake is still engaged but it's coming from the engine. I now have a horrible klunk noise and the engine is vibrating when it is idle. It's going back to the dealer on Wednesday but it's a bit disconcerting. Have you found the problem yet ?

Regards Oluiver

[Ebrian_x2]

Nope, still dont know what the heck it is, doesnt really sound like an elephant but it is definately
coming from the engine...I might mention this to the dealer when i get my windshield replaced this
week, it cracked so they are replacing it...
Heres to hoping they know what it is.

[JONZ S]

I like the description of this noise as "elephant" - I've been trying to figure out how to describe it to my dealer, I think that's the way I'll go! My 03 MCS just developed this in the last year. It was after a software upgrade, but not immediately. I normally hear it when starting out cold, but not always.

Two questions:

1) Is this an annoyance, a "feature", or a sign of a pending problem? I have about 25,000 km of warranty left, so if it's a sign of future disaster I need to start pushing the dealer...

2) Has anyone actually had a successful resolution to the issue?

Cheers!

John
2003 MCS

[Ebrian_x2]

Well, I have had this noise when i start for a while now, 4,000 miles actually...
And nothing yet has happened...I will mention it to the dealer with i have it serviced.