Brief whirring noise when opening door

[McQz]

There is a brief whirring noise when opening the driver side door (hence the title of the thread) which Nanette has noticed SPORADICALLY. I have never heard it.

It is coming from inside the car and goes away within 5 seconds or so, too quickly for her to localize it. It is NOT the window going down and up.

Has anyone tracked down a similar sound?

[ShadowFax]

My 06 Cooper has always done that.
I'm sure it was discussed here at one time but I can't remember what it was.
No doubt someone will chime in and say

[nalaboy]

its just your locks my 03 and 05 cooper did it all the time its the cental locking, not a thing to worry about

[McQz]

Nan took the Mini down to Scottsdale Mini on Wednesday to deal with a check engine light that wouldn't go away. While there she asked the service folks about the sound. They said that what she heard wasn't the window or the locks, rather it was the fuel pump cycling. It only does this when the vehicle has been shut down for 15 minutes or longer and it is a soft enough and high enough pitched sound that most people don't hear it.

That explains why I can't hear it. Between flying around in the back of C-130s and C-123s without hearing protection for 4 years and riding scoots of various displacements and styles without ear plugs, I've lost significant hearing range, so this is a sound I'll just never hear.

Thanks for the input.

Fran

[damiond]

There's two more crazy motor noises it could be -
a) head light adjustment (i'm pretty sure that only happens when you turn them on though, not when you turn the ignition off)
b) the recirculate vent duct - if you've got the vents on recirc, then it'll make a noise when you turn the ignition on, and a few moments after you've turned it off.

[McQz]

The unique character of this noise is that it happens when the driver's door is opened, before the key is in the ignition or any other action has been taken. It happens after the window has dropped down, which is pretty clearly audible and identifiable.