MCS Engine noise when cold

[sheri3466]

Ok, guys, my e-mail address is sheri3466@hotmail.com. I'm game for gathering everyone's problems with their cars and officially complaining to BMW. Can you please include:
1) the registration of your car
2) registered owner's name
3) ALL problems your car has had - as many details as possible, how long you were without your car, etc
4) your e-mail address for correspondance.
5) Original cost of your car
6) web address of any videos of the car showing the problems.
You can check me out on e-bay under the username sheri3466. Any document I write with the complaint will be copied to everyone who provides information for approval.
My car is now with the dealership, this is my 4th courtesy car and I just don't feel anyone should have this much grief with a car which isn't even a year old and cost £23,500 new.
If anyone else would like to do this, fine, but in the event where no-one else wishes to take it on board, I would gladly take up the mantle of chief complaints officer!
Best wishes to fellow sufferers,
Gail (sheri3466)

[sheri3466]

An update on my car. The dealership have had it since Tuesday morning, and I got a call today to say they had fitted the chain tensioner but were still not happy with the timing (?), so they are keeping it until tomorrow. I asked about the smell of petrol. 'What smell?' I was asked. I had given them a letter telling them about this - I don't think they had even read it. I got a call later to tell me I was getting a new petrol pump - I asked if there was a recall on these cars about this, but got no reply apart from a bit of humming and hawing. So tomorrow I should get it back. Fingers crossed!

[specky 1]

Hey Sheri, I had an e-mail bout my car yesterday and they have been advised by MINI technical to fit new tappets (followers) to my car as they did'nt solve the nasty rattle. They have recieved 7 but need 8. Apparently they are on back order from Germany !! I always tought this new engine was built at Hams Hall plant near Coleshill!!

[sheri3466]

Specky, that's a bl**dy joke! I wish Watchdog was still on the telly!! I plan to video my car every morning after I get it back, and if it rattles again, I'm getting on to complaints. Two strikes and you're out, they've had two goes at it, and if BMW mechanics can't fix it, I don't bl**dy want it!!!!

[specky 1]

Hey dont be like that. Stand back and take it all in, thats what i did. Why give them the satisfaction of defeat at such a trvial thing. They must be able to fix it. I'm an engineer and it either works or it dont for me, so if it dont i make it work. In there e-mail to me they seemed pretty sure this was gonna work. Stick to your guns and make em have it. You sound like a woman with spirit, so do your best. If we sort it and dealers put there finger on it BMW / MINI will have to recall then. You mentioned WATCHDOG...... what about TOP GEAR ???? Lets get Clarkson on it LMAO.

[sheri3466]

! Specky, you're my kinda guy! You're right, I'm a rootin', tootin' fightin' woman!
Thanks, you cheered me up with your comments. The car is outside the window as we speak, and do you know? You're right! Let's make 'em fix them ALL. I can keep driving courtesy cars 'til the cows come home (last one was a groovy blue BMW 5 dr saloon diesel - I could drive that happily for a few days). They fixed a new petrol pump, chain belt tensioner, drained & replaced the oil, replaced the faulty sunroof screen (....and a partridge in a pear tree......). It's now like Frankenstein's monster - few original parts. I'm changing it's name from Steve to Franky.
My dealership are going to call me on Tuesday to see how it's going - I don't know if that is because they are being nice and requesting feedback, or because they are not confident they have found the fault. I know which one I think it is!

[sheri3466]

I got the car back yesterday, took it out of the garage this morning, and although there is a vast improvement on the previous 'tractor noise', there is still a rattley noise before it heats up. I'm going to video it for the next few days to compare. I was told my sunblind was fixed - is it hell, it still opens when you drive!

[JG.26]

Quote: Originally Posted by sheri3466 (original)

I got the car back yesterday, took it out of the garage this morning, and although there is a vast improvement on the previous 'tractor noise', there is still a rattley noise before it heats up. I'm going to video it for the next few days to compare. I was told my sunblind was fixed - is it hell, it still opens when you drive!

To be honest, I don't understand why yourself and many owners with the types of problems your having are putting up with it. My advice would be to reject your car. You shouldn't have to go videoing your car etc trying to prove its faults, seems crazy to me, it's hardly what I call fun ownership.

It's interesting as I moved away from a Cooper S to the Peugeot 207 CC and have rejected my car due to strange engine noises and faulty paintwork. Peugeot were great and have ordered another car for me, no problems whatsoever and a big relief. It's intersting when I chatted to a guy who works for BMW and I asked regarding the R56 and what I read on here and he laughed and said the cars can be pretty bad, poorly built, poorly designed and have to many inherant faults ummmmm I was a little taken aback by the response. He mentioned that BMW are quite happy to just keep replacing parts than try and overcome the design fault and that one Cooper S been subjected to ummmmm 6 new gearboxes , I thought he was joking!!!

[sheri3466]

I'm sorry, guys, I've decided to bail. My engine is still not 100%right, and I don't want the hassles anymore, plus my confidence in the car and BMW is now rock-bottom. I've arranged to trade mine in, and give it up as a lost cause.
I will NEVER buy another Mini, and I'm sad to say that, I really thought this was the car for me for a looooong time.
Good luck to anyone out there who's had or having the same trouble.

[CC07ERS]

Quote: Originally Posted by sheri3466 (original)

I'm sorry, guys, I've decided to bail. My engine is still not 100%right, and I don't want the hassles anymore, plus my confidence in the car and BMW is now rock-bottom. I've arranged to trade mine in, and give it up as a lost cause.
I will NEVER buy another Mini, and I'm sad to say that, I really thought this was the car for me for a looooong time.
Good luck to anyone out there who's had or having the same trouble.

that makes 2 of us , mine goes wed to make way for my new type r

[JG.26]

Quote: Originally Posted by sheri3466 (original)

I'm sorry, guys, I've decided to bail. My engine is still not 100%right, and I don't want the hassles anymore, plus my confidence in the car and BMW is now rock-bottom. I've arranged to trade mine in, and give it up as a lost cause.
I will NEVER buy another Mini, and I'm sad to say that, I really thought this was the car for me for a looooong time.
Good luck to anyone out there who's had or having the same trouble.

Sorry to hear that, but I would be pushing for a refund not trading in. Its not your fault that you have a car that has a manufacturing fault/s. You have given the dealer the chance to put it right so I would say legally your entitiled to a refund. Trading in will lose you thousands why should you be out of pocket? Many on here have successfully rejected their car. I would be discussing this with your dealer with a letter of rejection.

[sheri3466]

My problem was, I bought my Mini from one dealership, and I tried to reject it on the grounds of the mis-aligned tailgate after less than a week, thinking (probably wrongly) that it was something they did during the cherished checks. They refused, so we were talking about legal proceedings. It involved BMW customer services, and they allowed the new hinges to be fitted by another dealership, as I had lost faith in the original seller. This was before all the hassle about the engine. I cannot now reject the car as my present dealership did not sell the car to me, and it's been too long since I bought the car to easily reject it.
CC07ERS, good luck with your type -R, I went for the 2.2 iCTDi Type S GT, I figure, ok, 0-60 in 8.6 seconds, might slow me down a bit! Let's keep our fingers crossed for some trouble-free driving. I read somewhere that when you drive the Civic, you can pretend you're about to shoot down the Death Star! Good Luck!

[CC07ERS]

welcome to the club , the 2.2. can be remaped to 190bhp . Try Civinfo - Honda Civic Forum

[Avantone]

Mine has done this a good few times but ALWAYS under the same circumstances (on a Monday!!)

My drive is on an incline and the car is parked "nose down". Sunday night, I move the car about 10 yards to outside the house so that I can put the dustbin (Trash) out. The car isn't running for more 30 seconds.

Every time I do this, I get the "death rattle" for the next morning for about the first half mile of my journey till it clears and the noise goes.

It doesn't happen if parked in a nose down position and driven away.

It only does this after being run for a very short time after being parked nose down, stopped and left overnight.

Fluid levels are fine.

I'm not too concerned as I assume it's a quirk (and I make sure I go for a quick blast - any excuse )

So, out of interest is anyone else parking on an incline, and do you think this has anything to do with fluids?

Avantone

[specky 1]

Up date on mine just in from Stealers.

They have replaced all 16 Tappets/ followers and it still does it.
Now they have been advised by MINI "TECHNICAL" to fit a none return valve on the cylinder head. They say it is to stop the oil draining to the sump when stood. What a crap idea that is in my opinion, surely this will cause the oil to build up inside the rocker cover..... giving pressure??? Not over impressed wi "TECHNICAL" at the moment.

@ AVANTONE... My mini is parked on my drive, reversed up wi nose pointing down. Drive is roughly 1 in 10 so not too steep at all. And mine does it most mornings.